Farmer Focus: Feed shortage risk eased by forward planning
Dan Phillips © Richard Swingler Harvest 2025 is done, and it must surely be the earliest – and possibly the easiest – on record.
The spring beans were last to be harvested and were finished on 15 August, which is in stark contrast to 2023, when we got the crop in a full two months later, on 15 October.
See also: Advice for beef winter rations as feed shortages loom large
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Yields have been pleasing, certainly better than expected considering the drought we have endured.
The OSR was the standout performer, yielding 4.75t/ha and is the best average we have had since the banning of the neonicotinoids.
Wheat and beans were also a decent average, albeit with a big variation depending on how heavy the soils were.
Only one field was a total disaster: a second wheat on our lightest field that only managed 6.5t/ha, but we will soon forget about that one.
The variation in yields is yet another reminder of how the unprecedented dry weather is affecting our business.
While we have finally had a little rain in the past week, we still have virtually no grass. We are having to feed the ewes cake to try to keep some condition on them – something I have never previously had to do.
Lambs have been slower to fatten than we would expect because of the lack of grass, and so are taking up grazing ground that really should be left empty ready to flush ewes on.
On top of that, having planned to make 20ha of third-cut silage, we ended up having to graze half of it and only cut 8ha, which yielded a paltry 13 round bales.
With all this in mind, and a definite forage shortage looming, we took the decision to bale all the OSR haulm this year, rather than chop it, so we will have spare wheat straw to add to the diet for the finishing cattle.
This should mean we can reduce the amount of silage a bit, but we will obviously need more concentrate to counter this change.
And as we often have to buy some wheat in during the summer to satisfy the cattle and chickens needs, we have decided to take advantage of the low wheat trade and buy 200t off the combine now.
While a hefty outlay and an extra cost, hopefully this forward planning will mean we can maintain stock numbers throughout the winter.