With increased levels of grass growth on many farms at present, this will give an opportunity for surplus grass to be cut as autumn grass silage. While the quality of this grass silage is excellent, preservation is an issue due to a number of factors.

With rapid growth and the days becoming shorter, this grass contains little fibre and is low in dry matter. As a result, water soluble sugar is limited and the natural lactic bacteria which naturally grow on the grass plants in the summer have lower populations at this time of the year.  

To preserve as much true feeding quality in this silage, it is essential to treat with a good quality silage additive like GrasZyme Sugarboost. This will ensure adequate lactic producing bacteria on the crop, leading to rapid fermentation by using both the water soluble and fructan sugars available in the crop. Speeding up the fermentation process will reduce energy losses and ensure 20% less true protein is broken down, making it more available to livestock. 

By ensuring excellent preservation, each 5 KG of quality silage voluntarily eaten by the animal = a saving of 1 KG of purchased ration per day of feeding.

Maize Silage

It is also looking like another bumper year for maize crops in terms of quality and yield. Maize silage 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. Cows fed maize silage as part of their total forage intake have reported milk yield increases of 8%-10%, and cattle have shown increased daily live weight gains.  

Maize silage is an expensive crop to grow and ensile, so pit preservation is critical. Here are some clamping tips to reduce ensileable losses:

1. Ensure pit and loading area are clean.
2. Use side sheeting down by the wall, leaving sufficient plastic to reach half way across the clamp from both side walls.
3. Apply an additive at harvest that has proven to maintain pit face stability at feed out for up 10 days e.g. Ensile Bio
4. Consolidate the clamp well and ensure a level finish.
5. Use three sheets of high quality plastic [one being a vacuum sheet]. Seal down well with sand bags and tyres.
6. Protect the clamp from bird damage by applying Zill cover.
7. Keep a straight, clean clamp face at feed out.
8. Bait the surroundings well to prevent rodent damage.

Pit face stability is extremely important as the energy lost will not only reduce animal feed intake but will also lead to valuable energy losses from the clamp. Untreated clamps are at a high risk of secondary heating which can cause between 10% and 24% waste.

Ensile Bio 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.

The value per acre of maize is €900 plus harvest and the clamping cost of €150 gives a total of €1050 per acre. At 10% spoilage, this equates to €105 per acre of feed that the animals don’t eat. An ensile cost of €35 per acre for a 20 tonne crop is a very cheap insurance on a valuable winter feed.

For any further advice on grass or maize silage or to choose a suitable forage additive, contact your local Agritech distributor or 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.