Silage time on drystock farms

Good quality silage reduces requirement for meal feeding. Don't delay cutting date as quality will be impacted. Niall Kerins, Teagasc drystock advisor, Kilrush, Co. Clare emphasises the point of cutting silage early to achieve this. He has good preservation tips and advice as silage season continues

Good quality silage reduces requirement for meal feeding. Weanlings fed excellent silage (75% DMD) along with 1 kg meal over winter potentially gain 0.5-0.6 kg/LW/day. In comparison to feeding poorer quality (60% DMD) silage, up to 2-3kg meal per day must be supplemented to achieve the same live weight gain.

Remember meal is heading towards €500 per tonne!

Preservation advice

Silage quality is largely dependent on the grass growth stage, cutting date, perennial ryegrass content but also preservation plays a significant role in the process. The aim when conserving silage is to reduce pH levels for fermentation while eliminating oxygen from the pit or bale. Harvest grass when it’s leafy and has good dry matter and sugar percentage with little stem material. This will inevitably result in a good quality feed which is highly digestible and palatable while helping achieve live weight gain on dry stock farms.

Silage making tips

To get maximum return from silage, what principles should I take on my drystock farm this year? 

• Test silage if high nitrogen levels in silage are a concern for you.
• Cutting date can have a major effect on the Dry Matter Digestibility. Target to cut first-cut silage in late May or early June, before grass goes to seed. Delaying cutting date each week thereafter reduces DMD percentage by 2-3% per week.
• Sugar content is very important which will gives palatable silage. In warm weather conditions, mow out silage in the afternoon as this is when the sugar content is at its peak in the grass plant. Mowing at this time traps the sugar content in the grass.
• Allow wilting for 24 to 36 hours, this reduces water content, the aim here is for a 25 – 30% dry matter percentage. Wilting helps improve sugar levels and reduce silage effluent levels.
• Transport silage/bales to the yard in a safe manner. Cover the silage pit with polythene and tighten plastic again when the pit has settled, removing further air pockets. With bale silage, repair any torn plastic when bales are stacked.
• Replenish soil fertility reserves with slurry through low emission technology or with chemical fertiliser.
• Allow one week between applying slurry and chemical fertilisers on the farm.

In Summary 

Attention to detail needs to be at the forefront when harvesting excellent quality silage in 2022, remember every bale is valuable. Complete a fodder budget now to assess your demands ahead of next winter’s housing period. Every prediction indicates that concentrate feed costs will be at an all-time high later in the year when livestock are housed.

Therefore, producing excellent quality silage, along with sufficient quantities to meet demand helps reduce dependency on purchased concentrates while still achieving adequate animal live weight gain. 

You might also like to read Feed budgeting and fertilising for second cut silage | Read more about Securing your winter feed at Food and Feed Security

Discuss completing a fodder budget with your Teagasc advisor at your local Teagasc office 

Along with Teagasc specialists and researchers, Teagasc advisors also regularly provide articles of interest on Teagasc Daily.