Plan now to ensure you have enough silage for next winter

Fex Grass Silage AdHow much silage do I need?

Contact your local area sales manger to run through a winter feed budget.  1 acre of 1^st cut silage ground will feed 1.5 cows or 3 weanlings for a month.  The correct fertiliser regime is required to ensure that you get the right yield at the right time.  If short stocks alternative feeds can be just to meet the balance.

How does the fertiliser I use on my silage ground affect my silage quality?

Your grass silage fields will start to head out in mid to late May. If you have not used the correct fertiliser programme for your soil indexes you will not have achieved the required crop bulk at this stage, you will delay cutting date and silage DMD will suffer. Silage DMD is the driver of your silage quality, it will influence intakes, production, and the level of concentrates you need to feed across the winter.

Do I need good quality silage on a spring calving dairy farm?

Only 35% of the silage consumed on a spring calving dairy farm goes to dry cows. Ok, they only need average silage but the remaining 65% needs to be of good quality. If its not then extra concentrates will be needed to meet weanling and heifer weight gain targets and to maintain freshly calved cow BCS in the spring. Extra concentrates = extra cost. Everyone of us needs to make good quality 1st cut silage.

Fertiliser needed on Silage Ground

First cut silage will require 85-100 units N/acre, 16 units P/acre, 100 units K/acre and 10-15 units S/acre inclusive of slurry application.

Now is a good time to apply fertiliser:

With adequate fertiliser, 65% of your farms grass will be grown before the end of June.  You will get the best response to fertiliser application from fertiliser applied in April and May. With cost this year we need to maximise responses.

Make use of government funding to boost your home-grown feeding stocks:

By increasing your tillage area of eligible crops in 2022 vs 2021 you can receive a payment of €400/ha.

Make use of government funding to decrease your fertiliser requirements:

You can avail of €50 per bag payment when purchasing a multi species sward mix or a red clover silage mix.

For more information on both measures please contact your local area sales manager or our inside sales team on 022-31644.