Volac

For Shropshire farmer Mark Fitton, good silage is a key pillar for farm profitability, but it still has to be produced in a practical way

Baled grass silage can be as good as clamped silage, says Volac silage scientist, Dr Mark Leggett, but it is essential to employ equal attention to detail when making it – starting by cutting grass at the optimum time.

Good potential in this year’s maize crops looks set to give dairy farmers an opportunity to clamp decent tonnages of quality silage, which could provide a useful buffer with uncertain milk prices, says Volac silage expert, Ken Stroud.

Making the right decisions to improve business resilience is key and industry experts agree that producing the best quality silage possible is an important first step towards achieving this.

High feed, fertiliser and fuel costs are driving UK dairy farmers to want to produce better silage in 2023. And those who made multi-cut grass silage during the droughted 2022 season tended to be better off.