Importance of harvesting high-quality silage in 2022

Preparation for first-cut silage is underway on most farms across the country. Aiming to harvest high-quality silage should always be the aim, but this year more than ever it’s importance is being highlighted.

The rising cost of inputs has put a focus on silage to feed stock over the winter. There is a concern over fodder shortages, and farmers must work to avoid this from happening where possible.

At this stage of the year, farmers should be closing their silage fields and slurry should be applied, along with chemical nitrogen (N).

The target for all farmers should be to make 75% DMD (Dry Matter Digestibility) silage this summer.

Quality silage

The higher DMD silage that farms can obtain should reduce their overall feed requirement.

Although many farmers don’t plan on milking cows off silage, high-DMD silage can come in handy at the shoulders of the year.

Weaning heifers also need high-quality feed to continue growing over the housed period; feeding them a poor-quality silage will result in concentrates being required to reached targets.

For example, heifers receiving a 66% DMD will need 1.8-2.2kg of high-quality concentrate feed to maintain the growth levels required.

For farms that will be milking cows over the winter months, higher DMD silage in the total mixed ration (TMR) will reduce the need for off-farm inputs.

Although some level of concentrates will be required, it will be much lower where high-quality silage is being fed to cows.

Fertiliser

The aim from the first cut should be to obtain between 5-6t/ha. The advice from Teagasc this year is that farmers need to spread 80 units/ac, or 100kg/ac of nitrogen (N).

That includes 25kg of N from (3,000 gallons of) slurry and then 75kg from chemical sources.

In previous years the recommendation was 125kg of N/ha, but due to the higher input costs this year the extra 25kg of N/ha does not pay.