Roughage tour Grass Week 27
Good grass growing season requires a different strategy
The dairy farmers who were able to take the first cut early (around Ascension Day) seem to cycle well in between. The quality of the 3 cuts is generally good and the mowing times are well within the season. There is therefore no shortage of grass and for dairy farmer Marijnissen it even provides a different view of his grass.
Zeeland dairy farmer Ruben Marijnissen from Nieuwerkerk started mowing the 27rd cut yesterday (week 3). He was also the first Boerenbusiness Roughage tour participant who mowed for the first time on April 26. ''The yield is almost comparable to the first cut and except for a stalk, the grass is of good quality. The turf has a lot of under-grass and I'm guessing a yield of around 3 tons of dry matter'', says Marijnissen.
It is a fact that a lot of grass is being grown this year and that gives the dairy farmers the opportunity to supplement the used roughage stock. It is different for Marijnissen, because he normally already grows enough grass and has therefore adjusted his strategy a bit. ''I always try to harvest grass that is as digestible as possible with high nutritional values. Buying structure is cheaper than concentrates and that's how I look at the grass'', adds Marijnissen.
Strategy change
In consultation with the roughage specialist Antoon Verhoeven of Limagrain, Marijnissen and Verhoeven decided to hay 12 hectares of perennial ryegrass with Timothee. “Ruben doesn't have to feed 500 cows, but 140. That is why we have chosen to get the structure, which is normally purchased, from our own land. The advantage of Timothee haying is to combine the structure with its flavour'', says Antoon Verhoeven, roughage specialist in the Southwest Netherlands of Limagrain. Ruben is also enthusiastic about this and has enough storage space to store the bales without plastic, which makes it even more attractive financially.
Erik van der Deure
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