New Dairy Farm, Newport, Gwent
Focus Site Project: Multi Cut silage – Improving the digestibility and milk from forage
Project aims:
- The dairy industry is moving forward to more sustainable and efficient production while still increasing yields and components. However, with variable milk price and high concentrate costs there is increasing focus on milk yield attained from forage. Therefore, the concept of multi-cut silage and clamp management is becoming viable option all systems.
- The concept of multi-cut involves the careful monitoring of grass growth during the silaging period to attain 4 or more cuts through the season. This ensures a younger leafier grass is harvested and ensiled, achieve a higher Dry Matter, Metabolisable Energy and ‘D’ Values as possible.
- The aim of the project is to monitor the quality of the silage (D value) made with more cuts and the effect on milk yields and general health from the previous years. Practical implications will also be a focus of the project as clamp management is critical to the successful ensiling and utilisation of more frequently cut higher quality grass silage