Believe it or not there are a number of clamps of silage made this year that are not up to spec in terms of ME and CP%.  Generally, this year has been a very good year for silage making, in terms of both quality, with ME levels above 11 MJ/kgDM and protein levels over 14%.  However, there are still some silage analysis results I have seen that have energy levels below 10 MJ/kgDM and protein levels below 12%.

If you fall into this category what are you doing to change this.  The following are a few pointers to help for next year:

• Soil Test: make sure the grass crop is being fed correctly in terms of pH, P and K.  Would the crop benefit from Sulphur applications?  Did you apply the correct amount of nitrogen at the right time? (Some analyses have come back with high ammonia readings showing they were cut before all the nitrogen had been utilised).
• Spray: are your fields suffering from weed contamination affecting not only the quality of the silage, but also the silage making process causing poor fermentation?
• Reseeding: are your grass leys worn out.  New varieties produce high yields more sugar leading to higher quality silage.  Aim to reseed 15-20% of the farm every year.
• Additive: those of you who know me well will know I am not a big fan of additive, but in some circumstances, it can be of real benefit.
• Contractor verses own equipment: are you able to make the silage quick enough to get the clamps shut down so that the correct fermentation can start.  If not would using a contractor benefit you?

In addition to the above there are a number of areas that can impact quality during the actual making process, but that is for another article.  If you would like to look at a grassland improvement plan in more detail, please contact Phil Cooper at pcooper@fcgagric.com or your local FCG office.