Grassland Toolkit

Grassland management
correctly, otherwise you will
either pick up stones and soil,
or leave grass on the ground
which will rot and damage the
next rotation.
Match the tractor speed to
the RPM of the PTO shaft;
higher dry matter crops will
take less moving then wetter
crops, so you risk throwing
it too far or leaving some
behind.
Harvesting
A farmer’s choice of harvesting
technique depends
on what type of silage they
require. Many will use a
forage harvester or wagon for
high-quality silage, with lower
energy crops baled for feeding
to dry cows. When choosing
equipment, ensure there is
enough capacity to manage
the crop in the clamp at the
20
“
Make sure
equipment is well
maintained and
ready to go to avoid
costly breakdowns
at critical times
JAMES DUGGLEBY
Good vs bad silage
JGood quality silage
should be light brown and
palatable with a sweet
smell, and should keep
for years in anaerobic
conditions. High in
carbohydrates with a
low moisture content,
there is a balance to be
found between yield and
Whether trailed or self-propelled, a forage harvester gets the crop into the clamp quickly.
same time as harvesting, so
every stage of the silage-making
process can be undertaken
at the correct time. The same
is true of using a contractor
– ensure they can do what
you want, when you want, to
achieve the right quality silage.
Savings on contractor fees
can quickly be lost through
reduced quality forage.
Forage harvester
1 Whether trailed or
self-propelled, a forage
harvester ensures a
uniform chop length
and gets the crop
into the clamp quickly.
Having been chopped,
it can also be consolidated
quickly. Having a higher
digestibility, as higher
yielding crops will be
more stemmy and lower
quality. First cuts will have
higher energy, with later
cuts being more fibrous.
However, if the crop is too
dry it will be difficult to
compact and will have a
low sugar content, leading
Grassland Toolkit
Baler choices will depend on whether you want bales wrapped or not.
capital cost, this option will
be chosen to suit the feeding
regime.
Forage wagon
2 Although it does not give
a precision chop length, a
to poor fermentation and
spoilage.
Poorly made silage will
result in high wastage as
the cows will not want to
eat it. It can also make
cows ill: Listeria, botulism
and clostridia thrive in the
soil and can be picked up
when harvesting the grass.
forage wagon is cheaper to
run than a harvester. However,
the less uniform silage
will take longer to buck rake
and consolidate in the clamp,
although there is an argument
that longer chop lengths are
good at slowing the cows’
digestion process.
3 Baler
Choices will depend
on whether you want bales
wrapped or not. Round
combi-balers wrap on-themove,
saving labour, but
they are more expensive to
buy. Square bales have to be
wrapped separately but can
be stacked and stored more
easily.