WHEN dairy farmer Andrew Marsh moved to Cornwall 15 years ago he didn't let anything prevent him from growing forage maize for his cows.

"At that time there wasn't a maize drill in the county and the nearest contractor with a maize harvester was at Saltash, nearly back in Devon," said Mr Marsh.

The Marsh family were so convinced Cornwall was right for themselves, and maize, that they made the momentous decision to move lock, stock and barrel to the county. "My father and younger brother sold up the family farm near Newbury and we all settled in two farms near Truro," said Mr Marsh.

Andrew was managing a farm in Dorset and already had a decade of maize growing experience. Dairy stock from father and brother's unit formed the backbone of the new herd and between them they milk 400 cows on two units. Now with 25 years of experience in growing maize, Andrew and his family are exploiting a new era in maize technology by planting new stay green varieties that break with convention.

"We feed a TMR diet all the year round, so it is essential we have enough maize for a full 12 months and one that is taken up well by the cows," said Andrew.

This season he is doubling the area planted to a new and highly palatable stay green variety called Nescio, by Nickerson, adding to the LG Allstar already grown on both units.

Nickerson argue strongly that maize growing should not just seek cob starch, as is the orthodox view, but it can also supply energy and digestibility from the soluble sugars in the stem and leaf. The LG plant breeding range they supply has 30 plus years of breeding experience that is providing consistent results in different growing areas.

The evidence this winter from Andrew's Bodrean Manor Farm concurs with this thinking and claims, as Mr Marsh points out. "Our cows are HF high genetic merit, and they are not overly big, but still intake is the name of the game. A cow that eats more, produces more milk. I'm very pleased with the results from the maize we grow," he said.

"High starch maize in my experience is very much harder to manage, cows can get too fat and you can have calving and dry cow problems. I think the stay green maize is much easier to manage and reliable to grow here," added Mr Marsh.

He places animal welfare very high on his list of priorities; Holstein Friesians are milked twice a day, 12 hours apart, and fed ad lib from troughs. Each cow is regarded as an individual. Bull semen selection is by a computer data system where bulls are matched to the cows' own breeding type. This results in as friendly a system as possible for the herd.

"I do the 3am milking and the only other full time labour on the farm, the herdsman, does the 3pm milking. Very early milking means by 7pm at night I'm shattered, but I believe it's much better for the cows," said Mr Marsh.

Initially Bodrean Manor Farm was used for rearing heifer replacements for the main unit at Resugga, but a decision to reinvest in the parlour and buildings was made, and in 1999 milk production started from the 187 workable acres unit that year.

A level milk production was decided upon to fit in with the milk buyer's wishes - then Unigate, now taken on by Dairy Crest. The herd of 150 milkers produce a rolling average yield of 9,200 litres each with butterfats at 4 per cent and proteins at 3.5 per cent.

"The cows are managed and fed in three groups during the winter, dependant on their stage in the lactation or yield, and I'm restricted only by cubicle space available at the time," said Mr Marsh.

The ratio and mix with grass silage and supplements depends on the silage analysis and is produced by Hampshire based dairy nutritionist specialist John Miller.

Top yielders will have 60/40 maize with the rest at 50/50; Mr Marsh prefers to keep maize at least at these levels. The three winter groups are split on daily production yield at 42 litres, 36 and 28 litres and are fed straights, at up to 3 kilos with mineral supplements accordingly.

"Both farms are costed independently and I buy my straights through my brother who can get artic truck deliveries. We make two blends, an energy one based on wheat and sugar beet and a protein blend based on Argentinean soya, rape seed pellets and maize distillers," said Mr Marsh.

Cornwall has always been considered a good candidate for maize growing, but its mild climate benefits are usually felt most during winter months as spring weather can be as variable as anywhere in the UK.

"In a good season we can drill maize on April 15. It is mild here but we can get cold during May. The key factor for growing maize down here is early vigour. Nescio scores very well on this trait, which gives me peace of mind. I also find maize planting fits in well as a cleaning crop between reseeding grassland," said Mr Marsh.

In 2003 the 55 acres of maize at Bodrean yielded a superb 1,000 tonnes of silage and Mr Marsh is hoping to get at least the regular average of 14-15 tonnes an acre this season. "The 18 tonnes an acre was great last season, and as I find the uniformity of maize silage much easier and better for the cows I'm very happy to be feeding as much of it as I can," he said.