Silage production should be carefully considered

Producers should think about how much silage they need, rather than how much they can make this season, according to EBLEX‘s Liz Genever.

With cereal and straw rations currently offering attractive winter beef and sheep feeding options, and grazed grass being of undisputed value over the summer months, silage production should be considered carefully.

“At an estimated 6.5p/kg dry matter, well managed grazed grass is the most economic summer feed for beef and sheep. However, grass silage currently costs about 14p/kg DM so wider use of cereals or arable co-products and straw may be more economical over the coming winter.”

And integrating conservation with grazing will be even more important to avoid compromising performance at grass in pursuit of what might be an expensive winter feed.

“Fundamental to this will be making the amount and quality of winter forage actually required for specific stock and minimising unnecessary losses,” stresses Dr Genever.

“Post-harvest silage dry matter losses in the field, storage and feeding out can easily amount to 25% or more, substantially increasing the amount that needs to be made and, as a direct consequence, the availability of summer grazing.”

Alongside a flexible management approach, which puts a clear priority on grazing and focuses silage making on using surplus summer forage, EBLEX recommends assessing last year’s silage by analysis and visual inspection to identify areas for improvement.

“Producers should also carefully match cutting dates to grass ear emergence for the type of silage required,” she says.

“Cut when about 50% of ears have emerged for a 66 D-value forage, earlier for high quality at the expense of yield and later where quantity is key.”

* For an idea of how grass is growing in your area and information on grass management, visit our grass watch pages