Forage Maize

Crop management is geared to producing a high dry matter / high starch combination that will have a positive effect on milk production.

The crop was drilled into a fine seed bed in early April and covered with plastic. Over the past two weeks the crop has penetrated the plastic and has entered an aggressive growth phase which will see individual plants grow at 10cm (four inches) per day.

Henry’s experience over the years of maize growing have shown that the maximum benefit in terms of yield are achieved through early sowing, under plastic mulch.  This combination ensures plants are in an excellent position for the early summer heat which we are now receiving.  More mature plants leading to earlier pollination gives the cob more time to swell and mature prior to harvest.

A crop managed in this way will produce a high yield of good quality material, ideal to complement good quality grass silage in the diet of dairy cows.  Fed at a level greater than 30 percent of the forage dry matter in the cows diet this should result in improved yields and milk protein content.

Specialist forage maize grower Henry Johnston and Michael Garvey CAFRE Development Adviser discuss Henry’s crop at Tynan, Co. Armagh. Each year a substantial area is grown for feeding on neighbouring dairy farms.