Welcome to ‘Follow the Maize’ – a series of Volac advertorials looking at maize through the season. This first advertorial introduces Shropshire grower, Mark Fitton, and his harvesting approach.
Squeezed milk prices and tight silage stocks are seeing Shropshire farmer Mark Fitton squaring up for a challenging year in 2026.
Once forage has been clamped, as well as preventing rain driving into the open clamp face and ‘washing away’ the fermentation acid that’s preserving it, the key is to minimise ingress of air.
Dry conditions affected both maize and grass growth in 2025. Shropshire farmer Mark Fitton spent a busy autumn getting silage stocks back on track.
After a drought-hit growing season, North Shropshire dairy farmer Mark Fitton of The Farms near Whitchurch seized the opportunity to harvest his 35ha of forage maize almost a month earlier than normal this year.
