Irish take on UK in silage yield competition

Q&A: Ian Matts, Yara

Two farmers in Co Cork and Dublin will take on eight opponents in Northern Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland this year, in a grass silage yield competition.

Dairy farmer Tom Brown, Killeagh, Co Cork, and beef farmer Donal Callery in Co Dublin, represent the Republic of Ireland in the new Grass Prix competition organised by fertiliser company, Yara.

“Getting the most from grass is a vital part of any livestock enterprise, it remains the most dominant and economic feed for the dairy, beef and sheep sector, either as grazing or conserved forage,” said Ian Matts, Company Agronomist at Yara UK and Ireland.

“It requires careful attention to optimise the output and maximise returns, too often this is overlooked.

“Effective nutrition has a vital role in growing grass successfully, in both yield and quality.”

* How will the competition winner be decided?

>>Ten beef and dairy farms from the UK and Ireland have signed up to compete for the highest energy yield (ME per ha). The combined highest ME yield across two silage cuts will win.

* Where did the idea for the competition come from?

>>It was originally run by Yara in Finland in 2012.

The competition in Finland had eight farmers competing during the full growing season.

The winner was a dairy farmer who achieved an energy yield of 148,000 MJ/ha over three cuts.

This gave him a staggering 193% yield increase over his normal farm practice, and took his dry matter yield from 4.5t/ha to 13.2t/ha, which led to an increase in net profit of over €1,000/ha.

* How can farmers find out how the Irish competitors are doing?

>>Results of the Yara Grass Prix competition should be available in August, following anticipated second cuts in June and July, where a detailed analysis will be available on all of the entrants.

Yara will also be at the FTMTA Grassland & Muck event at Gurteen Agricultural College on the 14th of May, where we will be discussing the background details behind the different approaches that were taken by our 2014 Grass Prix competition entrants to grow their first cut.

Depending on the weather, some first cuts will have been taken.

Yara’s regional sales team will be working closely with the farms, offering the tools, resources and advice to help the entrants succeed.

They will be noting the seed variety, providing free soil and tissue analysis, and recording all inputs and application rates and timings.

This will allow us to have a full understanding of how all entrants reached their final yield.

* Who are the other competition entrants?

>>Evelyn and Fred Kenwell, dairy farmers from Northern Ireland; William and Gareth Corrie, beef farmers in Northern Ireland; Robert Tilly, dairy farmer from the south west of England; Andy Gibbons, dairy farmer in north west England; Terry Clarke, dairy farmer from south Wales; Willie Watson, dairy farmer from south west Scotland; Iain Green, beef farmer from north east Scotland; and Tom Rawson, dairy farmer from Yorkshire.

* Why are average grass yields in the UK and Ireland only 6-10t/ha of dry matter, which is less than half of its biological potential?

>> One of the main reasons for low grass yields is the poor or incorrect use of nitrogen fertiliser, in terms of rate and times of application. Grass really deserves the same level of attention to detail more usually given to arable crops.

Yara is exploring the wider use of our precise tools and apps for grassland and forage crops.