holywell farmer
Well-Known Member
Are going increase the silage area you chop for 2019?My problem is I sold milk on a forward contract,normally I'd just milk less but I have to honour my contract.
Are going increase the silage area you chop for 2019?My problem is I sold milk on a forward contract,normally I'd just milk less but I have to honour my contract.
What about fodder beet would that be a solution?
Are going increase the silage area you chop for 2019?
Standing maize on contract will be expensive
If want rent land for extra fodder i.e. Silage that isn't getting any cheaperNot necessarily I think,
Depends how you do it,
Any one wants to grow maize on our land, rents the field, they pay for seed drilling etc, all the risk is then with the renter, if they (the renter) is using a contractor to do that it's a fixed cost, + rent,
None of this paying by the trailer load or not wanting it of its a bad season,
Edit - I'm not trying to say it will cheap,, but the grower will know his cost before he starts,
Is it big maize area LancashireThese lads aren't a million miles from me and they use walking floor trailers filled with a mouser,I'd only need to buckrake at my end.
Mouser at 5 min in.
Is it big maize area Lancashire
So I assume more whole crop is grown then,Not really,a fair amount on the Fylde and south lancs,a lot is shipped in from York direction.
We grew it from 93 to 98,1 in 10 it's decent and 3 in 10 will be a waste of time bothering the rest is average,a normal year were a great grass area,mostly struggle getting on to harvest it.
So I assume more whole crop is grown then,
Very popular around north wakes whole crop, particularly when sown with peas,Very little i bet there's less than 200 acres in a 10 mile radius.
Next door had to give £29 per bale for silage last week, big square hay was up to £50 per bale, quadrant size I guess. Straw trade was very flat, couldn't get £10 for wheat in rounds.My fodder beet man rang to say it's going up to £45/t and it's near gone.
I did my usual and asked for 2 loads next week to see me into March.
£92/t for wheat straw here,thinking of clamping some as alkastraw.Next door had to give £29 per bale for silage last week, big square hay was up to £50 per bale, quadrant size I guess. Straw trade was very flat, couldn't get £10 for wheat in rounds.
Been a dry winter for us but amazing how wet the land is,lots of winter left to come and we've time for February fill-dike.Fodder crisis seems well and truly over here by us, with basically the most ideal of winters we could ever hope for, decent growth whole way through, and perfect grazing conditions. An easy 2months fulltime feed still left here in the pits, would take us up to end of March, however there will be plenty of grazing meanwhile (even if the rain comes ground conditions will take plenty of water), and most farms have an afc of 1000+ which is basically another full month of feed in the paddocks. I'm not going to get complacent tho, will grow extra maize this year and trying to secure a standing crop of 1st cut silage early enough to help build back up pit reserves.
How's people for silage? It's getting tight for a few around here.