Best Management Practices for Growing Maize on Dairy Farms

2. Liaising with yourcontractor and technicaladvisor<strong>Growing</strong> maize requires a rangeof operations:• Most dairy farmers will needcontractors to assist with someor all of these processes• Some contractors and technicaladvisors will offer a cropmanagement service• Communication and goodplanning are key to working withcontractors and technicaladvisors<strong>Growing</strong> maize requires a range of operationsfrom cultivation through to harvest.Most dairy farmers won’t have the specialistequipment required <strong>for</strong> growing maizeand will there<strong>for</strong>e need to employ contractors<strong>for</strong> these tasks.For those with limited time or experience,technical advisors from a range of merchantcompanies are available to offer crop managementservices and/or advice. There arespecialist contractors and advisors whoconcentrate on only one aspect of maizeproduction (e.g. spraying or fertilisers).Others provide a complete service fromsowing to harvest.The key to working with contractors andtechnical advisors is good communication.Most have several hundred clients requiringthe same service at much the same time.Notice of your intentions well in advanceand then regular updates will improve theservice they can provide. You will needto talk with your contractor and technicaladvisor regarding your specific requirements,which may include:1. SprayingYour spray contractor will need to knowyour sowing date so that they can planwhen to spray out pasture, and later whenherbicides will be required <strong>for</strong> the crop.Monitoring (chapter seven) will help determineif post emergence herbicides will beneeded.2. CultivationYour cultivation contractor can adviseand outline costs of cultivation methods;however, this will need to be done well inadvance of the projected planting date.(chapter five – Soil Preparation)3. SowingYour sowing contractor will need advancewarning of both your intended sowingdate and your fertiliser program. SeedCompanies and Rural Supply firms will giveadvice on a suitable maize hybrid <strong>for</strong> yoursite, sowing date and planned harvest date.You should also discuss options regardingseed treatment <strong>for</strong> pest control.4. FertiliserEnsure you have a recent soil test, collectedfrom 0-15 cm deep from your intendedmaize paddock. Paddocks coming out oflong term pasture can supply up to 300kg N/ha just from soil organic matter, sosoil test <strong>for</strong> mineral nitrogen (0-60 cm) todetermine post sowing urea applications.Technical advisors and fertiliser companiescan organise soil tests and develop fertiliserplans. (chapter seven - Crop Monitoring).There are a number of different methods offertiliser application; bulk spreader <strong>for</strong> basefertiliser, sowing contractor <strong>for</strong> fertiliser5