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

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. Farmers focus should be centered around increasing efficiencies inside the farm gate such as improving the quality of home grown feed especially grass silage.

To help with this take a look at our 4 step silage guide below:

1. Cutting date

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. Cutting grass younger improves digestibility and protein content, resulting in a reduced requirement for high-cost supplementation. When discussing earlier cutting dates, silage quantity is often raised as an issue. However, it’s important to remember cutting earlier allows for quicker and earlier regrowth’s, leading to increased annual yield/ha.

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 2-3 days thereafter. The advice to improve average quality is to cut from mid-May. Some flexibility in the harvest date of approximately 4-5 days is usually necessary to ensure favourable cutting conditions.

2. Adapting to changes in weather

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, farmers should seize the ‘first-cut option’. In recent years, where the decision was made to wait, the weather unfortunately broke and many farmers were forced to delay harvesting for two weeks.

The 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.

3. Effective wilting

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%.

Where wilting continues for long periods, the grass quality is starting to deteriorate, and significant energy losses are seen. 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.

4. Using a silage additive

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.

The main aim with using a silage 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.

GrasZyme Sugarboost

Our 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.

GrasZyme Sugarboost is proven to:

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

Further information: 

To learn more about our GrasZyme Sugarboost, contact your local Sales Advisor.

One of the biggest challenges facing Irish farmers is being able to feed stock in a way that will give the biggest return on investment. As a standalone feed, silage is expensive to produce, and when a land charge is factored in, first cut silage is now costing in the region of €300 per acre to grow and ensile. It is therefore most important that the desired level of silage quality is achieved as often as possible.

Maximising silage quality has never been more important for Co. Tipperary farmer, Albert Purcell. Albert is a beef and tillage farmer who up until recent years, placed more attention on making quantity versus quality silage. As a result, silage quality and animal performance was poor, leading to an over reliance on purchased concentrates.

With the help of Agritech’s Technical Nutritionist, Bil Ryan, Albert put a plan in place to overcome these challenges. He now gives close consideration to reseeding with good quality grass seed, careful management of the silage pit and using a good quality silage additive.

WATCH ALBERT’S STORY BELOW

Reseeding with quality grass seed  

Pastures can lose quality as they get older, and maintaining a high percentage of perennial ryegrass in the sward is crucial in order to maximise output from the forage. A grass sward containing 100% perennial ryegrass will grow up to 3t DM/ha more than a sward containing 15% perennial ryegrass and it also produces a higher feed quality, thereby increasing animal performance, i.e. milk output and daily live-weight gain.

Bil’s advice to farmers for optimum germination and a successful reseed is achieving a properly prepared seedbed. Applying appropriate nutrients will also help ensure optimum germination and adequate fuel to sustain the new reseed through the winter ahead. At index 3, applying at least 3 bags of 10.10.20, plus 1 tonne of lime is advisable.

Complementing your preparation efforts with the right grass seed mixture is key. According to Bil, “Agritech’s Tipperary Grass Seed Range has a mix for every situation. Our Tipperary Grass No.5 mixture is designed to produce up to five cuts of high quality forage as zero-grazing or three cuts of silage. Our traditional Tipperary Grass No.3 mixture is ideal for two cuts of silage, plus shoulder grazing.”

Reducing ensiling losses  

Reducing ensiling losses is extremely important for improved feed efficiency and greater animal performance. Following the pit management practices outlined below will help;

• Prepare pit well in advance of the expected harvest date; wash out pit and identify any leaks, cracks, and unsealed and eroded joints. Lay down protective layers of sheets inside the pit walls to facilitate an excellent seal at the pit edges.
• The pit should be filled evenly, with each layer of silage no more than 20cm. Each layer should be well consolidated to remove air.
• 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.

Maximising animal performance

Agritech’s GrasZyme SugarBoost Forage Additive has long proven itself as an effective silage preservation aid and has been developed with accelerated fermentation and animal performance as the primary focus. According to Bil, “the ultimate aim from the use of a silage additive is to enhance animal performance, deliver more milk and live-weight gain at feed out and increase farm profitability.”

Having undergone numerous trials on dairy and beef research institutes throughout Ireland and the UK, the additive has shown daily milk yield increases of 1 litre, a 0.09% increase in milk protein and 110 grams extra daily live-weight gain.

The technology used in the additive has also been scientifically proven to reduce unnecessary plant breakdown and ensure reliability even in difficult low sugar conditions. Independent trials have shown that in a 500t clamp, GrasZyme SugarBoost retains an extra 30 tonnes of silage and ensiling dry matter losses of 6.1% were also reported from these trials.

WATCH OUR SILAGE PRESERVATION VIDEO BELOW 

For more information, contact your local Agritech distributor or view our GrasZyme SugarBoost page

“With lengthy dry periods no longer in existence, quality silage is an essential requirement for the freshly calved cow as it will help support early lactation milk yield and 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,” John explains.

Silage samples recently analysed show significant variations in quality, with many Irish beef farms estimating an average of just 66% dry matter digestibility (DMD). The difference between good and bad silage quality has a significant impact on animal performance. In the winter of 2012, Teagasc in conjunction with the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF), conducted a study on weanling performance on 18 farms when housed. The results indicated a significant shortfall in live-weight performance, despite all of the farms feeding 1 – 2.5kg of silage/head/day. Only four of the 18 farms had a daily live-weight gain in excess of 0.51 kg and seven of the farms had an average daily live-weight gain of just 0.25kg.

According to John, silage of 75% DMD in quality must be a target for farms going forward. Quality silage starts with quality grass cut at the correct growth stage. Every silage field which contains a high proportion of perennial ryegrasses will have a sward of 80% DMD by the middle of May. Once grass silage fields go past this, they lose an average of 3% DMD units per week, with this loss increasing to 6% DMD units in poor weather or lodged crops.

“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. In fact, the extra retained silage alone will cover the cost of the additive,” says John.

Our GrasZyme SugarBoost Forage Additive has long proven itself as an effective silage preservation aid and is formulated with accelerated fermentation and animal performance as the primary focus. Having undergone numerous trials on dairy and beef research institutes throughout Ireland and the UK, the additive has shown daily milk yield increases of 1 litre, a 0.09% increase in milk protein and 110g extra daily live-weight gain.

For more information, contact your local Agritech distributor