Producing high-quality silage is essential for maximising feed value and reducing waste. The way crops are harvested, stored, and protected directly affects their nutritional quality, fermentation, and ultimately, animal performance. While small details may seem insignificant, they often make the difference between well-preserved silage and costly losses.
At Silostop Agri, we’ve highlighted five proven practices to follow along with five common mistakes to avoid so that every tonne of forage works harder on your farm.
Harvest at the Right Stage of Growth
The timing of harvest has a huge impact on feed quality. Grass should ideally be cut at the early to mid-boot stage, just before heading. At this point, it provides the best balance between yield and digestibility, ensuring energy-rich feed. For maize, harvest should take place when dry matter reaches around 30–35%, and when kernels are at the half to three-quarter milk line. This stage ensures the crop has optimum starch levels and will ferment efficiently.
Wilt Quickly to Target Dry Matter
Once grass is cut, speed is of the essence. Aim to wilt to 28–35% dry matter within 24 hours. Fast wilting reduces effluent, helps preserve sugars, and sets the crop up for successful fermentation. Overly slow wilting, on the other hand, can lead to nutrient losses and increase the risk of spoilage organisms taking hold.
Chop to the Correct Length
Chop length may seem like a small detail, but it’s vital for ensuring good compaction and animal intake. Grass should generally be chopped to 2–4 cm, while maize performs better at a shorter length of 1–2 cm, depending on its dry matter content. Achieving the right chop length makes it easier to compact the crop, removing air pockets and creating the ideal environment for fermentation.
Compact Thoroughly and Evenly
Once harvested and chopped, the focus shifts to packing the crop tightly. Silage should be layered thinly, in 15–20 cm layers, and rolled continuously. Proper compaction is essential for excluding oxygen, preventing heating, and reducing dry matter losses. Poorly compacted clamps quickly develop spoilage, resulting in lower feed value and potential risks to animal health.
Seal Quickly and Effectively
The final, crucial step is sealing the clamp to protect all the work done so far. Oxygen is the greatest threat to silage quality, which is why sealing with a high-quality cover is so important. Using an oxygen barrier film, such as Silostop, weighted with gravel bags and sealed tightly around the edges, ensures fermentation begins quickly and remains stable. This protection is particularly vital in the top layers of the clamp, where the risk of spoilage is highest.
Mistakes to Avoid
Alongside these best practices, it’s equally important to recognise what not to do. Delaying harvest too long results in crops that are too fibrous and low in sugars, making fermentation difficult. Wilting too slowly or beyond 40% dry matter causes nutrient losses and makes compaction harder. Failing to compact thoroughly leaves air pockets that encourage bacteria and mould, while using poor-quality or damaged sheeting allows oxygen to creep back in, undoing all your efforts. Finally, even at feedout, care must be taken: leaving a ragged face or removing silage too slowly introduces oxygen, leading to rapid spoilage.
Final Thoughts
Every stage of silage making matters. By focusing on timely harvesting, rapid wilting, correct chop length, thorough compaction, and effective sealing, farmers can protect the nutritional value of their forage and avoid costly waste. Likewise, being aware of common mistakes helps to safeguard against feed losses and ensure clamps remain in top condition.
At Silostop Agri, we provide high oxygen barrier films and silage protection solutions designed to help you achieve the best results, every time. Protecting forage from the field to the feed trough is what ensures animals receive the quality nutrition they need, and we’re here to support you every step of the way.
