Spring 2024 is proving to be very challenging, with extremely wet conditions in most areas, making it very different to get on with arable work or lambing and calving.

With time pushing on to get spring crops in the ground, how could arable silage fit in with your situation?

At Watson Seeds, we offer arable silage mixtures with different compositions to suit each customer’s needs and requirements. The mixtures contain cereals, such as barley and oats, and legumes, for example peas and vetches.

From a grassland point of view, if you are looking at a way to establish a successful spring reseed, then undersowing the grass with an arable silage mixture is certainly recommended. This helps reduce the weed burden, as more plants are sown per square metre, which in turn, gives less room for weeds to prevail.

Undersown arable silage is a great way to increase your protein levels as well as yields, with crops being taken around 12-14 weeks from sowing. This leaves you with a successful grass reseed. Our arable silage mixtures are designed to give the new grass ley every opportunity to establish. When considering a sow out, our recommended sowing rates are as follows:

For a full sow out of arable silage, we recommend 75kgs/acre, however if undersowing with grass, a reduced sowing rate of 60kgs/acre is recommended.

The arable silage should be sown first and rolled, then go in behind with the grass mixture followed by a heavy or Cambridge roll. The arable silage should be sown first and rolled, then go in behind with the grass mixture followed by a heavy or Cambridge roll. The cereal should be at its ‘milky’ stage before harvesting the crop. This means you should be able to squeeze the grain between your fingers and the grain will easily squash leaving behind a ‘milky’ residue.

We recommend harvesting on a dry day, preferably with the mower conditioner off as this will damage the larger seeds, such as the peas. It should then be left to wilt for 24 hours, leaving you with high quality forage and a successful reseed.