Roughage tour Week 20 - Weather
What are dairy farmers doing against the drought?
Many dairy farmers undoubtedly take an extra look at the sky every day and check the weather information. We are waiting for a weather change with rain for crops such as silage maize, grass and field beans. Which crops cry out for water and cannot avoid an artificial shower? We count it with the dairy farmers who participate in the Boerenbusiness Roughage tour.
Joost van Nostrum in Sint Oedenrode (NB) started irrigating the grassland immediately after the first cut. After an injection of slurry, the reel was rolled out. At Van Nostrum, the facilities on the house plot are good, there is an underground pipe to get the water to the reel and it is possible to pump with electricity. A PTO pump is used on outdoor plots.
Crops cry out for water
Sander Vijverberg in Strijen (ZH) was fertilized on 10 May with 20 m3 of slurry and 10 m3 of water. Vijverberg then rolls out the reel to irrigate the entire area of grassland once, in the hope of winning a reasonable second cut. Then he thinks he should move on to summer field beans and silage maize if there is no rain in the coming days, because these crops cry out for water. This gives the soil moisture sensor of AgroExact also to the one in the country near Vijverberg.
Troubleshooting
Robert Welhuis in Wapse (Dr.) found that the emergence of fodder beets was insufficient. The seed was in some places in a too dry top layer. Welhuis received a shower of 11 mm on Wednesday 1 May, after which he decided to pull out the reel on Thursday 12 May to help the ungerminated beet seeds. Roel Assies in Zeewolde (FL) indicated that he wanted to fertilize the grassland with the spoked wheel injector. Before fertilising, the spoked wheel injector must be inserted deeply enough into the soil to prevent the grass from burning. Assies therefore started irrigating on 13 May before fertilizing.
Reuben van der Maas
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