Forage Analysis

Given the year, everyone will be dam glad of every bit of silage/forage they have, irrespective of the quality. Grass silage is a massive input on most Irish farms however and must not be used under the unknown. If all costs, including a land charge are taken under consideration, this feedstuff soaks up a €30/tonne fresh weight investment but probably has a value closer to €50/tonne this winter. If 100 acres of silage is sitting in your yard, it’s more than likely a bank of fodder worth €50,000 in today’s market. Would you purchase and feed €50,000 worth of meal without asking for a label or specification?

There definitely will be a huge variability in the specification of silage fed this winter and the value of being able to glance at your pit or stack of bales and know exactly what your feeding cannot be underestimated.

Typical Range in Silage Quality Analysis

If Micheal in Navan was blending up batches of feed and labelling it with a Crude Protein content of 10% - 15%, we certainly would be questioning his methods. Perhaps our Beef 15 ration could then be re-branded Beef 10 -15.

Too often we are either over or under estimating the value of our silage, this either costs money in the form of concentrates fed in excess to requirements or lost animal performance.

Examples

1 A bullock on ad-lib 75 DMD silage will gain 0.83kg/day whereas the same bullock consuming 60 DMD silage will gain 0.5kg less. Four kg of meal would need to be fed alongside the 60 DMD silage to achieve the same level of weight gain as the 75 DMD silage.

2 Alternatively spring calved cows milking this November/December on a high crude protein September cut of silage, could easily be fed a 16% protein blend instead of a more widely fed 18%. There is obviously a monetary saving in this case from dropping the crude protein content of the ration while also maintaining performance.

3 A dry cow requires in the region of 12kg of dry matter per day. If she is eating 28% dry matter silage, her fresh weight allocation needs to be 43kg/day. In a contrasting situation where 20% dry matter silage is available, her daily allocation in fresh weight must be 60kg

Know Your Weight

Everyone knows that livestock will eat you out of house and home when allowed access to ad lib forage. If like many, you are rationing silage this winter, it may be worth acquiring the weight of one of your blocks, buckets or bales of silage. A block of silage could be weighed by filling a trailer with 5-10 blocks of silage and weighing it a local bridge. Your nearest Drummonds branch will always be happy to help on this front.

Those who test silage yearly, have the information to pin-point where silage making went wrong or right in a given year or between years. This is useful as it sets a standard to improve off the back of.

You have put all this time, effort and money into producing what is most likely a home-grown quality feedstuff, don’t treat silage with uncertainty – get it tested now as cattle are housed and pits/bales are opened.