Click on the following crops for a detailed description.

Maize is a domesticated form of a wild grass, first cultivated over 5,000 years ago in tropical Mexico that produces an adaptable and productive grain. It has been inextricably linked with the rise of the South American civilizations and following their conquest by the Spanish, it was exported around the world. It was introduced to the UK in the early part of the twentieth century.

Today the bulk of maize production occurs in the US, China and Brazil. In the more northerly climates like that of the UK where there is insufficient summer warmth to ripen the crop, maize is grown largely for forage. Here it has become an important crop being the most important forage after grass with around 100,000 hectares grown annually, mainly in the south of the country. Nearly all is ensiled to produce a quality, high-energy silage that complements grass silage for the winter feeding of livestock.

Forage maize is relatively easy to grow and being drought tolerant is a consistent provider of high yields with minimum input from the farmer. From a practical point of view, forage maize also spreads the silage making season – maize is ensiled in September or October, long after most grass silage making has finished.