If poor grazing conditions highlighted anything this spring, it was that silage quality will dictate animal performance when grass in the diet is limited.

This is the view of Maeve Regan, head of Ruminant Nutrition with Agritech Ireland.

“Silage quality and profitability of farming enterprises have long been assessed side by side, with the current climate emphasising this even more for the upcoming silage season,” she said.

Maeve has outlined four key considerations regarding best practice when making silage this coming season.

At one point, every farm will have 80% dry matter digestibility (DMD) grass available to them in the field. However, the decision is often made too late regarding the cutting date, resulting in poor-quality silage, she said.

“Cutting grass younger improves digestibility and protein content, resulting in a reduced requirement for high-cost supplementation," she added.

“In some circumstances, for example silage-only land blocks, earlier cutting will facilitate a third cut in late-August, further boosting total annual silage production.

“Once seed heads appear, DMD will be around 70% at most, and will drop by 1% DMD every two to three days thereafter,” Maeve said.

The advice to improve average quality is to cut from mid-May. Some flexibility in the harvest date of approximately four to five days is usually necessary to ensure favourable cutting conditions.  

Weather is the main variable on Irish farms when it comes to silage making. Unexpected changes in weather can and will delay harvesting, however when the window of opportunity arises, Maeve advised farmers to seize the ‘first-cut option’.

“In the past few years, where the decision was made to wait, the weather unfortunately broke and many farmers were forced to delay harvesting for two weeks," she said.

“Optimum mowing time is late-afternoon or evening, following several hours of sunshine when sugars are high.

“Sugar is the fuel for fast and efficient fermentation,” Maeve added.

Once cut, grass should be tethered immediately and in ideal conditions allowed no more than 24 hours in the field to achieve an effective wilt.

“Farmers should be aiming for a dry matter content of approximately 25%,” Maeve said.

"Over the last number of years, we have become over-reliant on long periods of wilting, and in many cases over-wilting, leading to dry silage and unstable pit-faces. Dry silage is prone to secondary fermentation, heating, and energy losses,” she said.

With the value that is now placed on home-grown forage, achieving a good fermentation to preserve it is more critical than ever. The use of an additive has long been proven to improve fermentation, leading to less waste.

Maeve said that aside from less dry matter losses, the main aim with using an additive is to retain as much nutritional value as possible from the field to the pit.

“Silage treated with an additive has been proven to achieve a better feed-out, with increased dry matter intakes, added energy content and increased digestibility, resulting in improved animal performance," she said.

Agritech’s GrasZyme Sugarboost forage additive has long proven itself as an effective silage preservation aid.

The technology used in the additive has been scientifically proven in independent trials to reduce unnecessary plant breakdown and ensure reliability even in difficult low-sugar conditions.

Agritech’s GrasZyme Sugarboost is proven to:

Increase ADG by 110g/head/day in beef situations;
Increase milk production from forage by 1L/cow/day;
Increase DM intakes by 0.4kg/head/day;
Increase milk protein percentages by 0.09%;
Reduce fermentation losses by 6.1% (equates to 30t in a 500t pit).

For more information on best practice silage making and for a tailored plan on improving forage quality on your farm, contact your local Agritech sales advisor or click here.