Maize dry matters march on
A week of sunshine has pushed maize dry matters up by 2.3% across the Farmers Weekly/Grainseed maize sampling sites and many growers will be harvesting now, reports Neil Groom, Grainseed technical manager.
In a year when we have had the wettest summer and the least number of hours of sunshine maize in most areas of the country has reached the minimum target dry matter of 28% for optimal feeding benefits. This will allow most growers to feed quality maize over winter, believes Mr Groom.
Robert Parker sampling at Ticknall, Derbyshire has harvested all his maize now. “Although we drilled on 12 April and the crop established rapidly, I have only filled the big clamp, whereas last year I filled both maize clamps. Fortunately we have a lot of grass clamped, so we wont be short of forage, but I will have to adjust diets to optimise forage use over the winter,” he comments.
| Site | Drill date | Ht above sea level (m) | Crop dry matter 10 October |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petworth, | 20 April | 50 | Harvested |
| Harleston, | 23 April | 30 | 30.3 + 2.3 |
| Crediton, | 17 April | 118 | 28.5 + 2.5 |
| Ticknall, Derbyshire | 12 April | 67 | 29.9 + 2.9 |
| Poyerston, Pembroke * | 2 May | 20 | 30.9 + 4.1 |
| Leyburn, | 23 April | 140 | 28.1 + 0.5 |
| SAC, | 23 April | 45 | 27.0 + 1.7 |
* Variety Nancis, all other sites are Agreement