Quiz - Aftercut Silage Health Check Quiz

1. In a three cut system how much total Nitrogen (slurry and bagged) do you apply for 2nd cut silage with a yield of 9-12 t DM/ha?

Please select your answer
1 answer list*
- 75kgs N/ha (60 units/acre)
- 100kgs N/ha (80 units/acre)
- I don't know
Number of cuts:N (Kg/ha) for 2nd cut 250 375 490

2. Do you use a Sulphur containing fertiliser on your aftercut fields?

Please select your answer
2 answer list*
- Yes
- No
- I rely on Sulphur from slurry
You need around 40kg SO₃/ha (32 units/acre) across your aftercut to optimise grass yield and quality. A 30m³/ha slurry application will only provide 10kg SO₃/ha. Using a Sulphur containing fertiliser is the only way to provide your silage grass with the Sulphur it needs

3. Do you know how much grass yield can be reduced through compaction?

Please select your answer
3 answer list*
- Up to 25%
- Up to 15%
- Up to 5%
Compacted soils don't have enough air and water in them to let the regrowing grass roots effectively get the nutrients needed for optimum growth. To avoid compacted soils, which can reduce your aftercut yields by up to 25%, dig inspection pits and identify any issues and rectify them this autumn in readiness for next season.

4. Do you know the yield penalty of growing grass for silage at K index-1 without fresh K fertiliser?

Please select your answer
4 answer list*
- Yield reduced by up to 50% in the 3rd year
- Yield reduced by 25% in the 3rd year
- No yield penalty
Having the correct P, K, Mg and pH levels in your soil is the base to optimising yield. If you don't have recent soil analyses, get these done and target pH 6.5, P index 2 and K index 2-. Did you know that at K index-1 yield could be reduced by 25% in the second year and by as much as 50% in the 3rd year without fresh K fertiliser.

5. By what extent can you reduce overall milk/meat carbon footprint by using Nitram?

Please select your answer
5 answer list*
- 10%
- 5%
- 15%
The standard figure used in Carbon audits for the Nitrogen fertiliser you buy is 6.6kg CO₂eq for every 1kg on Nitrogen that you use. At CF Fertilisers we've got that down to 3.4kg CO₂eq per 1kgN in Nitram. So using Nitram can cut your overall milk or meat carbon footprint by around 10%

6. Do you know the benefits of applying compounds over blends?

Please select your answer
6 answer list*
- When using compounds you make £188.70/ha increase in Beef live weight gain and £168.84/ha in lamb live weight gain
- There is no benefit
- I don’t know
Your second cut is likely to need 60 to 90 kg Potash per ha (48 to 72 units/acre) if your soil K indices are 2+ or 2- and 25 kg Phosphate per ha (20 units/acre) at P index 2. That may not all come from slurry. In terms of additional production, it would give you enough energy for approximately £188.70/ha increase in liveweight gain at a beef price of £1.90/ kg or £168.84/ha in terms of lamb liveweight gain at £1.70/kg.

7. Do you account for slurry N, P and K in your nutrient management plan?

Please select your answer
7 answer list*
- Yes
- Sometimes
- No
Cattle slurry is a useful source of crop nutrients. An application of 30m³/ha (2,700 gals.acre) can supply 30kg Nitrogen, 18kg Phosphate, 70 kg Potash and 10kg Sulphate per ha of available nutrients.

AfterCut Silage Health Check