Silage 2024

Depending on growth between now and then you’ll probably only have around 5 or 6 bales an acre on it by end of august but it should be top quality.

Well lads n ladies do ye think there will be a weather window next week to cut another bit of silage or what's your thoughts ?

Some of the forecaster are predicting higher temps and less rain I believe.

many of the larger over stocked dairy outfits could really struggle later for fodder. Where as they normally try to buy feeding later in the year for a pittance off lads who have a surplus of bales, hopefully they will be caught with their pants down

I’m sure most were well able to do a fodder budget by now, we had about 150 bales left in the yard here when we eventually got cows out full time this year. Bought 250 bales off contractor during the first cuts at the end of May all in the yard now along with what we made ourselves that will be a great insurance in the back end and next spring.

there are plenty around here who try to buy very cheap from smaller farmers late in the year. over stocked and nearly taking it as a given that why make their own bales when they can just buy for a fraction of the cost late in the year, and even get them to deliver the bales too !! It back fired last year, and hopefully will do the same this year.

The journal had an article of auctioneers auctioning meadows. Every field Is different. Maybe say you'll take it and pay a tenner a bale and you pay your contractor

Would €1K get it? What's having it worth to you is the question?

Regrowth has been quite slow, so winter supplies might be tight enough around the country.

All in what would be a fair price to buy / sell bales out of the field at the moment?

i.e. Contractor will mow, bale and wrap, fertiliser already spread and customer will come to field with loader, trailer and draw them away from the field

it’s costing in the region of €20 to get bales made and stacked in the yard. I’ve given €40 for this years bales from early grass (reseeded 3 years ago).

So anywhere between €15 and €20 depending on grass quality and how well you know the person/favours done in the past etc.

🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈

I'd say €10 + fertilizer cost + harvesting cost

knocking 20 ac tomorrow hopefully, it’s well shot out, cut 7.5 weeks ago

hybrid i sowed last august after whole crop

I’m sorry I sowed in hindsight but I wanted to get a crop of silage off the ground before winter arrived and it did that so I shouldn’t be complaining

It got 3500 gallons of slurry and 65 units of urea. seed heads appeared 4 weeks after 1st cut so I just let it on and got a bulky crop

walked my second cut today and I was a little bit disappointed with it not sure if it’s just with the cold weather but some of the field is light and has some yellowish patches like it ran out of nitrogen but it couldn’t have got 2bags 18-6–12 and a bag of pu so over 80 units.

you can see it’s doing well but the far side of the field is yellowish and poorer

same in this pic at the bottom of the hill

what do people think is it just the year that’s in it with the north wind and lack of heat or should I go with another bag of can to the acre?