Stick to the plan (Oct 25)

This year’s maize growing season has been atypical, yielding an early harvest and good quality silage on many units. But producers should remain steadfast with their future cropping and agronomy plans.

TEXT WENDY SHORT

The exception, rather than the rule, is how producers should view this year’s maize crop and growers should stick to current strategies, and resist the temptation to tinker, to ensure future crop success.

So says KWS’ agronomist Andrew Cook, explaining that although maize has, on the whole, performed well against a backdrop of extremely low soil moisture conditions, results have been widely variable countrywide.

“Producers have benefited from an early harvest this year and while a bumper harvest was reported on some units, yields were down in areas severely affected by the drought. It has been an unusual season, not least because the maize harvest was brought forward by three or four weeks, compared to the five-year average,” he says.

“Progress on plant height and maturity has been largely dependent on the timing and volume of rainfall throughout the growing period. These tended to be highly localised in some parts of the country. Soil moisture availability varied not only from farm to farm, but even from field to field on some units.”

He adds that this year’s heat unit numbers and sunshine hours were almost unprecedented, and the earliest crops had been cut by mid-to-late August in counties including Hampshire, Dorset, Somerset and Kent. The Midlands also had a forward season, as well as the North, which had the advantage of higher summer rainfall levels. “The wet autumns and problems with field access and harvest associated with the previous couple of years were fortunately a distant memory.”

Drought conditions

While some producers have recorded extremely good maize yields, drought conditions have had a negative impact on production results on other units. And, unfortunately, this will compound corresponding grass silage shortfalls.

“On some units, maize crops ran out of moisture before they reached maturity and plant dry down has been extremely rapid,” explains Mr Cook. “This results in a reduction in maize silage D values.”

Overall production figures are unlikely to break any records, but they look fairly favourable when compared with grass yields, which have been disappointing in many parts of the UK.

“Poor forage yields in general prompted a bidding war for standing maize in certain areas, with prices that were previously unheard of. It seems inevitable that producers will be looking extremely closely at forage extenders, when calculating rations for the coming winter.”

 Maize silage: 2025's crop was lower yielding but offers good quality

Valuable contribution

That said, maize silage quality should make a valuable contribution to the ration. “On units where average yields have fallen, the positive news is that the cob-to-stover ratio is greater with shorter plants, which improves starch content. Clamps on the majority of farms have been filled with good quality maize silage that will help with ration balancing.”

He urges producers who have turned to short-season varieties to continue with this maize-growing strategy. “Early, or short-season maize varieties have become more popular, following two difficult seasons and particularly where wet conditions have caused problems with harvesting. In the wake of an exceptionally dry year, I would advise against moving into late maturing varieties based on this season alone.”

While some maize varieties in the mainstream category can offer a slight yield advantage, he says that careful plant breeding selection has meant that many ‘earlies’ have the ability to perform equally well. “These will allow plenty of time for sowing a follow-on crop, which may include a short-term grass ley. It could be used for grazing or silage in the spring if forage stocks run low sooner, rather than later.”

Other reasons for sticking with short-season maize varieties are the increased focus on soil protection and the importance of reducing the risk of pollution incidents. “With an increase in on-farm inspections expected for the coming seasons, a robust sowing and harvest strategy, coupled with correct variety maturity selection, will help to protect both growers and the environment,” says Mr Cook.

Producers should treat this year’s maize growing conditions as the exception, rather than the rule, and he recommends that sowing date decisions remain consistent. On light land, the soil temperature must have reached 8^OC for four consecutive days before drilling, with 12^OC applied to heavier land.

“If not, cold conditions will restrict root development. Drilling too early also carries the risk of delaying seedling development, often producing an uneven pattern of emergence. At the other end of the season, it can lead to yield penalties and crops failing to reach their potential,” he explains.

Spring temperatures

This year’s high spring temperatures encouraged some producers to drill their maize before the target soil temperature was reached. “They were probably mindful of a couple of consecutive sowing periods where drilling had to be held off due to persistent high rainfall. On this occasion, they gained the advantage of a degree of soil moisture that was lacking as the season progressed.

“In most instances, they opted to mitigate the effects of early drilling by using deep seed placement settings. While the policy admittedly paid off on some units, there were a few reports of frost damage. Taking this type of risk could seriously backfire if it is repeated in future years. Warm soils are critical for good maize establishment, and for setting up the crop to maximise its potential in the months ahead,” he warns.

In 2024 heavy rain and waterlogged soils pushed back harvest dates and soil damage was commonplace. A significant number of fields required remedial action as soon as the land could be accessed in the spring, ahead of maize seedbed preparation. “The same applied in 2023, and despite yield variability, at least we have not seen a repeat performance for 2025,” adds Mr Cook.

“Maize is one of the most resilient forage crop options for TMR-fed herds, assuming that suitable land is available. It has deeper roots compared with many other forage crops and, to an extent, it is genetically programmed to withstand low soil moisture situations.

“There have also been significant advances in breeding programmes for maize for the UK, permitting the crop to be grown in some areas that were previously considered marginal. Given the type of season we have experienced, maize is likely to be a popular choice next spring,” he concludes.