Dry weather creates silage challenges despite change

RECENT RAIN UNLIKELY TO HELP MUCH AS FARMERS GIVEN ADVICE

- Lientjie Colahan

FARMERS are being encouraged to test the dry matter (DM) levels of their grass and adapt their silage-making plans accordingly, following the prolonged spell of dry weather across the UK.

Lientjie Colahan, silage technical support at Lallemand Animal Nutrition, says many farmers are reporting little or no regrowth after taking their first cut, and this year's grass crops are unlikely to catch up once they get some rain.

"Results from our fresh grass testing service show some standing grasses have a dry matter (DM) level as high as 24%, and normally we'd say a crop is ready to cut when the level is 16-18%," she adds.

"This means if you follow the standard silage-making procedure that you always do when the grass is 18% DM, you're going to end up with a much drier silage than you anticipate."

She recommends testing fresh grass - either by sending a sample away to a lab or doing it at home using AHDB's instructions for the microwave method - to understand DM levels so you can adjust your silage-making plans if necessary.