Soil health is the cornerstone of your farm’s overall productivity. Mel Digger explains how pH, nutrients and organic matter drive forage production.
Soil health is the cornerstone of your farm’s overall productivity. Mel Digger explains how pH, nutrients and organic matter drive forage production.
Soil has a huge impact on forage production in both yield and quality, as well as helping to drive sustainability on your farm.
“Healthy soil grows high quality, efficient forage crops,” says ForFarmers Product Manager Mel Digger. Knowing what you’re working with is important, so soil should be tested regularly. Soil pH (soil acidity), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) levels can affect plant growth, development and, ultimately, productivity, as well ‘lock up’ other nutrients.
“Soil testing is also a way of monitoring changes to the available nutrients brought about by previous nutrient application or changes in farming practises,” she adds.
“It is impossible to accurately know what fertiliser (organic or inorganic) to invest in or apply if you don’t know your soil’s nutrient status. Act on the result you get from a soil test it to make your fertiliser purchasing decision this winter. On-farm nutrient resources in the form of slurry and manure need to also be taken into account and tested.”
• pH underpins plant nutrition - a pH of around 7 is optimal for maximising the availability of nutrients to the crop. Incorrect pH can reduce nitrogen (N) uptake by up to 50%.
• Low phosphorus (P) leads to poor root development and poor nutrient use.
• N helps with plant growth, driving production and improving forage crop quality.
• Low potassium (K) leads to poor transport of nutrients in the plant root resulting in poor growth.
• K is associated with the movement of water, nutrients and carbohydrates in the plant tissue.
“Soil testing is also part of Governments’ SFI actions and other environmental schemes, highlighting the strong connection between soil health and sustainability,” says Mel. “The actions you can receive payment for under SFI SAM1, 2 and 3 are all focused on improving soil health, structure, organic matter and biology.”
They include:
• SAM1: Assess soil, produce a soil management plan and test soil organic matter
• SAM2: Multi-species winter cover crops
• SAM3: Herbal leys
This summer’s forage-making conditions were challenging at times, particularly at the start of the season with its wet conditions. ForFarmers’ silage analysis results have shown the real effect of the poor weather particularly on first cuts.
“We analysed more than 800 of this year’s first cut silage samples, and they show a huge difference in the quality of silages harvested early (March, April and May) and those harvested later (June onwards),” explains Bruce Forshaw, ForFarmers Product Manager. “The really poor weather in the spring meant some farmers were unable to take their first cut of silage until June, or even later, and this is reflected in the analysis of this silage.”
Energy levels are low and fibre levels are high, reflecting the older, stemmier plants that were harvested. At 941, 2024 first cut MELK values are considerably lower than the average in 2022 (956) and 2023 (966).
“One of the things the data clearly shows this year is the positive impact that silage additive has on quality, particularly on second cuts. Silages that have been produced using innoculants have higher protein levels, D-values and lactic acid.
“When you look at MELK for silages with innoculant the average is 963, while the average without is 930,” explains Bruce. “For an average 200 cow herd, that equates to roughly £13,000 of extra milk production from the same amount of silage.”
Without the right information about your silage it is hard to make the right decision on formulating dairy rations. Analysing your silage means you know you can adapt your ration to provide cows with the most efficient, cost-effective ration with a lower environmental impact.
Contact our dedicated team of dairy specialists for advice and how we can help your business.
