Despite being located in an area that is climatically difficult for maize production, Kent dairy farmer Stephen Lynes produced a bumper crop.

Maize is increasingly important for professional dairy producers, particularly in areas such as the South East of England where low rainfall makes it very difficult to grow grass. Despite challenging climatic conditions on his 230-acres at High Halden Stephen Lynes has progressively increased his maize acreage over the last eight years to optimise production from the farm’s all-Friesian herd.   

Four decades after Stephen’s father started milking Ayrshires in 1953, the Lynes family purchased Street Farm Dairy, a retail milk business which was started by a neighbour in the 1980s when quotas were introduced. Stephen, who oversees the farm, 130 Friesians and dairy, now operates three retail milk rounds which account for 75% of the herd’s milk output and supply customers within a 25-mile radius. Explaining the increasing importance of maize to the business he states: 

“We began growing maize eight years ago with 10 acres of River but quickly realised that you need to produce enough to make a significant contribution to the diet, otherwise you might as well not bother growing it at all. Therefore, we have replaced an increasing acreage of cereals with maize and last year produced enough to feed it 50:50 with grass throughout the summer.

“Choosing the right varieties and establishing them correctly is essential. Many farmers think that because maize is a big seed it can be ‘muddled in’, but actually it needs careful establishment to produce the best results. That’s particularly important in this area, which is subject to some very unusual weather patterns. We’re 150' above sea level on heavy Grade 3 Weald clay and rainfall is very erratic: it tends to be either very dry or very wet, and the heavy soils means there’s only a very small time window in which to complete land work. We’ve lots of small fields, woods and ponds to contend with, which reduce output, so we have to use much larger equipment than you’d normally associate with a farm of this size.

“To establish maize we’ve traditionally ploughed to 5", carried out two passes with a Vaderstad press, followed by one shallow pass with a power harrow fitted with a levelling board/packer roller, then rolled before drilling. Last year, we drilled 50,000 seeds per acre and used Poncho dressing, which adds around £12/acre but is very cost-effective compared with the overall cost of establishing the crop, over £100/acre. It was very successful and we harvested 590 tonnes off 38 acres. Our contractor reckoned it was the heaviest crop they’d cut in this area. However, the Good Book says: “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 

“Preparing seedbeds too far ahead is risky, so we’ve been experimenting with slot seeding into what was previously permanent pasture, an interesting technique which we believe has considerable potential. After the grass had been sprayed off with glyphosate we sub-soiled the land with a five-leg Shakaerator, then our contractor went in with a four-row Oekosem III combination rotary cultivator/drill.” 

This novel, environmentally-friendly establishment technique apparently works well if used correctly and can help reduce environmental problems associated with growing maize in more challenging areas. An additional benefit is that because the soil structure between the cultivated strips is maintained the field is better able to bear the weight of harvest and post-harvest machinery than conventionally-cultivated land. Stephen Lynes says although the technique appears expensive it is cost-effective because it saves five separate operations and the crop came up quickly, with good establishment along the row.  
Mike Duell of Nickerson Direct, who has advised Stephen Lynes for 25 years and conducts maize trials throughout the South East to determine which varieties are best suited to regional conditions, comments:  


“This year severely exposed any shortcomings in establishing maize or managing the crop throughout the season. Growing it successfully in this area is challenging because of heavy clay soils and the fact that we’re exposed from three points of the compass, which creates unusual weather patterns. In spring we generally get cold winds from the north east and by the time it warms up enough to drill maize the soil conditions are very dry, just when we need moisture to encourage establishment.  

“Another factor is that many dairy farms in the area need the land for as long as possible to spread slurry, so drilling maize is often delayed until as late as mid-June. Variety selection is very important in achieving dependable high performance, especially because on many farms the harvesting date is dictated not by crop maturity but when the contractor arrives. When considering new varieties there’s no point in growing something that does not offer significant advantages. Over the years I have advised Stephen to move from LG 20.80, to River, to Nescio, which is an outstandingly reliable, high-yielder that is suitable for any site and will tolerate early or late sowing. Recently, I have encouraged him to move to Beethoven and Award, which have increased yields by more than 5%, without compromising crop reliability.” 

Beethoven is an extremely high yielding, high quality maize bred by Limagrain for UK conditions. Its Class 7 maturity means early harvesting, dry matter yields are the highest of all MC7+ varieties on the Favourable List, while digestibility and feeding quality are excellent. Award has Class 5 maturity and is suitable for mainstream sites, while drymatter yield is the highest on the medium-early list and energy yields are higher than most on the Favourable List.

Stephen Lynes comments: “Maize has always been a very successful crop for us. It’s a good balancer for grass and we’ve always noticed a milk response from feeding more of it, which is why we’re considering increasing the acreage again next year.” 

Further details are available from Mike Duell, Nickerson Direct, on 07850 523540, or from Nickerson Direct on 01472 370188 or email direct@nickerson.co.uk