Good yield in maize, peak crowds expected

The maize harvest is going well and more and more fields are scheduled to be chopped. Dairy farmers have to wait for the weather in the coming days, but it can't take long because of the rapid ripening.

It promises to be very busy for the maize choppers in the coming period. More and more plots are ready for harvesting, some are even ready for emergency use. The first yields seem positive, as with dairy farmers Sander Vijverberg from Strijen (South Holland). Last Friday (September 2) the maize plots of Vijverberg were chopped and that went almost without a hitch.

"Better yield than expected"
In total, his entire 20-hectare maize area at Vijverberg was chopped within one day. He is very satisfied with the yield. "The maize yield was better than expected, especially given the dry conditions this year. I am very satisfied." The cobs were well filled and the percentage of dry matter was not too high, except for a single corner of maize.

Also Hans Schoenmakers chopped his maize fields last Sunday. The maize was not overripe, but the dry matter percentage was on the high side, despite the fact that he had irrigated his maize fields 3 to 4 times.

Silage of the first 10 hectares of maize at Vijverberg in Strijen (South Holland). Action photo of the chopping at Vijverberg in Strijen (South Holland).

Busy this week
For many dairy farmers it is necessary to chop the maize soon, given the rapid ripening in recent times. Some of the farmers therefore expect the contractor to be on their doorstep this week. Jan Henk Waterink from Beerzerveld (Overijssel) intends to chop part of his maize acreage by the weekend. According to Waterink, the volume of the maize will be disappointing due to the length of the crop, but the cobs are full. 

Expected in Hengelo Bert Swaps maize can also be chopped on Friday and that is necessary because the cobs are ripe for the emergency. He also notes that due to the drought, the corn cobs vary greatly in size.

Robert Welhouse from Wapse (Drenthe) does not think that maize will be chopped this weekend. The maize still contained too much moisture and he expects it to take another 2 to 3 weeks before the contractor comes by.

Jesse Torringa

Jesse is an editor at Boerenbusiness and focuses in particular on the arable farming sector, including grain and onions. He also closely follows the fertilizer market. In addition, Jesse works on an arable farm in Groningen with seed potatoes as the main branch.

j.torringa@boerenbusiness. Nl

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