Quality silage tips

Simply wrapping pasture in plastic does not guarantee good silage. Make every bale or pit of silage you make top quality by considering the following five key factors.

Only lock up pasture that is surplus to requirements. Pasture growth will exceed animal requirements by mid September on many farms.

Use nitrogen to increase dry matter yield, but cut pasture within six weeks of application.

Once cutting is delayed beyond six weeks, the quality of the silage declines more rapidly than if no nitrogen is applied. For the best return on nitrogen investment use rates of up to 50 kg N/ha.

Cut your silage early. Be prepared to mow when the ryegrass component of the pasture is just reaching early ear emergence.

In most years this will be around the last week of October to the first week of November. Once the ryegrass flowers, quality drops off rapidly.

Use a tedder to speed up wilting. Rapid wilting helps preserve the energy and protein content of the silage.

Given reasonable drying conditions material should be ready for pit silage within 48 hours and for bale silage within 72 hours. Pit silage should be about 30 per cent dry matter, and bale silage 45 to 50 per cent.

Ensile quickly and seal well. Material being ensiled must be packed tightly and sealed promptly to eliminate air. Check pit covers and bales for damage on a regular basis.

Air is the enemy of silage and causes spoilage, so repair any holes in the silage wrap promptly.