Maize silage makes good economic sense for Bill Davey

Spring has now officially sprung in New Zealand. Apart from about a week of heavy snow during August, we have not really had a winter to speak of. Spring work has progressed unhindered and all crops have gone in to great seed-beds.

If it doesn’t rain soon we’ll be cranking up irrigators at least a month earlier than normal. This means additional cost with regard to crop establishment, as well as putting extra pressure on our small workforce at a time when we still have a large number of store lambs on farm.

Looking closely at our spring options, I feel we should continue to grow maize silage. We are becoming quite proficient at growing this valuable feed and at the right money/kg of dry matter, with the help of irrigation we can achieve high yields and it is profitable.

Plant establishment is critical, so we use a contractor to drill the crop, placing a proportion of fertiliser next to the seed, the remainder of a specially tailored brew being incorporated into the seed-bed pre-drilling.

We usually grow maize following an Italian grass silage crop and I am interested to know if there is a drill available, such as the Cross Slot, that can precision sow seed without having to prepare a traditional plough/cultivated seed-bed. Extensive trials are being carried out in the North Island, so I’m keeping my ear to the ground.

Direct drilling maize would save time as well as establishment costs, and enable us to retain valuable soil moisture in early November when it’s usually dry.

Early September, and it’s exactly one year since that life-changing 7.1 earthquake rattled mid-Canterbury. On a brighter note, the start of the Rugby World Cup is imminent, but even better, was the arrival of our first grandchild, Isobel Sophie Davey. Just wonderful!