WITH wet conditions and flooding across the district, it has been a slow start to the silage season.

Well into October many crops remain standing in paddocks too wet to access. The rain also keeps coming, making it difficult to get cutting windows for those with lighter soils that can get on their paddocks. 

Everyone is hoping that soil moisture holds on well into summer, to allow for a later, rather than a shorter season. The pressure is on southern silage crops, given the rain has been statewide, and vetch crops have been left either rotting in paddocks, or turned into last minute silage.

 It’s also not looking like a lot of quality cereal hay will be done either, with most growers electing to push through to attempt a grain harvest to take advantage of high cereal prices.

With the hope of plenty of growth to conserve as silage, many are considering how to best utilise their fodder. The other issue farmers will face is the reduction in quality of the conserved fodder, given most crops will be too wet to get on at the optimal time. 

Silage rolls or pits?

Each farmer has their own preference as to whether they bale or pit silage. Many prefer the convenience of bales, as they can be easily transported or sold. Others, often those who make silage in bulk, would rather chop and stack or pit their silage. Putting silage into a pit can be preferential in years like this, given the silage can be wetter when conserved.

Pit silage is also generally cheaper than baling and wrapping, by around $50 per dry tonne. Over large amounts, this adds up. The nutrient quality is also generally slightly higher in a pit as the silage is more finely chopped so more easily digested. With the right equipment, feeding large amounts back is also a less labour intensive process with pit silage. 

Inoculants

With farmers experiencing difficulties in drying out fodder sufficiently for silage making, some are considering inoculating their silage, which is said to improve the quality of conserved fodder. Inoculants are generally added to silage as it passes through the chopper or baler, and there are several varieties which are used for different purposes.

Common bacterial inoculants are designed to encourage fermentation and discourage spoiling of silage. Modern silage inoculants have been improved to a point where some farmers rely on the use of it as an insurance policy for their harvest.

Others are somewhat more sceptical, instead concentrating on getting the timing of harvest right to maximise the quality of the silage without the use of additives.

But there is more and more evidence to suggest that some inoculants are worth giving a go, as the improvement they make in the quality of feed justifies the extra expense and effort required in inoculating.

Quantity isn’t always quality

One issue many farmers will face after not being able to harvest fodder at optimal times due to the very wet conditions will be a reduction in fodder quality.

In particular there will be a reduction in the usual expected protein and metabolizable energy content, and Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF) content levels will be up. 

The result of this may be that even though farmers have a decent quantity of feed, stock will simply not be able to consume enough of the poorer quality feed to get the levels of energy and protein they require for expected levels of weight gain and milk production.

This is something many farmers, in particular dairy farmers, will have to closely manage throughout the season. Higher levels of a good quality concentrate may need to be fed to mitigate the production drop that will occur from poor quality silage. 

In a year when milk prices (particularly over the autumn period) are relatively high, feeding of additional protein concentrates in particular will most likely stack up in most situations.

Those that have been able to get on paddocks to put summer crops in are also in a good position to supplement poor fodder with 2-5kg of brassicas or similar high-quality crops per day, particularly if the rain continues as forecast.