For Shropshire farmer Mark Fitton, good silage is a key pillar for farm profitability. But it still has to be produced in a practical way.
Mark Fitton, who runs ‘The Farms’ near Whitchurch in North Shropshire, is laser focused when it comes to farming profitably for a sustainable future.
Accordingly, making good silage to keep down concentrate costs for the unit’s 250 year-round-calved Procross Swedish Red x Montbéliarde x Holstein cows is key.
Average yields on the 160ha (400 acre) farm stand at 9,000 litres/cow, with an impressive 4,000 litres/cow coming from forage. With some of the milk going into the powdered market, milk solids also have to be kept high.
Mark says: “There are savings to be made on blends and concentrates by making better silage.
“At the end of the day, cows can only eat so much silage. So if you are filling them up with poor quality, they are not going to do so well. We can get up to 5.3% butterfat and 3.8% protein,” he adds.
Depending on the season, cows are housed from September to March/April, but the aim is to extend the grazing season as long as possible. The winter TMR comprises grass and homegrown maize silages fed in a 50:50 ratio, plus a concentrate blend, but the grass to maize silage ratio can reach 30:70 in poor grass years. “We have to get the ratio right so we are not buying as much concentrate,” Mark explains.
Grass quality
Achieving maximum grass productivity and quality begins with leys being reseeded at least every five years. Silage is then made using a multi-cut approach.
Mark says: “We cut 4-5 times a year; four times in 2024 because of the weather.
“First-cut is the last week of April or first week of May. Second-cut is as soon as grass is ready. We go with the weather. You are better off following what the grass is doing rather than cutting routinely every 5-6 weeks. There has to be enough grass there. I am not into getting lawn clippings. But we always cut before it goes to head.”
Mowing is carried out with the farm’s own triple mower plus a single mower. The aim is to cut 60 hectares (150 acres) in 6-7 hours while the sun is out to maximise sugar. Rowing up, harvesting and most of the carting are then carried out by a local contractor, although Mark remains hands-on by helping out with carting.
Mark says: “We mow ourselves and ted ourselves if the grass needs it. If we are in a heatwave we do not need to ted.
“We also run the mowers without conditioners. I do not like smashing the grass. Plus, we can mow quicker and it requires less diesel and horsepower. Conditioning does speed up drying, but 9 times out of 10 we end up tedding anyway.
“The normal approach is we mow, then start tedding that afternoon, then row up the next afternoon and harvest the next day. It all depends on the weather. The key is having the correct kit. We have an 11-metre tedder and can ted as fast as we can cut.
“We aim for 28% dry matter (DM), so that if it gets a bit drier we are alright, but sometimes we do not get the choice. If it is sunny and windy, it dries out quickly. The weather is the biggest dictator,” he adds.
Minimised loss
Volac silage specialist, Peter Smith, highlights the importance of wilting grass promptly after cutting, then ensiling as soon as practically possible, in order to minimise losses of sugars and protein in the field.
Peter says: “You lose almost 20% of the sugar in the grass in the first 24 hours after cutting. So the clock is ticking. And that race against time to conserve nutrients continues once grass is in the clamp. This is where a proven additive comes in.
“By using a quality inoculant that produces an efficient fermentation, you lower the clamp pH faster and therefore better preserve the silage against unwanted bacteria that want to feed on the most nutritious parts of its DM.
“We have seen this clearly in research on Ecosyl, where a lower pH is achieved much more rapidly than in untreated silage, and this has been reflected in the treated silage losing less DM and maintaining higher metabolisable energy (ME) and protein contents. Ultimately, in independent feeding trials across a range of silages, Ecosyl treatment resulted in 1.2 litres more milk/cow/day.”
A long-term additive user, Mark tried Ecosyl for the first time last season and used it on all cuts. As well as finding it easy of use, he is positive about the results.
Despite a difficult 2024 season for grass growing, a February analysis of first-cut revealed it as being 32.7% DM, 15.5% protein, 68.8% D value and 11.0 MJ/kg ME, with a lactic acid to volatile fatty acids ratio of nearly 4:1.
Mark says: “I rate Ecosyl for a better and faster fermentation. The proof is in the pudding. If you have used it and it has been good, why change?”
Clamp management
Taking steps to better silage conservation also continues with managing the clamp.
Historically, one tractor plus the loading shovel have been used for clamp consolidation. But after trying a compactor on the tractor rolling the maize clamp last season, Mark is also considering this on the grass.
Clamp walls are resin lined against air ingress, which also saves on plastic side sheets, while a multi-layered sheet, which includes an oxygen barrier layer, is placed over the top, followed by a woven sheet weighted with gravel bags.
At feedout, Mark is a convert to using a shear bucket to remove silage, to maintain a cleaner clamp face.
He says: “With a shear grab you get the part of the face where the tines go in. You do not get that with a shear bucket, so it keeps the face fresher. It also only takes silage out about a foot deep, so you work across the face faster. And it leaves the face cleaner at the bottom where it meets the clamp floor.
“We analyse the silage as we change from one cut to the next at feedout, but we find each one can be just as good as the other,” Mark adds.
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