Maize

1. Top quality, high starch energy forage that cows and cattle love to eat, and where top animal performance (Milk or Beef) is demanded.
2.  Cheaper to produce that first cut grass silage, or first and second cut grass silage combined or even a 3 three cut grass silage system combined.
3. Cows or cattle offered Maize silage along with grass silage or grazed grass will have  higher dry matter intakes than the same animals on a single forage / grazed grass diet.
4. Each acre can bring in over 3 tonne of maize meal (fine meal) into the silage pit in every acre harvested. 
5. In the diet of spring calving cows can significantly help fill the short fall in the energy gap these cows suffer in the spring when grazed grass can be so variable even on a daily basis.
6. Is a consistent and reliable high quality forage when grown on suitable land and when grown under plastic always achieves yields to more than cover its cost.
7. Fits in easily as an additional forage on any farms where grass silage is utilised, the same silos, feed out system and handling equipment is used.  (No washing & chopping or preparing)
8. 12 acres of Maize (grown under plastic) will supply the same quantity of forage as 20 acres of grass silage (2 cut system.)  It will have the additional benefit of bringing over 36 to of Maize Meal / acre into the pit.
9. When renting / leasing suitable land for forage production,  maize silage will give the best return on this investment.
10. Crop production can efficiently utilise large quantities of cattle or pig slurry thereby further and significantly reducing the cost of bagged fertiliser on this crop.

Forage Maize is a simple crop to grow provided  the basics are got right. Much simpler that wheat, barley or beet, potatoes etc. The right field, with a good soil at the correct soil Ph and given the appropriate crop inputs with the right levels of slurry / fertiliser will always give a more than cost effective return.  While Maize is a high input – high output crop, the fact is,  it is one of the cheapest quality forages available to farmers today.  It’s the ideal crop for the busy livestock farmer particularly the Dairyman.  Without doubt it’s the most ideal and cost effective forage when grown on leased or rented land.  

Almost everything about the success, happens at the beginning of the crop. Once things are got right then, the preparation and particularly on sowing day itself.  95% of crops will need little attention again until harvest time. Where secondary attention is required it is more often than not to deal with a difficult weed issue or a trace element deficiency which can generally be corrected immediately once spotted on time and something that from there on is a known and may be possible to deal with before sowing maize again in the following year. Like with most very valuable crops, solid and sound technical support and advice along with a regular crop monitoring service over the growing season is very important, it’s a necessity, and almost critical to ensure that in the 5 % or so of crops that need secondary attention, that they get it and get it on time.  

The team at Southern Fuel & Farm Supplies Ltd are among the best in Ireland when it comes to expertise with Forage Maize.  Maurice Smiddy Managing Director at Southern Fuel and Farm Supplies is involved with the maize Crop and growers since the very start of its life in Ireland from 1988 onwards. He and his team of Con McCarthy,  Mark Hosford and John Roche in Cork have vast experience when it comes to this crop.

The long term association with Pioneer Du-Pont one of the world’s oldest and most respected Maize Plant Breeding companies gives us the strength and dept of knowledge to deal with anything the Maize Crop can throw at us. 

We will not be found wanting when it comes to the most competitive prices for our customers for all crop inputs including Seed, Degradable  Plastic, and Crop Chemicals for the 2020 season.  Of course the real value for our customers is in the continuous help and advice and season long field crop monitoring service we provide. Which plays a huge part in the success our customers achieve in terms of Yield, Quality and Animal Performance which is really what all customers want from us and from their Maize Silage.