Silage quality: We are entering into peak silage making time on farms around the country. For most drystock farmers, the aim should be to make the best quality silage possible. The only exception is where there are just dry suckler cows being fed where quality is less important.

Cutting grass silage with a high proportion of stem will reduce silage quality, reduce cattle intakes, reduce cattle performance and increase the amount of concentrates that will be needed to maintain high weight gains indoors. Harvest date is crucial to making quality silage and delaying cutting in late May could lead to a 3% drop in DMD per week. While yield will increase, quality will decrease as cutting is delayed. Good weather windows can be short, so take the opportunity if it comes.

Walk your silage fields and look for signs of emergence of seed heads. A lodged crop lying in wet conditions can result in a rapid decline in quality.

A lodged crop could drop by as much as nine percentage points in one week (75DMD-66DMD). Teagasc estimates that the difference between making 75 DMD silage and 65 DMD silage, is the equivalent of saving €75/livestock unit on a cattle farm. Looking in yards around the country, there is silage left over after the good spring, so this year could be an opportunity to make a little less but increase the quality of the silage. Try and mow in the afternoon as sugars will be highest.

Nitrogen in crop: People worry about nitrogen still being in the crop, but once sugars are high and grass is wilted it should be fine. Work off the principle that grass uses two units/day during the growing season. Aim for a rapid wilt over a 24-hour period and spreading/tedding the grass will result in a faster wilt and will help to increase the dry matter to over 25%, where you want it to be. If it’s a pit roll, seal the pit as quickly as you can. This will help to start the fermentation process quickly. Make sure all effluent channels are clear and effluent can leave the silo quickly and safely. If it’s bales, be careful around stacking and transporting. Stacking bales on their ends, where the most plastic is on the bale, is beneficial.

Where birds are a problem, netting seems to work best to deter them. Silage making is a busy time with machinery moving in field and yards.

Make sure children are supervised at all times and check that all machinery is in good working order with all safety guards in place.

A good safety tip is to trim the grass verge around gaps, where machinery is coming out onto the main road to increase driver visibility. If opting for a second cut aim to get slurry and fertiliser out as quickly as possible to get grass growing again.

BPS amendments: Don’t forget you can add or take off land off your BPS application by completing an online amendment form before 31 May 2019.