Winner named in silage stakes

South Yorkshire Grassland Society started the latest round of its traditional competition last November, when members took a carrier bag full of their best to a meeting.

They all scored each other ‘blind’ and the five samples with the most points went for analysis by forage specialists Biotal. Three finalists then went through a farm visit by an independent judge who checked on storage and utilisation.

Charles Platts from Home Farm, West Bretton, is the latest holder of the silage cup. The South Yorkshire Society takes in West Yorkshire for historical reasons.

Mr Platts, 33, farms with his father, Philip, running cattle for dairy and beef – and some sheep who take the grass down nicely so it is all fresh when it comes up in spring.

He said: “We knew we had concentrated sugars last summer because of all the sunshine. Unfortunately, the trade-off was not much quantity.”

The grass was cut from maintained leys – all replanted within the past five years – and chopped by local contractor Matthew Hardy.

The two Mr Platts clamped it using a double-wrap they have been trying out – first a kind of clingfilm sold under the name ClampFilm and then standard black plastic.

n Guest speaker at the next meeting of the Grassland Society, on Thursday, will be Canadian farmer Neil Dennis, a rotational grazing pioneer who sometimes runs a thousand cattle on an acre. Contact [email protected] or call 01924 495130.

The next day, Friday March 16, Mr Dennis will be running a workshop with a Yorkshire follower, David Hugill, at West Arrathorne Farm, Bedale.

To book a free place, email davidhugill2@aol. com or call 0770 313 4248 or 01642 701102.