Archive Article: 1998/05/01

1 May 1998

Plenty of grass but no chance to cut it… David Nicholls, farm manager at Duchy Colleges Feadon Farm, Portreath, Cornwall, hoped to cut this Italian ryegrass silage ley last week but has been held up by the rain. The mix, sown last autumn, contains 100% tetraploid varieties to achieve high sugars early in the season. A grass sample last week showed 4.5% sugars for this ley compared with 1.8% for others. Proteins are high at 26.6%, but Mr Nicholls plans to cut as soon as theres a break in the weather. Ideally, hed like a 36-hour wilt to increase DMs to 30-32%.