Roughage tour Grass - Week 20
Grassland in the east ravaged by rainfall
Gambling and stealing, those are the 2 words that describe mowing the first cut. Switching quickly was important to bring in the desired quality of grass between showers. Especially in the east of the country they had to deal with heavy downpours.
In one week, 8 out of 10 participants of the Boerenbusiness Roughage tour loose with mowing the first cut. Only Ruben Marijnissen (Zeeland) and Hans Schoenmakers (North Brabant) could leave the mowers in the shed. With the necessary stress and uncertainty, the grass was quickly brought in and that worked out well for most farmers.
Cloudburst in the East
For participant Bert Wissels from Hengelo (Gelderland) mowing turned out a little less well. In 2 days, dairy farmer Wissels received more rain on 11 and 12 May (35 millimeters) than in the entire month of April (33 millimeters). The first cut was mowed on Wednesday 12 May and, except for 1 heavy shower, the grass has seen no more rain and was satisfactorily ensiled on Friday.
Silage had to be done quickly, but succeeded
Frank Rooker was the first participant to mow the grass in week 19. On May 11, the knife went in and after a small rain shower of 2 millimeters while mowing, the grass has not seen a drop. On the following Friday, the grass was chopped and ensiled. "It was thick and it was difficult to get dry here and there, especially the clover plots were still on the heavy side," adds dairy farmer Rooker.
Long days and nights were needed to get the grass in on time. In general, the Roughage Tour participants look back on the ensiled product with satisfaction. With the weather forecast ahead of them, they are happy with the choice they have made.
Erik van der Deure
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