After one of the latest springs in living memory, the outlook for forage production in 2021 looked pretty bleak.
However, thanks to a remarkable overnight change from winter into summer, which brought unbelievable grass growth for most, farmers across the country have been pleasantly surprised with the quality and quantity of the crops they have harvested this year so far.
The weather has been favourable for the last two months, with the majority of farms receiving the right number of warm, wet days to grow grass, followed by enough dry days to comfortably harvest quality forage.
While you may think you’ve made plenty of quality forage, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. As we are now a month after the longest day (or five months off the shortest, depending how you look at it), grass growth potential is declining. There is plenty of summer left but the time to check your forage stocks and make meaningful decisions is now.
Counting bales and measuring pits will give you a good indication of your forage stocks but remember you must take dry matter into account before making decisions. In many cases, dry matter is likely to be higher than normal, so make sure you have a silage analysis to make accurate predictions of your forage stocks. There is twice the amount of feed in a bale at 50% dry matter when compared to a bale at 25% dry matter. 
What should you do if you are short of forage?
When you look at a multicut silage system for dairy cows, it is clear that there is scope to grow grass late into the season. Those on these systems will have a third cut in the pit and will be fertilising for a fourth cut and potentially even a fifth cut into September. With this in mind, there is potential to grow a reasonable yielding crop of second or third cut on beef and sheep farms, if fertiliser is applied soon. 
Although fertiliser is an expensive input, the return on investment at this time of year is excellent, particularly if it means you won’t run out of feed through the winter.  An extra cut of silage also gives you the chance to cut some leafy, quality grass to make high quality silage for youngstock or sheep, reducing your reliance on bought-in feed and also controlling your environmental footprint.  
Similar to growing an extra cut of silage, forage crops are a good option for many farms, although the window for sowing kale, swedes and fodder beet has passed, there is still time to grow a reasonable crop of hybrid brassica, forage rape, stubble turnips or Italian ryegrass.  
If you have fields that are underperforming and are in line for a reseed next year, consider pulling them out and putting in a catch crop to help fill the gap in your forage supplies. Remember that although each crop is different, they are all grown for the same reason – dry matter. 
If grass is performing well in a field, feed it and utilise it for silage or extended grazing, rather than pulling it out in place of another crop which will probably be lower yielding and less flexible, particularly in the spring. 
For managing grass and forage supplies, flexibility is key. If you are short of forage, consider reducing demand by selling animals sooner than you normally would. The market for all classes of stock is strong, making reducing demand an attractive option for many this year, particularly for those who have less forage conserved than they would have liked.  
The spring of 2021 showed us the importance of having a bit of forage in reserve. No one knows when this winter will start and how long it will last. There is, however, a famous saying about making hay when the sun shines – hopefully you have been able to utilise the good weather and have the reserves of hay, silage and forage crops to make it through whatever winter 2021-22 has in store.