Delays in harvesting first cut following the wet spring, coupled with likely reductions in yields on many farms, means farmers will need to pay particular attention to maximising second and third cut yields this season.

With forage supplies tight on farm and bought-in stocks looking expensive off the back of high straw prices, Graham Ragg, Mole Valley Farmers senior agronomist and product manager, says there’s a real need for farmers to produce their own quality forage.

Speaking at Grassland UK at The Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet, he said farmers were generally around two weeks behind on making silage and yields were also likely to be down.

“It’s a big problem as first cut is so important as it’s usually the biggest and best quality,” he said.

“Farmers need to bear this in mind, take stock of what forage they’ve got left and plan how they will make up for it in second and subsequent cuts.”

In a ‘normal’ year, most producers generally choose to reduce the acreage harvested after first cut has been taken. However, this year Graham advises maximising second and third cut acreage by grazing more intensively after first cut. In doing so, farmers will “avoid building a problem for the winter.”

First cut should still be taken as soon as possible to encourage quality re-growth he said.

Graham believes strategic use of fertiliser will be essential this year to get the best possible silage yields and he urged producers to order fertiliser in advance so product can be applied promptly.

“You lose 2% a day in second cut yields for every day you delay putting on fertiliser after taking first cut. So if you wait a week, you lose 14% or about 1t/acre.”

Choosing the right after-cut fertiliser is also important. For second cut, about 75 units per acre of nitrogen (90 kgs/hectare) is optimum. Potash is also key due to the fact every tonne of silage taken off removes 10 units of potash per acre (12 kgs/hectare). Including sulphur in any bagged product is also recommendable considering it can lead to a 30% uplift in grass yields.