The survey of HST Feeds’ customers in Cheshire, Shropshire, Lancashire and Staffordshire has shown an average maize yield of around 11 tonnes per acre, with figures as low as 5 tonnes per acre on farms in areas worst affected by the weather over the summer. 

65 per cent of the farmers that took part in the survey expect to have a shortfall in forage as a result of the poor crop, and farmers estimate total forage supplies could be down by an average of 25 per cent compared to normal.

“The shortfall in maize silage will have a big impact on farmers already facing a long, hard winter,” commented Nick Johns, sales director at HST Feeds. 

“Feed prices are high and many producers have poorer quality grass silage than normal, so rations are likely to need additional supplementation if yields are to be maintained. There is a risk that many farmers will not want to buy in additional feed and this could have a significant impact on milk output as the winter progresses, with a knock on effect next summer as stocks will not be sufficient to buffer feed with in many cases.

The important thing for dairy farmers to remember is to reserve the best quality grass and maize silage for the milking herd and, in particular, those cows in early lactation, and then poorer forage and alternative feeds can be used for low yielders and youngstock. Feeding heifers on straw and concentrates is another way of saving silage for milking cows with reliable and predictable heifer growth rates on this system.”