The Sim family’s victory in last year’s North of Scotland Grassland Society (Norgrass) pit silage competition is the result of hard work over the years ensuring the soil and the grass are in the right condition.

The father-son team at Rorandle Farm by Monymusk, run a suckler cow and crop unit with 70% of the farm in rotation with grass and barley. Through soil testing and feeding the ground, Eric and John regularly produce high quality silage for feeding their cattle through the winter.

Eric explained: “We have always made good silage. It helps to reduce the amount on concentrates we have to buy in, which is becoming more important as prices keep increasing.”

To get a successful silage crop Eric starts from the bottom and works up, which means getting the soil right. Fields are soil tested on a five-year rotation with the pH kept at just over 6. This is made easier when Eric and John also run a lime contracting business with two KRM spreaders, a 7t K65 and a 9t K85.

All fields are GPS mapped with lime spread over grass before being ploughed in the next year to get the best spring barley yields. They had been using magnesium lime but have switched to calcium lime as the soil mag levels are optimum.

The team has altered fertiliser applications too.

“We've doubled the amount of potassium on the fields and increased the phosphates by 50% and as a result of putting more on, I believe we are getting more leaf on our grass now,” said John.

All silage fields get a light covering of well-rotted farm-yard manure mid February with grass fields rolled in the spring. Silage fields also get an application of 2cwt/acre (224kg/ha) of Yara 20:8:12 plus 7.5% sulphur split over two dressings a couple of weeks apart.

After the silage is lifted, second cut fields get another 3cwt/acre (336kg/ha) of Yara 22:4:14.

Fields kept for silage are usually younger grass leys of less that five years. Most years, the first cut is made up of 100 acres for the pit with another 35 acres baled. Second cut comprises 50 acres for the pit and another 35 acres made into bales using a Lely Welger combi-baler.

The Sims under sow some of the 100 acres of spring barley grown each year which is then silaged for four to five years with a few years grazing then turned back to barley for two or three years.

The business has also changed its grass seed mix in recent years. “Last year I introduced red clover into the silage grass mix to increase the protein levels by using Murray Duguid’s MD4D mix with 1kg white clover and 0.5kg red clover per acre," said Eric.

"It feeds the ground too, so I’ll keep the clover in the mix for the next few years and see how it goes.”

From these inputs the Sims regularly produce quality silage with last year's winning sample, harvested on June 2, yielding an ME 11.8MJ per kg of dry matter with a protein level of 15.1 and dry matter of 286g per kg – similar to what they usually produce albeit with an ME a fraction higher than in previous years.

"Last year was a good year for silage. The grass got off to a good start but it did head slightly earlier but we coped with that with an earlier cutting date. Grass growth was good through the middle of summer before the dry weather caused it to burn.

“But, because we went in early, we managed to get a decent second cut in the first week of August. If we had delayed the first silage to after the Highland Show, the dry weather would have had a much bigger impact on our second cut," said Eric.

Silage starts by mowing 50 acres of grass with a Krone front and back conditioner mower. The grass is then left to wilt for a day before being rowed up by the rake on their Pöttinger wagon. It's a simple system, but it allows for silage to be handled by the father and son team with Eric’s mum Linda helping out occasionally too.

Eric explained: “We used to get a contract chopper to silage for us. But it was getting harder to get staff to cart the silage. So when we went get a wagon in 2014, we cut the labour needed and we use a lot less fuel. I also think the longer length of the silage is better for the cows as it takes longer to digest so they get more out of the silage.”

The silage is then put into the pit by father, John, on the New Holland and buckrake. The pit is tramped each night and early morning before starting the wagon again for a final rolling before being covered. The pit is sealed with two black covers then tyres are placed around the edges with weighted green covers on the face and sandbags down the middle.

Cutting 50 acres at a time allows the Sims to fill one of their two silage pits at a time. This means they can have produce silage in better conditions and get it sealed up in good time if the weather threatens to break. Only the outside pit is opened up again for the second cut which is placed on top of the first.

Baled silage is fed to the spring-calving cows in stubble parks until they come into sheds in January. The farm also grows 10 acres of kale which winters 30 of the heavier cows from November to mid January. They also have access to a pre-calving mineral bucket and get a high iodine and vitamin E bolus.

The 90 autumn-calving cows and store cattle are fed pit silage, with straw and minerals through a feed wagon. Three years ago Eric upgraded the old tractor grape with an Albutt sheargrab which has greatly reduced the wastage of silage and made for a much tidier pit face.

Cattle are split between spring calving mid-January and autumn calving in August. Calving early in the year frees Eric up for contract crop work in the spring and the good quality silage helps to keep high levels of milk production for the housed cows. Meanwhile the autumn calvers are kept on bare parks on the run up to calving and then move onto silage aftermath when the calves arrive.

Cows are mainly Limousin cross British Blue and Simmental cross, which are bulled to either a Limousin or the new Charolais bull bought at the Spring Show at Thainstone, for 7200gns, last week.

Calves are sold at 12-14-months of age at around 450-500kg through the store ring at Aberdeen Northern Marts. Replacements females are either bought at Thainstone or United Auctions at Stirling or home bred. They also keep 25 to 30 calves to finish on farm through Scotbeef, Inverurie.

While there are no sheep at Rorandle, the Sims do overwinter 170 head from the end of October to the middle of February which helps tidy up the grass for spring.

Farm Facts

Farm history: Eric is the fourth generation of the Sim family to farm at Rorandle. His great-grandfather took on the Rorandle tenancy of 136 acres in 1924, with his grand-father buying the farm from the Forestry Commission in 1963. Other Farms and parcels of land have been bought since with the unit now extending to 440 acres owned and a further 40 acres rented on a seasonal basis.

Farm business: John and Linda Sim, and son Eric.

Livestock: 150-160 suckler cows which are batched up and put to one of five bulls which are rotated after 5-6 weeks. Some 20 head of cattle are finished with the majority sold as yearlings through Thainstone Mart.

Future plans: Continue as normal with the possibility of increasing suckler numbers slightly after the recent purchase of more land.

On The Spot

Best investment? "Probably buying land and buildings."

Top tip for making best silage? "Look for a window in the weather and be ready to go. Also make sure fertiliser is on in plenty of time so all nitrogen is used up before anticipated cutting date."

Any off farm past times or passion? "I enjoy a day out pheasant shooting with friends or a bit of stalking on a summer’s night if I am not too busy! I also enjoyed being involved with Young Farmers being a past chairman twice of Vale of Alford Club.

Favourite show? "Royal Northern Spring Show at Thainstone, before the spring works. I also managed attend Agritechnic in Germany a few years ago and would thoroughly recommend it. Lamma is also quite a good show to see."