The time to start preparing a silage budget for the 2024/25 feeding season is now

Watch more of our videos on ShotsTV.com 
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
Visit Shots! now
Preparing for the 2024/25 feeding season was an important topic of discussion at the recent soil to silo workshop hosted by United Feeds on the Limavady farm of Andrew Dale, Richard Halleron writes.

“With the current silage season well underway across the country, everyone is aware of the challenging grass growth rates in recent weeks. We are mindful of the number of farms currently eating into first cut stocks,” confirmed United Feeds’ nutritionist Jenny Hamilton.

She added: “This, coupled with lighter crops of second cuts, could mean some farms will be tight for forage stocks.

“That said, we can’t manage what we don’t measure, so we’re encouraging early silage budgeting to calculate tonnages on each farm.

David Quance of Passion Ag speaking at the Limavady workshop, keen to hear about the benefits of oxygen barrier covers to improve fermentation.David Quance of Passion Ag speaking at the Limavady workshop, keen to hear about the benefits of oxygen barrier covers to improve fermentation.
David Quance of Passion Ag speaking at the Limavady workshop, keen to hear about the benefits of oxygen barrier covers to improve fermentation.

“United Feeds’ advisors are available to help clients work out how much silage they have and assess if additional forage will be needed to get them through the coming winter”.

The most recent Grass Check figures confirm a significant dip in grass production on farms across Northern Ireland for the month of June.

But of equal significance is the tremendous variation in grass output – up to 20kg of dry matter per hectare per day difference has been recorded on farms, depending on their location.

These differences have been attributed to the very wide variations in soil moisture levels. This scenario is having a major impact on grazed grass availability, on a day-to-day basis, and the silage yields that have been achieved over recent weeks.

Bryan Buckley of Lallemand speaking at the recent Limavady workshop on how silage additives can maximise fermentation and improve feed quality of silage.Bryan Buckley of Lallemand speaking at the recent Limavady workshop on how silage additives can maximise fermentation and improve feed quality of silage.
Bryan Buckley of Lallemand speaking at the recent Limavady workshop on how silage additives can maximise fermentation and improve feed quality of silage.

The quantity of silage available on farm is highly significant. But of equal importance is the quality of these forages.

The reality is that ‘grass silage is the most important component of the diet offered to stock on dairy and beef farms for at least six months of the year.

And the quality of the silages included in the rations fed to stock will have a direct impact on the level of subsequent performance achieved.

These issues were discussed in detail at a recent soil to silo workshop, hosted by United Feeds on the Limavady farm of Andrew Dale. He places the attainment of optimal milk from forage levels as the bedrock of his business.

The event was held against the backdrop of grass silage quality having fault lines on farms across Northern Ireland over recent years.

Performance achieved in terms of both milk output and daily liveweight gain is a product of dry matter intake and the metabolisable energy (ME) of the forage.Thus, farmers attending the workshop were told that they must maximise the dry matter feeding value of the silages that they produce.

Obviously, weather plays a key role in driving grass growth rates on a day to day basis. This is a factor that farmers have no control over. However, all the other variables in the silage making process can be influenced directly by those making the forages: cutting dates, grass wilting periods, crop management in the field, forage chop length, the use of an inoculant and the entire ensiling process that follows.

Bryan Buckley, Irish Business Manager -Lallemand Animal Nutrition, addressed all these issues, courtesy of his presentation to the workshop.

Significantly, he highlighted neutral detergent fibre (NDF) values as the key arbiter when it comes to determining optimal grass cutting dates.

It is feasible to test grass prior to cutting for a number of key, quality-related parameters. These include NDF together with metabolisable energy (ME); dry matter (DM), protein, d sugars and free nitrate levels.

He explained:The NDF value is a measure of the total fibre content of the plant. NDF can rapidly increase in the space of a week, dropping the ME value.

“For a multi-cut system an NDF value in the range 38 to 40% should be targeted. This represents the figure at which grass yields and quality are best aligned from a silage production perspective.”

The other target values for pre-cut grass are - DM:20%; protein: greater than 15%; sugars: greater than 15%; ME: greater than 12 mega joules and free nitrates (fresh): less than 1,000mg/kg

Where mowing is concerned, the Lallemand representative recommended an optimal grass cutting height of 8cm, but no less than 6cm.

Grass should be cut to a height that leaves a reasonable length of stubble behind in the field: 8 – 10cm is recommended. Buckley continued:

“This approach offers three key benefits:firstly,it ensures that the cut grass is resting on a stubble cushion that promotes air flow into the forage aiding the wilting process, and crucially allows air flow underneath the sward, which is usually the wettest area, also helping dry the ground beneath. Secondly, as the grass is raised off the ground it helps reduce the likelihood of soil contamination from tedding, raking and during pick up. And finally, it leaves a strong growing point on the remaining grass plant, resulting in a much quicker regrowth.”

The use of a mower: conditioner is strongly recommended as a means of getting a faster wilt in the field.

Cut grass should be spread within two hours of cutting in order to boost the wilting process.

The aim is to get the sward dry matter up to 30%. In good conditions, cut grass dry matters will increase at a rate of 1% per hour.

However, the first two hours after cutting are critical. Beyond this period the stomata in the leaves of the grass will start to close, thereby significantly reducing the rates of wilting that can be achieved.

Bryan Buckley again:

“Tedding helps the grass to dry. However, the process should only be carried out once. Ideally the grass crops should be cut, tedded once, raked up into windrows, picked up and then chopped, all within 24 hours”.

“Silage in a day is the key,” said Buckley.

“Grass wilted to 30% dry matter will produce zero effluent.”

He added that forage contamination with the likes of soil and slurry solids is now an increasing issue on Irish farms.

Specifically, where slurry is concerned, Buckley advised that it should be thoroughly mixed, diluted with water if necessary and spread prior to rain falling.

In this way, the solid material within the slurry will be quickly washed down to the roots of the grass.

Ensiling technique is also critically important when it comes to making conserved forages of the highest quality. The aim is to get the pH within the clamp down to a value 4.0 as quickly as possible.

Achieving this requires a silo to be filled in very thin layers – approximately 20cms – and consolidated on that basis. This approach ensures that the maximum amounts of oxygen are removed from the clamp: silage making is an anaerobic process.

Buckley also pointed out that grass should be drawn in from the fields closest to a silo first.

He added:

“This approach allows more time for effective consolidation of the clamp to be achieved.”

Clamp height is also an important factor in determining the levels of forage consolidation achieved and possible risks associated with slippage within a silo after it has been opened. According to Bryan Buckley, silage clamps should be no higher than five metres.

To help achieve the rapid pH drop and reduce both dry matter and forage quality losses during the fermentation process, Buckley recommends the use of a proven inoculant as part of the silage making process, adding:“Liquid additives are more effective than powders. This is because they can be mixed more effectively within the grass crop that is to be ensiled”.

Lallemand Animal Nutrition manufactures the Sil-All range of silage inoculants which are available exclusively in Northern Ireland via United Feeds. They are powders, which are activated by the addition of water prior to application.

Each element within Sil-All 4x4+ acts to do a specific role within the fermentation process across a wide range of dry matter forages.

This leads to a fast fermentation: resulting in reduced in-silo losses; the maximum recovery of nutrients and ultimately more silage to feed out from the crop ensiled.

Sil-All 4x4+ also acts to enhance aerobic stability of the silage face at feed out. Again, this is maximising the value of the crop ensiled.

Sealing a silo effectively is also a very important part of the silage making process. At a very fundamental level, keeping air out of a silo acts to reduce forage losses while also maintaining optimal fermentation conditions throughout the clamp.

Recent years have seen the growing use of ‘oxygen barriers’ in this context. David Quance, from Passion Ag, discussed the use of this evolving technology at the Limavady workshop.

He explained that the role of oxygen barriers as silo covers was first identified in 1998 with technological advancements being achieved in this filed at an exponential rate over the past 26 years.

Quance further explained:

“Passion Ag entered the market in 2016. Our teamwere the first to pioneer the use of oxygen barrier materials, which greatly restricts oxygen contact with silage thereby significantly reducing waste in the top layers of a bunk or pile”.

“The Team at Passion Ag was the first to implement 9-layer technology in silage covers, enabling the business to manufacture high-barrier films with superior mechanical properties”.

He added:

“Passion film is a true oxygen barrier. Options include an under sheet or an all-in-one sheet”.

“A wall film is also available”

Oxygen barriers have been shown to markedly reduce losses of nutrients and energy at the top and shoulders of the clamp.

Oxygen barrier film stops more oxygen passing through the protective plastic covering, which initially minimizes aerobic respiration, and then continues to prevent aerobic spoilage throughout the storage and feed out periods.

In addition, oxygen barrier film achieves a proper seal by following the contours of the surface, clinging to the surface and filling-in the gaps.

This helps eliminate visible surface spoilage. In contrast, standard plastic will trap oxygen underneath, which leads to surface spoiled silage.

Driving the successes achieved by Passion Ag is the use of nine layered technology, comprising sheets of polyethylene and a range of barrier materials.

David Quance again:

“This approach ensures that the flow of oxygen into a clamp fromthe surrounding atmosphere is almost totally eliminated”.

“In addition, Passion Ag covers are strong enough to walk on. They act to save labour and ration formulation costs while also improving animal health and performance levels”.

Trials undertaken in a number of countries have consistently confirmed that oxygen barrier films act to reduce top surface loss within a clamp by 50%

Moreover, inedible silage levels were reduced by 72%. This means less risk of accidental feeding of spoiled silage to livestock.

And, finally, it has been shown that the aerobic stability of silages at feed out is higher by a factor of 2½ days for forages under an oxygen barrier film relative to those maintained under a standard silo cover.

Meanwhile, the thoughts of dairy and livestock farmers in Northern Ireland will soon be turning to the preparations they need to make for the winter feeding season that beckons.

Of the first cut samples analysed so far, cutting dates around the 1st May have produced ME values of 11.5-11.8. For cutting dates beyond 20th May a more typical ME value is 10.5 down to 10.2. Dry matters are very variable. Initial trends in other parts of the UK are indicating a decline in first cut quality on average. Work carried out over recent weeks by Trouw Nutrition GB on 500 forage samples point to average ME value of 11 mega joules with dry matter, protein and NDF figures coming at 33.7%, 14.4% and 46.7% respectively.

United Feeds are grateful to the Dale Family for hosting the on-farm workshop and welcome any enquiries for additional information relating to issues addressed.

Related topics:
News you can trust since 1963
Register
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice