The economic efficiency of milk production is largely determined by a high forage milk yield. Perfect silage with the best feed value will pay off! What is there to consider for the first and second cut? Here are a few helpful tips and tricks!
Contents
- Step by step
- Redress gaps in the crop
- Choose the right time to cut the grassland
- Selected cultivation methods for the production of high-quality grass silage?
- Which factors need to be considered during harvesting and ensiling?
- What are the characteristics of a high-quality silage?
- How can silage inoculants help?
- Which silage inoculants are suitable for optimal use?
- Conclusion
Every good grass silage begins in the spring with grassland maintenance. The goal here is to achieve or maintain a good sward. This is because only an optimal sward will avoid getting sand and dirt into the silo. Harmful bacteria reach the silo via dirt, which considerably worsens the fermentation process and the quality of feed. Proper grassland maintenance is very important. The first step is harrowing or grooming. This achieves:
- Levelling of molehills
- Ventilation of grassland sward
- Stimulation of tillering
- Reduction of low-quality grasses
- Disposal of manure residues
Rolling is recommended as a second step. The advantages are:
- Solidification of frozen soil
- Elimination of trampling damage
- Elimination of machinery track damage
Redress gaps in the crop
If there are increased gaps in the crop, these must be redressed immediately. Otherwise unwanted, low-quality grass or even weed varieties could spread to these sites. Furthermore, harvesters very easily scrape up sand and dirt at these sites, which will enter the feed stock.
Prophylactic measures such as overseeding can fill these gaps. In practice, this overseeding (usually around 5 kg/ha) is often carried out with special equipment every spring. For more severe damage, repair seeding is required. This differs from overseeding only by the application rate, often with 15 kg/ha. Due to growth competition from the “old grass”, it is always recommended to carry out reseeding in the autumn. If, for whatever reason, reseeding takes place in the spring, you should start this process very early if the fields are accessible.
Discover how colleagues are handling the situation in 2018/2019:
-> Watch more videos on this topic here!
Choose the right time to cut the grassland
Of course, choosing the right time to cut the grassland is also important. A rule of thumb is the so-called “beer bottle height”. Whether or not the crop has reached this height is of course also influenced by the weather. Sun is essential the plant to retain enough sugar. It is also important to cut the grass before the emergence of ears/panicles. There are grass varieties that have a higher tolerance level concerning the time limit of this emergence, meaning that ears emerge later in these varieties and thus a longer phase of bad weather is no cause for concern.
The foundation stone for a high-quality silage is laid during work on the grassland.
Crops rich in ryegrass are characterised by a high usage intensity and a high sugar content. With proper grassland maintenance, the crop remains dense and strong:
- Fertilisation
- Harrowing
- Reseeding (if required)
- Rolling
Klaus Fischerkeller mostly has keuper soils. How he prepares himself for the first cut you can see here:
Markus Sauter has to close gaps also this year,
watch the video here:
Johannes Tröndle always sow in spring. In his decision he also includes recommendations. More here in the video!
Which factors need to be considered during harvesting and ensiling?
Use the right technology
Basically, there is no “right technology”. There are only the right machine setting. It is important that the harvesters do not work too aggressively. The correct cutting height must be observed, ideally 7 cm. When tedding and raking the grass, the machines should not rake through the soil. Contamination of the harvested crop, as already mentioned, impairs the ensiling process.
Markus Sauter choose the mower combination,
that‘s why:
Johannes is self-mechanized with his press and uses a dosing device from JOSILAC. See more here!
The roller tractor sets the pace
Thanks to a huge advancement in harvesters, very high crop yields per hectare are now possible. Unfortunately, the high harvest yield often means that the feed stock is filled too quickly and thus oxygen is enclosed, which has a disadvantageous effect on the ensiling process. The following points should therefore be considered as “compacting rules”:
- The roller tractor sets the filling pace
- Layers should be a maximum of 30 cm
- Fill from the bottom to the top (no unloading and pushing together)
- Falling from the edge to the middle
- High rolling weight on a small supporting surface
- The silo width must be a minimum of double the width of a tractor
- Repeated crossing
- Observe the tyre pressure of the roller tractor (road pressure = silo pressure)
- The rolling weight should represent 1/3 – 1/4 of the hourly harvest yield
If you invest a little more time and diligence here, you will have less trouble and losses when feeding the silo!
Cover properly
It must be ensured that the silo is covered contemporary after the silage has been filled. Only then can a low-oxygen environment be created as quickly as possible for the fermentation process. If you wait too long, there is a high probability that a higher level of damaging bacteria, yeast and mould will form in the silo due to the delay and the losses can be severe.
When covering, please consider the following:
- Standard sheets between 120 – 200 µm
- Multi-silo sheets with 500 µm
- DLG-tested
- Use underlay sheets (clinging foil lies close to the silage, less supply of oxygen when covering and removing)
- Use lining wrap for movable silo to protect the actual sheets
- Use silo net
Enough feed protects against reheating
A sufficient feed out rate (usage of silage per week in meters) is decisive in the reduction of reheating. The following points should be taken as a guideline:
- Adjust the silo length, height and width to the number of animals
- Narrow cutting surface (!but double the tractor width!)
- Do not cover too much in advance
- Faster feed out rate (>1.5 m / week in the winter; >2.5m in the summer)
- Dietary composition
- If applicable, feed cows and cattle from one silo
Furthermore, silage inoculants can improve the quality of the silage and counteract reheating.
Ask your JOSERA consultant regarding uncertainties!
Don’t forget!
- cut early
- select a suitable silage additive
- retract the silage evenly the silo!
Do not let the feed become out of date. You will pay the price for a delay in the first cut later in the year.
If weather conditions are settled and accessibility to the field is good, cutting and harvesting should be carried out as early as possible. In this case, you should aim for same-day silage. The grassland crop has enormous growth potential, especially for the first cut. A prolonged period of rain can lead to overripe crops. The result is crude fibre contents that are too high, at the expense of protein and energy content.
Klaus Fischer has 2 metres feed out rate in his silo and the dry matter intake is around 24 KG per day and cow. Watch the video:
What are the characteristics of a high-quality silage?
| Optimal silage process | (rapid reduction of the pH -> dry matter dependent 4-5) |
| Dry matter: | 35% |
| Crude protein: | 16-18% |
| Crude ash: | <10% |
| Crude fibre: | 220-260g |
| NEL: | >6,3MJ |
| NH3-N: | 8% |
| As much lactic acid as possible | |
| Butyric acid: | <0.3% |
| Acetic acid: | <3% |
How can silage inoculants help?
Only by creating optimal silage can you be sure that you will be able to feed your animals high-quality silage.
The quality of silages depends on the degree of ripeness of the silage, the weather as well as the dry matter and sugar content. In addition, the buffering capacity, nitrate content and number of bacteria are important influencing factors. Some of these factors are within your control as a farmer and you can influence the quality of the silage yourself with the right silage management (choosing the right time to cut the grassland, cutting height, wilting period and time the crop spends in the field, compaction and covering). Other value-determining parameters – such as the fermentation process and the ingredients of the silage, but also the aerobic stability – can be controlled mainly by the use of silage additives.
-> Click here to read more about the use of silage inoculants
Klaus Fischerkeller uses with every cut silage inoculants. Watch here the video:
Johannes Tröndle uses silage inoculants to make the forage quality better:
Markus Sauter uses silage inoculants in his silage to save more energie in his forage:
Which silage inoculants are suitable for optimal use?
Conclusion
Good silage management is a prerequisite for perfect silage of the highest quality. It begins with grassland maintenance and clean recovery of the silage, accompanied by the use of a suitable silage additive and proper, airtight storage, rounded off with the correct removal technique.
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