Kick-off mowing second cut with good grades

The first second cut has already been cut with neat numbers in the Boerenbusiness Roughage tour. The coming weeks will again be dominated by the winning of the second round of grass. What is the analysis of the first cut second cut?

After a rainy period with growing temperatures, the first plots are ready for the second cut. Frank Rooker, dairy farmer in Aartswoud (NH), kicked off. He started mowing at the end of the afternoon on 25 May. "The grass looked great," said a satisfied Rooker. Below in the image the measured height of the grass.

The grass height is set at a good 28 centimeters. To determine how many kilograms of dry matter there are, the following formula is used: (number of centimeters-stubble height) x 164. 7 centimeters is used for the stubble length. So (28-7) x 164 = 3.444 kg dry matter per hectare.

Difference in years
Below in the table the value of the analysis of the fresh grass sample from the second cut of 2022. But also the analysis of the second cut of 2021.

The result of 2022 is a neat result, with a slightly lower sugar content but with a higher protein. Compared to the protein of 2021 with 203, 2022 with 173.4 can not yet match this. In 2021 the sugar content will be 80, which is higher this year at 112.2. The NDF, on the other hand, is a lot higher this year. The difference is also partly explained by the mowing moments. The second cut was only cut in mid-June in 2021, compared to 25 May this year. 

Reuben van der Maas

Intern at the Boerenbusiness Roughage tour

r.vandermaas@boerenbusiness. Nl

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