We’ve received lots of queries from farmers regarding what to do with their silage ground. Normal strategy is to graze off silage ground and close up by 1 April, then fertilise straightaway with a view to cutting and lifting in the last week of May. This plan has been scuppered on most farms this year. Some have managed to graze some or all of their fields intermittently since January. Others have gotten their slurry and fertiliser out on target, but most have neither been able to graze, nor get nutrients out.

The problem on these farms is that their whole silage-making regime is delayed now. One thing all farmers will do after what transpired this spring is to try and bank as much fodder as possible. The fact is that we have a certain window to make this silage, and now have a delayed start which is putting us on the back foot straightaway. Remember, winter started in August for a lot of farmers in 2017 and second cuts were missed.

Given how much national fodder stocks are now depleted, this would be a complete disaster if it happened again.

Targets don’t change

The whole point of grazing silage ground pre-cutting is to get rid of the dead material that will have built up at the base of the sward over the winter. Obviously in a good spring it means that we can get animals out too and reduce our reliance on silage, but this largely wasn’t the case this year. Grazing silage ground pre-cutting has been shown to improve DMD (digestibility) values by 3-4%. This quality kick is the equivalent of 1kg less concentrate feed required in the diet of a beef weanling per day for the same level of performance.

Dilemma

The fact that most farmers have not got their silage ground grazed or fertilised yet leaves them with a dilemma. The week so far has shown improvement in soil temperatures and there will be a flurry of activity over the weekend should the promised good weather arrive. But should farmers graze or close up?

For me, unless there is a heavy cover of grass (>6-7cm), we should fertilise these ungrazed fields and aim to cut in late May. Yes, what we take in will likely be poorer quality than we are used to making in a normal year when we can hit the above dates and targets. However, if covers are tight and green at this stage after a good grazing late in 2017, what we make should be every bit as good as if we’d grazed.

The big issue with this strategy will be yield – fertiliser will be almost a fortnight late for some and, if we’re aiming to cut on the same day as a typical year, that will mean spreading less nitrogen to ensure we don’t negatively affect our silage crop. Click here for advice on fertilising for first-cut silage, based on a field’s P and K status.

Some will say it’s madness to be recommending this – taking a lighter first cut after a fodder crisis. But remember, a late first cut means a late second cut

Where there are heavier covers than this on silage ground, we can either take the hit on quality and push ahead with fertilising and cutting plans, or we can take this ground out of our silage plans and look to graze it, swapping in other fields with lighter covers. Both are valid options. Indeed, there is a definite place for moderate-quality silage on spring-calving suckler farms for feeding dry cows. By including some heavier covers in our first cut we are also potentially making up for lost yields if we reduce our N application and stay with the same cutting date.

Some will say it’s madness to be recommending this – taking a lighter first cut after a fodder crisis. But remember, a late first cut means a late second cut. Many farmers will aim for bulk with their first cut, fertilising hard while second cut nitrogen is often shirked on. This year, we should be flipping this strategy on its head. There is no reason why a second cut cannot have a higher feeding value than a first cut. We use both time and extra nitrogen to bulk up our second cut. The latter is definitely a safer bet, but there’s no doubt that many farmers will allow extra second cut production time if the weather allows this summer regardless, remnants of what has been a taxing spring still on their minds. All of us will be looking to restock our war chests this year. A big second cut is one way of doing it, but there are others too.

Lighter soils

Farmers on lighter soils may argue that they find it hard to bulk up a second cut. If this is the case, other options include looking to buy in bales early on in the summer, or making a deal with a local tillage farmer. Damaged paddocks that will need reseeding could also be sown with a winter forage crop to graze out late in the year before cattle are housed, though take potential ground conditions into account.

In the past few weeks we have been closely monitoring the fodder situation on farms in our BETTER farm beef programme. The recurring theme is one of relief – relief that they measured grass almost religiously in 2017 and baled quickly when their farms were in a state of surplus grass.

Brian Doran from Wicklow made 330 “unplanned” bales on a 48ha farm. How valuable were these bales to him this spring?

Towards the end of the grazing season we can let skipped paddocks bulk up if necessary – we will have a good feel for the silage situation by then

Indeed, every single one of our BETTER farm participants was able to bolster their main silage hauls with paddock surplus bales in a similar way. Often, these bales are the highest feed-value silage we make if we’re early to move with the mower when surplus is identified.

Yes, we’re taking bales at a rate of 3-5/acre. The argument that “my contractor won’t be happy” doesn’t wash – it’s guaranteed that they already have a good number of clients actively taking surplus bales in this way. Towards the end of the grazing season we can let skipped paddocks bulk up if necessary – we will have a good feel for the silage situation by then. In places where cattle are housed towards the end of the summer for finishing, skipping paddocks and letting them bulk up for silage or add to a main second cut is an ideal strategy for maintaining grass quality if growth is still at a high rate.

Too often grass is not treated as a physical mass of feed until it’s wrapped, in the yard. Changing this philosophy can be the single easiest way to curb any potential future fodder deficits on livestock farms.

Read more

Feeding our silage crop

Making the most of current fodder reserves