Roughage tour Grass - Week 23
Hectic days in the grass behind us
The contractors and dairy farmers together managed to get the first cut and part of the second under the plastic in a week's time. The rather heavy first cut took a lot of time and the silage plates are now well filled.
Now that we're a week into June, it can almost be said that the entire first cut is off land. Only in the north is about 10% of the first cut, according to Leo Tjoonk, Agrifirm's team leader for roughage. These plots were simply too wet to bring the grass home without damage to the plots.
High yields
The grassland plots are white, because 6.000 kilos of dry matter from one hectare is no exception to the rule in many places. Unfortunately, on a number of plots it was not possible to mow above 7 to 8 cm due to the flat grass. "For the plots that appear white under it and sometimes have even been mowed below the growing point, it is recommended to postpone the application of manure for a week, so that the grass can recover for a while," adds Tjoonk. However, it is possible to apply the fertilizer in advance to give the grass a good start.
The feed values of the harvested plots are generally not disappointing. ''On average, the VEM is still well above 900, but the crude protein content leaves a lot to be desired. While in some places 3.500 to 4.000 kilos of dry matter have been fertilized, 6.000 kilos are harvested and we see crude protein contents of around 120, says Tjoonk.
Second cut approaching again
For the dairy farmers who have mowed around Ascension Day, the second cut is almost upon us. This also applies to the Boerenbusiness Roughage tour participants, such as Silvain Kusters from Guttecoven (Limburg) and Frank Rooker from Aartswoud (North Holland). The season has generally moved a bit due to the cold start, which is also reflected in the shoot-through date. ''For the late varieties of perennial ryegrass, the shooting date is around 6 June. This will probably be postponed for a few days, which is why the advice is to mow this week, says Tjoonk.
For the dairy farmers who mowed last week, the advice is not to leave the second cut for too long. Because the growing season has moved up a bit and in many places the grass has not yet sprouted, it will do so in the second cut. For dairy farmers who have recently mowed, a period of 3 weeks is probably the longest achievable to guarantee quality.
accept loss
With the bloom in it, it doesn't grow much anymore and the quality deteriorates rapidly. More than 2.000 kilos of dry matter for second cut will therefore be difficult for this group of dairy farmers to obtain. ''Accepting the loss, aiming for the third cut and a good tilling are more important'', adds Tjoonk.
Erik van der Deure
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