Silage fields that have not been grazed or that were closed up before the end of March are already at or maybe even slightly beyond optimum quality. The question is ‘do I cut or do I wait?’

To answer the ‘cut or wait’ question, the key factors of quality silage must be taken into consideration. The first and most important factor is cutting date. The second one is the weather conditions. Thirdly, the application of a quality silage additive, and finally, having ticked off all of the above boxes, the silage clamp must be covered and sealed properly.

According to Agritech’s Sales Director, John Kenny, “deferring the cutting date too far may result in additional and unnecessary expense for farmers.”

“Farmers currently have excellent quality material for harvesting and it is a huge pity to let the current fine spell of weather pass without harvesting silage and possibly end up making lower DMD silage in poorer conditions later in the month.    

“I am also concerned that when this spell of dry weather passes, there will be a surge of growth that will also draw more nitrogen up into the plant. This material when harvested, will bring its own issues with regards to fermentation and the making of a palatable feed for livestock”, says John.

With lengthy dry cow periods no longer in existence, quality silage is an essential requirement for the spring calving cow in late lactation and again when freshly calved, as it will help support early lactation body condition, milk yield and to allow the cow to return to cyclicity as quickly as possible.  

For beef cattle, a daily live-weight gain of 0.6 kg is considered the optimum for winter performance where the animals are returning to grass in the spring. Quality silage will again play a key role in achieving this growth level.

Ensiling Process – Key to quality

 “The application of a proven silage additive at ensiling is a very important part of securing as much of the quality in the winter forage as possible. It speeds up the preservation and retains more of the feed value within the pit, in addition to retaining more actual silage in the pit”, says John.

Agritech’s GrasZyme Sugarboost Forage Additive has long proven itself as an effective silage preservation aid. The unique technology used in the additive has been scientifically proven to reduce unnecessary plant breakdown and ensure reliability even in difficult low-sugar conditions.

GrasZyme Sugarboost is independently proven to deliver on key silage additive criteria, namely improved animal performance and reduced dry matter losses.

A total of 19 independent trials have been shown to deliver:

• + 1 litre of milk per cow per day and .09% milk protein increase
• + 110g daily live-weight gain in beef animals
• 6.1% reduction in dry matter losses

The reduction in dry matter losses alone will cover the cost of purchasing the silage additive, with the extra animal performance coming for free.

John concludes, “With farm margins ever reducing, it is no longer economical to use purchased concentrates to offset poorer quality silage. Farmers must now take the opportunity to make the most efficient use possible of homegrown forage and especially grazed grass and grass silage.”

Get in touch

All Agritech sales representatives and distributors are trained to assist farmers in getting the most from their silage. Assistance is available with choosing the best grass mixture, right up to the point of harvest and the use of a quality silage additive.

To find out more about, GrasZyme Sugarboost, click here

To find your local Agritech sales representative/distributor, click here

Maize silage offers both dairy and beef farmers an opportunity to increase animal performance from home grown forage. Milking cows that are fed maize silage as part of their total forage intake, have milk yield increases of 8%-10% and cattle have shown additional improvements in daily live weight gains. It is one of the most complementary feeds to grass silage as it is high in starch and fibre and is slowly digested in the rumen.

However, to really see these benefits there are a few key steps in managing the crop at harvest that should be followed. Agritech’s Bil Ryan outlines a few tips that will have a positive impact on how your crop of maize performs at feed out.

Harvest Targets

The aim is to harvest your maize crop as close to 30% dry matter and 30% starch content as possible as this gives the best results both in terms of yield and subsequent animal performance. A rough rule of thumb is to have the plant two thirds brown and the cobs fully formed with no soft grains. Once at this stage of maturity it is ready to harvest.

When it comes to harvesting and ensiling the crop, it is best practice not to chop the crop too finely, but to use a corn cracker on the machine to ensure the grain is split open. This is to ensure that at feed out, the animal’s digestive system can fully and easily access the starch.

Pit Preparation

Due to Ireland’s unpredictable weather it can be difficult to get perfect harvest conditions thus providing an obstacle to getting good pit preservation. A helpful tip is to have the silage pit prepared well in advance of expected harvest date; washed out and protective polythene sheets laid down inside the pit walls to facilitate an excellent seal at the pit edges. The risk of soil contamination should also be minimised by having an adequate concrete apron to work off and keep machinery tyres as soil free as possible.

The pit should be filled in thin layers from front to back and each layer well consolidated to remove all air. A poorly compacted pit will run a high risk of secondary heating once opened for feeding.

Achieving Pit Stability

I will readily admit that to achieve all these elements is not easy at farm level. That is why most Irish farmers use an additive such as Agritech’s Ensile Bio. Ensile Bio is specifically manufactured to suit typical Irish conditions. It is designed to preserve the crop in the shortest time possible and does so by producing acids which minimise the growth of yeast and moulds that naturally grow on high dry matter starch crops. By producing these acids rapidly it ensures a stable pit face at feed out for up to 10 days. Pit face stability is extremely important as the energy lost at the pit face could not only reduce animal feed intake but also lead to losses of valuable energy from the clamp.

The final step is to use a vacuum sheet as the first sheet and cover by folding in the two side sheets and fitting the final top sheet. Weigh down with tyres to secure the clamp.

For any further advice on harvesting maize, contact your local Agritech distributor or find out more about Agritech’s Maize additive Ensile Bio by clicking here.