Good establishment is key with forage maize. And for Shropshire farmer, Mark Fitton, his crop certainly ticked that box.
Despite the dry spring, Mark Fitton’s 35ha of continuous maize drilled on 26 April emerged in just 9-10 days this season. By mid-May, it was already at 5-6 leaves thanks to warm soils. And although the soil surface was dry, Mark reckons there was just enough moisture further down.
Maize coming up in nine days is a record for us. It’s normally 12-14 days. It looked fantastic,” he explains.
Prior to power harrowing and drilling, potash had been applied to maize fields. Diammonium phosphate (DAP) was then applied as a starter fertiliser with the seed. A brief rain spell in early May also arrived at an ideal time to activate the pre-emergence herbicide, admits Mark, giving the crop a clean start.
“We then applied a foliar feed plus trace elements with the post-emergence herbicide on 30 May, which really greened the crop up.”
A big change this year was to increase the farm’s standard maize seed rate from 45,000 to 50,000 seeds/acre. “We’re going for extra tonnage,” Mark explains. “But it will be interesting at harvest to see if it matures a bit later than normal.”
Meanwhile, he reports that last year’s maize silage – his first ever made with Ecocool additive – has continued to feed well. Summer buffer feeding has comprised two small TMR mixes a day of a 60%/40% ratio of grass silage to maize silage with a small amount of protein blend.
Silage survey results
A poll of 44 producers by Cow Management last year revealed that while 98% recognised that moulds can cause losses in maize silage, nearly a fifth (18%) did not identify bad bacteria as causing losses, and nearly a third (32%) did not recognise yeasts as causing losses.
Moreover while 93% recognised that unwanted microbes can reduce silage quality and palatability, nearly four out of 10 (39%) did not identify that they can also cause dry matter (DM) losses, and 14% did not identify that they can cause mycotoxins.
“In reality, unwanted bacteria, yeasts and moulds can all cause maize silage DM and quality losses,” says Amanda Clements, technical business manager for Volac who were involved with the survey, “while certain moulds also produce mycotoxins.
Also in the survey, while there was 100% understanding that maize silage can suffer losses from heating, there appeared some confusion about whether it can also suffer losses due to inefficient fermentation.
“Again, losses can actually occur due to both problems, which is why a dual-acting additive is such an important consideration to help protect the investment that goes into producing maize. Ecocool, for example, was developed to not only tackle heating but also aid fermentation – by targeting yeasts and mould growth and providing a boost from efficient fermentation bacteria.”
Mark Fitton’s maize story shows how important it is to get things right from the start – from choosing the right seed rate and fertiliser to using an effective silage additive. With a strong crop already in the ground, he’s hopeful for a good harvest and quality feed for the months ahead.
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