High silage quality is the basis for optimal forage milk yield. Our service addresses all major management factors involved in producing grass silage of superior feed quality.
Effective grassland maintenance includes:
Intensive use, late cuts, winter kill damage and damage caused by rodents, trampling and tyre tracks, for example, can cause undesirable gaps in the sward. Both DM yields and energy concentrations decrease gradually over time. Regular re-seeding with grass and legume mixtures from SCHAUMANN’s GREENSTAR range ensures high grassland quality.
The optimal cutting time is just before panicle heading of the main crop grasses (crude fibre content of≤ 24% in DM). After this time, both digestibility and feed intake decline gradually due to increasing lignin deposition. An early first cut establishes the basis for high quality of all subsequent cuts.
The minimum cutting height is 8 cm (lucerne: 10-12 cm), but this can be increased depending on crop conditions and rodent populations.
This minimum cutting height
Keeping wilting times to 28-35% DM as short as possible provides a basis for optimal ensiling with low losses and high feed intake. Excessively wet silages result in butyric acid fermentation, while excessively dry silages are difficult to compact and therefore tend to spoil. Adequate compaction can no longer be achieved above 45-50 % DM.
Wilting time should be limited to less than 24 hours to minimize energy losses, as any additional night in the field causes sugar losses due to Respiration.
Short wilting time:
Optimum chop length for grass silage: 15-40 mm. Excessive chop length and higher crude fiber hampers compaction, therefore shorter chopping length is recommended.
Optimum chop length is essential for:
An effective fermentation process is promoted by adhering to the fundamental principles of ensiling and can be further enhanced by applying silage additives for a range of action categories. (Silage additives)
LAB products can only be effective if they are precisely dosed. SCHAUMANN dosing systems ensure the precise application of any bonsilage product.
The entry of oxygen into the pile causes reheating and thus losses of energy and DM. The better silage is therefore compacted, the less oxygen is able to enter from the silage face.
Measures for optimal compaction:
Rules of thumb:
Compaction tractor weight = Pick-up rate in t FM per hour / 4*
(* for forage harvesters; for silage trailers = 3)
Compaction = 3,5 * DM [%] + 90
Ensure that the silage is appropriately sealed as soon as rolling has been completed.
The minimum weekly removal rate should be 2 m per week to avoid reheating. Machines used for removing silage should keep the silo face as intact as possible in order to minimise air ingress.
How to prevent reheating