Not too late to plant maize
Avery wet Taranaki winter has left a legacy of ‘‘pugged, and then crunchy’’ paddocks in the area but there is still time to make use of them with maize.
Pioneer Taranaki area manager Kim Sharpe said it was now too late for farmers to repair damaged paddocks this season.
‘‘There will be areas on farm that will be growing weeds and not a whole lot of kilograms of dry matter,’’ she said.
There were very limited areas of grass silage shut up to be harvested and the levels of grass that may be harvested would not be enough to get through a dry summer.
‘‘Bunkers have less grass silage than usual and in some cases, are empty,’’ Sharpe said.
Also, farmers who relied on ordering bought-in maize silage as required would need a contingency plan as all contract maize silage had already been committed for 2018.
To prepare for what could be a dry summer, Sharpe recommended farmers consider putting maize into damaged paddocks. ‘‘It’s not too late to plant maize and farmers who are already growing maize should also consider planting more, in those damaged paddocks,’’ she said.
Maize silage was an excellent tool to ensure cows maintain valuable condition throughout the summer and going into the winter.
Farmers needed to ensure that cow condition and days in milk are a priority going into winter to maximise profitability, and New Zealand trials have shown that the highest dairy production responses came from more days in milk, created by feeding maize silage in a year affected by a dry summer.
Cows struggling to retain condition over summer months not only spent fewer days in milk, but were also slower to cycle, and get in-calf.