Rural Life
Kilbehenny National School, Co. Limerick, will stage a tractor/vintage run tomorrow (Sunday,...
Dairy
As we get closer to second cut silage preparation, now it is time to look ahead and put a fodder budget in place as a lot of farmers may be...
As first-cut silage is being harvested and stored on many farms across the country, it is time to...
Environment
Approximately 19M grass silage bales are made in Ireland on an annual basis, a figure that is likely to increase significantly.
From using calving cameras for CCTV, to creating physical barriers at gates, coming up with ways to prevent the theft of bales has become a necessity for many farmers.
N.Ireland
A farmer in Northern Ireland resorted to setting up video camera surveillance after repeated thefts of silage bales from one of his fields.
Dairy Technical
Silage bales have a role to play on almost every Irish livestock farm, with silage contributing between 25% and 40% of dairy and beef animals diets.
Machinery News
Main-season first-cut silage has kicked off over the past week on farms across Ireland with the arrival of more settled weather conditions.
Agri-Business
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has reminded farmers about the storage requirements for silage bales.
Round bales of silage are trading for as high as €60/bale delivered in some parts of the country, sources have confirmed to Agriland.
Grass is key to Irelands agricultural production model, with grazed grass and silage used at different times of the year to feed our livestock.
Silage contributes between 25-40% of the annual diet of beef and dairy animals, with over two thirds of farmers making silage bales.
Beef
While the initial burst to make silage has been dampened by unfavorable weather conditions, farmers are - and will be - busy working the fields.
Grass
Yesterday morning Criostoir O'Crualaoi was driving to work when he noticed that a perpetrator had "ran a knife right down the rows of bales".
A UK farmer came in for a nasty surprise this week to find several of his bales damaged or destroyed following a vandalism attack.
Drumshanbo's 'Stylish Silage' competition is back this year with more entries and additional prize money, according to An Tostal festival chairman Hugh James Gallagher.
There is a large variation in silage prices across the country. Quality is also variable and farmers need to choose carefully.
Grass growth is down 30% on some farms around the country, as dairy cows fall back on yield by as much as 5L, according to reports.
After the fine growing conditions over the last couple of weeks, many farmers have cut pit silage. The question now is- have you got enough?
There is no difference between baled and pit silage in terms of quality, according to Teagasc's Dr. Joe Patton.
While standard specs of silage film (750x1500) are the norm there are alternatives available. Are these worth looking at or is standard best?
Maurice Keady, a Sales Manager with the Irish silage wrap plastic company, Silawrap, has given advice for bales of silage made at this time.
There is a diverse range of silage cutting prices from various agricultural contractor businesses around the country at present.
