Introducing a multi-cut silage system saves dairy farmer thousands

A Farming Connect dairy demonstration site introduced a multi-cut silage system to establish whether concentrate costs can be reduced by maximising milk from forage. The project monitored forage quality, milk production and cost of production.

The concept of multi-cut silage and clamp management is becoming a popular option for farmers in the United Kingdom. Extra milk yield by changing to a multi-cut system often outweighs the added contractor costs. Two clamps of 1,000t of fresh weight silage, one at 11.5ME and one at 10.5ME, have a 300,000mJ energy difference – equivalent to 60,000 litres of milk.

A multi-cut system involves the careful monitoring of grass growth during the silage season to attain four or more cuts through the season. This ensures younger leafier grass is harvested and ensiled, which will achieve the highest dry matter (DM), metabolizable energy (ME) and digestibility value (D Value) as possible. Richard Gibb, a specialist in forage production, advised the Edwards’ family at New Dairy on how to make the most out of a multi-cut system. First cuts were harvested from mid-April and then in 4-5-week intervals.

“During the 2018 drought, we were glad that we were able to recoup some forage during the late summer months and early autumn. We did, however, limit our losses by trialling a multi-cut system which produced some good quality silage during the season,” said farmers Hugo and Ross Edwards.

Silage analysis was compared to previous years’ analysis, especially looking at D Value, ME, DM and Crude Protein. Milk production quality and quantity were compared with previous years’ data through milk cheque figures and data caption collars on the cows. New Dairy work with For Farmers Dairy Herd Costings to track the herd’s performance month on month, which calculated the financial benefits of a multi-cut system.

The project had a positive impact on the farm income. The margin over purchased feed and yield per cow improved and the farm is producing more, higher quality forage – either as fresh grass or ensiled. During the project, from April 2018 up to the end of March 2020, milk yield and milk fats and protein levels were virtually unchanged. However, milk yield from forage per cow increased by 76% litres from 1,627 to 2,867 litres. The financial benefits saw total concentrate cost per litre reduced by 1.5/litre. This represented a reduction of 755kg less concentrate feed/cow/annum. This was equivalent to a financial saving of £109,771 per annum in concentrate feed costs. The cost of producing clamp grass silage was half the cost of purchased feed in terms of cost per tonne of DM at £107/tonne and £254.50/tonne respectively.

Further to these achievements, the Edwards’ family is more focused on grassland management to ensure the highest quality forage is produced and maximising the area available to the farm, making more use of fields located too far for grazing. 

Hugo and Ross will carry on the with the multi-cut system as they were very happy with the outcome.

“Although the system may not suit every farm, we’ve witnessed some real benefits of the multi-cut approach here at New Dairy. The project has shown financial and yield improvements from achieving more milk from forage and making the best use of homegrown feeds.”