'With low costs to 11.000 kilos per cow'

De Boerenbusiness Roughage Tour follows 10 plots of maize and grass spread across the Netherlands this year. Every week we ask 1 of the participating dairy farmers about his vision and approach for this growing season. This week it is Jan Dirk Ubbels, dairy farmer in Jelsum (Friesland).

The growing season has started, how are the plots doing?
''Last week the maize fields were slightly rotated to start the seedbed. We do this so that the soil does not dry out too much and to create a false seed bed."

The grass is slowly starting to grow. The plot that participates in the Roughage Tour was sown 2 years ago and is still slightly behind the rest. It is still quite light and reacts slightly less to fertilization. It is still very cold here in the north and that is also reflected in the soil temperature. Last week (week 13) the fertilizer was applied to the grassland plots, so growth is expected to pick up."

Past years were very dry, are you making different choices as a grower now?
“We have had little trouble with drought. That is one of the major differences between the participants of the Roughage Tour. Last year we won the Maize Challenge in Limagrain and we never had to irrigate that maize plot once. That says something about the moisture-supplying capacity of the soil. The grass here starts late in the spring, but that is simply because the soil warms up less quickly than in the south of the country. Once grass growth starts, it will continue to grow.”

What will your strategy be for this year?
''For years we have been using a manure digester and the digestate that is released. Opinions about digestate are very mixed, but here at the company it works very well. In the past we have had measurements taken of soil life, in order to be able to make a comparison with dairy farmers who fertilize with slurry. This showed that our plots have more soil life."

''The grass stock on our farm is relatively young. Every year we exchange a number of plots with a farmer to keep the grass young and productive. Our strategy is to mow every 4 to 6 weeks from the start of the first cut and we have succeeded.”

''We are quite extensive and grow enough roughage on these grounds. To make optimum use of this, we milk as much as possible from our own roughage. We are now struggling with 11.000 kilos per cow. This is not a goal in itself, but the result of growing good roughage."

Another important factor is the choice of variety, which varieties do you grow?
''With the choice for the varieties of silage maize and grass, productivity is number 1. The LG31.205 and HAVERA 1 are ideal for this. The 25 hectares of maize are therefore not fully fed to the dairy cows. The manure digester is also supplemented with it. Furthermore, the high starch content of the 205 is attractive and we find the plant stronger than the 318, which we used for this. To the grass mixture HAVERA 1, we add some white clover. The soil is sometimes still a bit poor, with not too much protein in the grass and that fills the white clover nicely."

What is the reason that you participate in the Roughage Tour and what do you expect from it?
''I find it fun and instructive to see how things are going elsewhere in the country. I follow this closely and in particular crops such as winter field beans and fodder beets. It is a cozy and fanatical club and in this way we can learn a lot from each other.” 

Erik van der Deure

e.vanderdeure@boerenbusiness. Nl

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