In December 2017, in partnership with Volac, Germinal conducted a UK silage survey with 187 responses from dairy farmers. A number of findings from the survey were significant and inspired the creation of our 10-point multi-cut grass silage checklist.
89% of farmers aimed to increase milk from forage whether grazed or silaged
64% thought silage making was more important than they had previously believed
With these two statistics in mind, 80% of the dairy farmers surveyed were still taking three cuts or fewer.
In collaboration with Volac, Germinal advised a 10-point checklist to help further improve silaging while offering achievable and measurable steps.
How is silage made?
1. Plan ahead
- Consult your contractor or review your own equipment
- Consider clamp capacity and/or bale storage area
- Set targets for timing, tonnage and quality
- Test soils and slurry over the winter period
2. Reseed to maintain grass leys
- Maintain high-sown species content and ground cover
- Grow mixtures with high yielding varieties, good spring growth and high ME yield/ha
- Only select varieties from Recommended Grass & Clover Lists (RGCL)
3. Over-winter grass swards with optimum cover
- Remove autumn grazing stock by end of December with sward height at 4-5cm
- Walk silage fields to check drainage, mole damage and weed content
- Apply slurry into the soil, not onto the sward, to a maximum of 25,000l/ha
4. Ensure correct crop nutrition
- Avoid heavy slurry applications within 10 weeks of cutting
- Apply any slurry into the soil immediately fields are cleared
- Apply bagged fertiliser as recommended by an agronomist but not exceeding 2 units/acre for each growing day between cuts
5. Cut early and frequently to produce grass silage
- Take first cuts late April – early May (depending on season and location) to maximise ME yield
- Take subsequent cuts at intervals of four to five weeks to maintain quality
- Mow no lower than 6.5 cm to ensure rapid regrowth
6. Wilt quickly for optimum dry matter
- Cut early in the day with a mower with an effective integral conditioner
- Ted out the crop within two hours to maximise speed of drying
- Aim to pick up the same day for a target 28-32% DM silage
7. Apply a proven silage additive to improve fermentation
- Because protein and nitrates may be higher, which buffers the fermentation
- Select an additive containing the most efficient fermentation bacteria
8. Chop long to maintain structural fibre
- Consider a chop length of 5cm or longer for good clamp management
- The typical chop length of a forage wagon can work well with multi-cut
9. Ensile for the best possible fermentation
- Apply best practice approach when clamping or baling
- Roll or compact to squeeze out air
- Seal effectively to maintain airtight conditions
- Ensile in layers to maximise compaction
10. Feed fibre as needed to balance rations
- Ensure sufficient ‘scratch factor’ for optimum rumen function
- Consult your nutritionist to maximise the value of higher energy grass silage
Does multi-cut silage make sense?