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With a small window of settled, drier weather in late October, there was a flurry of silage activity in pockets of the country.
While this forage will be greatly valued by those farmers who were running short on silage, it will have a low feed value and also have a low dry matter.
Handling such silage can be a problem. Outlined are five tips to make the best use of silage made in late autumn.
1. Feed as early as possible
Silage cut in late October will have a low sugar content, therefore it will have a poor fermentation. Poorly fermented silage will spoil faster, causing mould to form.
When cows are fed silage with a high level of mould it can abort calves and can also lead to meningitis in other cattle.
Therefore, use as much of the late-season silage now and save the drier silage for use later in winter. This will prevent a build of mouldy, late-season silage that will be fed later in winter.
2. Target low-priority groups
As late-season silage has little feed value, target it to dry cows now. They will have a lower nutritional demand compared with autumn cows in milk or finishing cattle.
If feeding to weanlings, you will need to supplement with 2kg to 3kg per day of meal to maintain weight gains of 0.4kg to 0.6kg per day.
3. Feed at a faster rate
Due to the poor fermentation of late-season silage, it will spoil quickly once it is opened and exposed to air. Palatability will also decrease, increasing the amount of waste.
Therefore, once bales or the pit is opened, you need to feed it as quickly as possible.
Rather than feeding one bale per pen of cattle, divide one bale over two pens to increase the rate the bale is consumed.
If working with pit silage, take a half grab of silage each time. That way you move across the pit face faster, keeping it fresh and reducing the amount of waste.
4. Use stacked bales first
Ideally, bales of wet silage should be stacked in a single row. Having bales stacked on top of others will cause the bottom row to sag, which means they take in air as they become deformed and spoil faster.
Use up bales that are stacked on top of other bales first to reduce spoiling in the bottom row.
5. Feed meal on top of silage
Before offering fresh forage, feeding meal and minerals on top of silage can help to clean up the any remaining fodder present and reduce waste.
Adding molasses can also increase the palatability of wet silage and reduce waste.
6. Clostridial vaccines
Where silage-making equipment caused ground damage this autumn, there is a risk of silage being contaminated with soil.
This can lead to listeriosis in cattle, causing abortion in pregnant cows and increasing the risk of cattle mortality
Make sure that all cattle are up to date with clostridial vaccines and remove any soil or stones in forage.
‘Removing less productive stock early in the winter will help conserve fodder’
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