Fertiliser for Silage Ground

1. when is the best time to spread fertiliser for 1^st cut?

With silage fertiliser it’s very important that all the nitrogen you spread is used by the crop.  Excess nitrogen applied will come in as ammonia, this can affect the stability of your clamp and the intake potential of your silage across the winter.

You will be applying 80-100 units of N for you’re your 1^st cut. Your crop will on average take up 2 units per day, that 40-50 days after fertiliser application to cutting date.   If you apply in late March or early February that will have you cutting in mid to late may.  This ideal from a quality standpoint as the grass varieties in your grass silage fields will start to head out in mid to late May, as in they will start to produce seeds. Seeds are heavy so your plant needs to become stronger to hold them up.  To do this they become more fibrous.  Fibre lowers crop quality.

1. How important is grass silage quality to the average dairy farmers

A: Only 35% of the silage consumed on a spring calving dairy farm goes to dry cows.

Ok, they only need average silage but the remaining 65% needs to be of good quality.

If its not then extra concentrates will be needed to meet weanling and heifer weight gain targets and to maintain freshly calved cow BCS in the spring.

Extra concentrates = extra cost. Everyone of us needs to make good quality 1st cut silage.

1. P, K and S requirements of your 1^st cut

The amount of P and K needed is dependent on your soil indexes.

Index 3 soils will need 16units (assuming your farm has an overall P allowance) of P, 90-100 units of K, and as your indexes drop youll need top-ups on the standard requirements.

Be-mindful with K you should apply 70 units at 1^st cut

If you have not used the correct amounts of P and K for your indexes within your fertiliser programme you will not have achieved the required crop bulk by mid to late May, you will delay cutting date to bulk up the crop, allowing your silage to head out and dropping silage quality.

Sulphur works hand in hand with N, it facilitates N uptake.  Applying Sulphur increases grass yield, N uptake, NUE and reduces N leaching.  1^st cut grass silage should get 12-16 units of S per acre.

For more information contact your Dairygold Area Sales Manager today.

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