Farmers have a tool that shows precisely when it is best to cut the grass so that the cows get the best fodder.

Grass that is kept as silage is an important part of the winter feed for cows and it is important for farmers to cut the grass at the point when the amount of grass is greatest, and the quality and the possibility of drying is best.

The outlook for dry weather is important but many farmers today do not only look at the sky above or the weather forecasts. They use the so-called “Cutting forecast” that can be found on “LandbrugsInfo”, the Knowledge Centre for Agriculture internet home page for technical matters.

It’s not easy to look at a clover grass field and decide which day is best to cut the grass to obtain the best silage for the cows. The “Cutting forecast” collects climatic data for the local area where the farm is located and, based on temperature and solar radiation, calculates the grass growth and the quality it has in the coming weeks.

- In the forecast one can not only see the amount but also the energy, protein and sugar content in the grass. The programme is based on local post districts to allow a precise forecast, says specialist  Karsten Atterman Nielsen, Knowledge Centre for Agriculture, Crop Production Department, who has developed  “Cutting forecast”.

- "Cutting forecast” is of course not infallible but it is continually under improvement and after 4 years we can see that farmers are greatly assisted today because they have a good climatic forecast to guide them, says Karsten Attermann Nielsen.