Farm Diary by Gwyn Jones

I have been holding my breath for days! Will the weather hold while we bale and wrap all this late cut silage? Will the balers travel on the clay? Will the trailers make a mess? As I write this mid-week due to my going away for a few days to the 2006 IDF Conference in Shanghai, the rain has kept away, and we are almost done.

What will this silage be like? Very lush grass with a lot of clover grown over the last six weeks or so after the effects of the dry weather had faded away, it looked very good; top quality in fact as it has also had quite a lot of sun.

But it was reluctant to wilt, even when the sun did come out of the fog at the weekend, the grass was still not ideal for the baler. Still, baled and wrapped it should be fine, and most of it had an additive in order to aid fermentation, and some did not for comparative purposes.

There are about 500 tonnes, and more to do in a couple of weeks' time if the weather allows. It is very late to be making silage, but the grass is there and still growing. I can do with the feed, and I do not want long grass turning yellow in the winter frosts, looking a mess and spoiling spring growth. Behind the mower we now have our ideal two inch stubble and it is all set up for the spring.

For full feature see West Sussex Gazette October 25