Roughage tour Corn
Good corn requires good preparation
Although later than in recent years, the maize harvest is imminent. After months of care and attention, it is now important to get the crop neatly in the silage. With good preparation you can stay ahead of many problems around the harvest.
It may seem obvious, but in practice Leo Tjoonk of Agrifirm and Jan Rootheart of Limagrain see bottlenecks every year that could have been easily prevented. So here are a few tips to ensure that the harvest goes well and smoothly.
pick date
If it becomes clear when the maize is ripe and can be chopped, contact the contractor to set a date. Especially this year with large differences in maturity between the plots, the planning for the contractors will be a challenge. The advantage is that not all maize is ripe at the same time.
The sooner the contractor knows when you want to chop, the better he can take this into account and shifting is always possible. In practice, contractors often try to schedule customers who are close to each other one after the other. Ripeness of the maize and not the contractor should be leading in determining the chopping date. In good consultation, a lot is often possible here.
Clean working
A clean silage plate or silo is important to prevent any problems from last year's silage from entering the new pit. Also don't forget to keep the yard clean. It would be a shame if mold spores or bacteria from feed residues in the yard still end up in the new maize silage via the tires of the maize trucks.
It is also useful if the covering material is ready, so that the pit can be quickly covered. If potato press fibre, steam peels or another product is passed over the maize silage, make sure that it is available on time and in a clean and easily accessible place.
Quality
When the shredder is in the country, it is important to check the shredding quality. For example, it can be tempting for the contractor to adjust the kernel processor slightly less tightly to increase capacity and save gas oil. Consult with the driver of the forage harvester whether the result is satisfactory or not and what could possibly be improved. Don't forget that as a livestock farmer you get the bill and require good work for it.
Also check during the day whether the quality remains good. For example, on a different field, changing weather conditions or dull blades can change the chopping result. On plots where water has stood, it is advisable to leave a somewhat longer stubble. There is often some mud or soil at the bottom of the plant. This is undesirable in the silage and also causes rapid wear of the chopping knives.
The price of maize chopping is an important factor, but don't lose sight of the quality of the work. The silage maize is an investment that represents considerable value on most farms. Saving on the last dime during the harvest often turns out to be more expensive in the long run.
Jurphaas Lugtenburg
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