United Kingdom
February 3, 2025
Early maturing maize allows Somerset farmer to improve soil health and earn an SFI payment from cover cropping.
Growing 800 acres of Gema allows Jon Bult to produce a high yielding, energy dense crop of maize to feed his 700 dairy cows. As an early maturing variety, Gema also enables him to prioritise soil health by establishing overwinter cover crops in maize stubbles.
Jon Bult, Somerset Farmer
“We’re on heavy ground; some of which is marginal for maize, so it makes sense to use the earliest maturing varieties,” Jon says. “Gema is ideal as it delivers high starch, but its earliness does not impact yield. “We grow Italian ryegrass after maize and can establish this even in late October. In the past, we’ve established grass with light cultivations but have had to work deeper due to the recent wetter conditions.”
As a cover crop after maize, Italian ryegrass qualifies for the Sustainable Farming Incentive action SOH4, which is currently worth £203/ha, although Jon believes the greater value is the improvement of soil health. “Minimising soil erosion and nutrient losses is the main priority. We terminate the cover crop in spring and apply manure and slurry before drilling maize. I aim to sow maize around 20th April, but recent cold, wet springs has pushed this back to 14th May. We’ll be growing Gema again in 2025, as its early harvest suits our system well”.
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