EARLIER this year, my Diary focused on Graham and Jill Duke - a husband and wife team farming at Launceston in North Cornwall who were getting extremely good milk yields from forage.

However, as we have all now experienced an extremely indifferent summer with rainfall much higher than average and temperatures much lower than average, I was quite keen to have a natter with them and see how they were getting on. So, never wishing to miss out on an invitation to travel over the Tamar, I recently ventured westwards endeavouring to find out how they were coping thus far, but probably most importantly, to learn from them their plans and ideas for the forthcoming winter, when, like virtually everyone else, the quality of their grass silage left a lot to be desired and the maize harvest would be quite a bit later.

The spring actually kicked off really well with April being absolutely gorgeous and enabled them to take 117 acres of first cut silage on May 3 - a week earlier than last year and with 25 acres of Fabius maize being drilled on the same day, the omens looked good!

It rained the next day - and the next - in fact it was relentless for nigh on a fortnight and it wasn't until May 21/22 before the rest of the maize was drilled and 70 acres of "late" first cut silage was taken.

Some 106 acres of adjoining permanent pasture had been aquired during the spring - 50 acres of which were cut and ensiled on June 8, with the remainder continuing to be grazed. With the weather being so "catchy" during June and July, it was impossible to take any significant acreage of second cut - the only silaging that they could do being small amounts in big bales and they had to wait until the second week of August before they could really finish the job - knowing full well that although the clamps were bulging, the quality would be poor.

The bonus of a wet summer is that it tends to be a good growing time. The downside of that however is that grass continues to grow on a soil that was becoming increasingly wet, resulting in all the cows being kept in overnight from mid June to the end of July. All last year's silage had been used by mid June, but the saving grace was the silage produced from the extra land that had been acquired during the spring. This allowed the cows to be kept off the heavier land with poaching being kept to an absolute minimum.

The pro-active "hands on" approach that this farm employs so effectively soon resulted in some changes to the feeding policy. A substantial reduction in grazed grass with a proportionate increase in last year's silage meant that the energy and protein levels on offer to the cows were lower than that required and Harpers Home Mix - the Duke's feed suppliers were quick to point this out and suggested they change from Max Pro16 + C16 to Premier Elite 20%. Glen Johns - Sales Director with Harpers, explained that Premier Elite 20% had a higher inclusion of cracked maize plus more C16. It also included prairie meal which has a 60% crude protein content, part of which is very high in DUP. This quick action enabled milk yields to be maintained - albeit at a cost to milk from forage - but probably, and most importantly, cow condition scores and fertility levels were maintained - clearly endorsing the strategy of Dirk Zaaijer - the leading Dutch specialist in fertility and rumen health who featured so prominently in my spring report on this farm when his main message was "Feed the cows - not the tank!'' July production figures subsequently proved how effective this change was as the herd average moved from 23.8 litres per cow last year to 27.4 litres per cow this year, and although there were an additional 14 cows being milked, the farm still produced an extra 30,000 litres for the month. Graham Duke said: 'I know that our milk from forage figures have suffered this summer, but the extra milk production has more than compensated for the additional feed that we have had to purchase."

The wet weather has also had negative effects on the farms other forage production. Forty acres of winter wheat have been crimped because it proved too wet to wholecrop. This is the first time that crimped grain has been used, but although the dry matters are higher than the norm', it is still feeding out quite well. The other potential problem is that the maize harvest is likely to be three weeks later this year, with quality almost certainly being affected downwards from last years analysis of 34.3% DM and 31.8% starch. As at September 12, Fabius was standing over 7ft tall but the cobs had only just started to yellow, whereas a field of ES Pride had really suffered as a result of the poor year and was only 3ft tall with white and immature cobs. Winter wheat is due to go back in after the maize, but a late harvest could prove rather difficult.

Graham said it was obvious when he was inspecting the quality of the grass just prior to being taken for second cut that some fields were woefully short of quality grasses and that he would have to embark upon a re-seeding programme quite soon. He has already re-seeded all 40 acres following the wheat with either a long term grazing mixture plus clover or an Italian Ryegrass mixture, which will go back into maize next year.

Graham is also aware that the quality of his silage has differed greatly with each field and he is therefore being encouraged by Harpers to test his clamp on a much more regular basis just in case a further reduction in quality might mean another "tweak" to his feeding policy and concluded that in a good year such as 2006, the farm should always produce quality - and lots of it! "But, and this is the key,'' he said, "when the chips are down and the wheel becomes a little wobbly, you need someone you can trust and can turn to for both practical and impartial advice and Harpers are a company that I have total confidence in."

Silage analysis for first cuts:
 (May 3) 30.6% DM, 14.2% C.P, 70.6 D Value, 11.3 ME
(May 21) 29.5% DM, 13.8% C.P, 69.7 D Value, 11.2 ME
Silage analysis for second cuts:
(Dry Cows) 38.4% DM, 10.7% C.P, 59.8 D Value, 9.6 ME
(Milkers) 30.7% DM, 12.4% C.P, 60.6 D Value, 9.7 ME