Are your silage stocks adequate for the winter ahead?

CAFRE Beef and Sheep Advisers suggest that now is the time to take stock of the amount of silage required on farm for the winter period.

Maintaining a neat silo face will help reduce waste caused by spoilage over the winter months.

A fodder budget allows you to calculate the demand from feeding stock through the winter and determine if there will be a deficit on farm prior to the issue arising during the winter. The difficult weather conditions experienced in the early part of the year led to a delay in turnout and many farm saw silage stocks depleted.

Having a clear plan in place that relates to your winter-feeding strategy this year is critical and the key here will be to estimate the amount of silage required to meet animal requirements efficiently and effectively for the number of livestock to be held on farm.

A typical example of the average daily animal silage requirement during the housing period on a fresh weight basis is as follows:

• Ewe: 5kg/head/day
• Suckler cow: 35kg/head/day

An example fodder budget is available on the news section of the CAFRE website demonstrating silage requirement on a farm with 180 ewes and 40 suckler cows and calves.

Calculating silage stock on your farm

You can determine how much silage stock is required for the winter ahead on your farm. By measuring the silo and using the calculations it is possible to estimate the tonnage that is available in the silo through entering data the into Table 2 on the website.

If you also have round bales to include in the calculation, take an average bale weight of 800 kgs as a guide and multiply by the number of bales in stock to get total tonnage available from bales to add to the volume calculated from the clamp silage.

On beef and sheep farms if farmers are falling into a small deficit, purchasing round bales may be enough to bridge the gap however if you predict a more significant silage shortfall for the incoming winter then consider the following options: Scan breeding stock and sell unproductive cows, sell cattle as stores before winter and cull older less productive ewes. 

If cows are in good body condition, then silage could be restricted by implementing a dry cow feed plan to help stretch out silage supplies.

Depending on the sale plan for youngstock for the year ahead additional concentrate could be offered to reduce silage intake, this option needs to be carefully planned out prior to implementation to ensure it will be cost effective. The options for dealing with a deficit in silage will vary from farm to farm and that is why it is important to carry out the fodder budget. 

If you require additional information or help with completing a fodder budget for your farm, please contact your CAFRE Adviser through your local DAERA Direct office.

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