advance silage inoculant

INOCULATE TO ACCUMULATE: The latest technologies explained

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The good news for the dairy farming industry is that the Agricultural Price Index indicates that input cost inflation has eased. However, input costs remain historically high and with falling milk prices profit margins are being squeezed. The continuing uncertainty about changes to agricultural subsidy schemes is leading producers to review their future, and the … Read more

Late spring puts first cut silage date back on Co Down suckler beef and sheep farm

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Co Down suckler beef producer Sam Chesney has used Provita Advance+ silage inoculant for 30 years!  Co Down suckler beef producer Sam Chesney reckons he will be making first cut silage two, or possibly three weeks, later than would normally be the case. And this is a direct consequence of the late spring and the … Read more

Provita Advance+ – The multi-functional inoculant

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Provita Advance+ is available in liquid and granular form. The ready to use granular product is available in 20kg tubs that treats 50 tonne and is applied at 400g per tonne treated. The 1 kg powder to liquid box treats 100 tonnes of silage. Advance+ liquid is a ready to use product and can be applied at standard 2L per tonne treated down to low-volume 40ml per tonne.

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Advance+ for wholecrop, it is not just for grass!

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Co Armagh milk producer and beef farmer Dean Wright will grow approximately 40-45 acres of wholecrop each year. The main purpose of this crop is to utilise the reseeded sward the following years, but in saying that, the wholecrop silage is maximised fully, like everything on this farm.

‘I have always found wholecrop to be a good yielding, healthy crop; with plenty of energy and very useful for balancing feed rations.’ The wholecrop is fed to all groups on the farm with Dean pointing out, ‘it is great feeding for beef cattle.’

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Advance+ Silage inoculant – the perfect choice for Northern Ireland

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At this time of year farmers are bombarded with information on silage inoculants. With so much variation between years and cuts, it’s very difficult to compare silage inoculants or even treated verses untreated crops. Many products claim to be better than the next one, so how can they actually be compared?

 

It is advisable to check the bacterial strains are EU approved.  The EU registration system has standard parameters to measure efficacy such as dry matter losses, pH, lactic acid and ammonia plus stability for wholecrop and maize silages.  Parameter testing shows efficacy on easy, moderate and difficult to ensile crops. Some of the inoculants, in particular the ones that only apply 100,000 bacteria per g of grass, failed to show a benefit in moderate and difficult to ensile crops.

 

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Better silage improves herd performance

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Ryan McMullan runs 60 Holstein cows in Carnlough, Co Antrim. They are currently yielding 8000L on 46kg silage mixed 50:50 1st and 2nd cut plus 5kg in wagon and rest of meal topped in parlour to yield.  A few years ago he decided that he needed to improve silage quality in order to improve herd performance.

The first aim was to cut silage earlier; however with heavy land this can be difficult. The silage ground gets 4000 gallon per acre, this year it was put on with his umbilical slurry system, which has been invaluable. Next only 60 units of N is applied for the first cut in early April, this means silage can be cut from early May, second cut get 2 bags per acre of 27.4.4 plus sulphur and it was cut third week of June, third cut was delayed until September . Again mowing and ensiling is done by Ryan’s machines. It is mowed with a mower-spreader, gets a 24 hour wilt weather permitting, rowed up and then ensiled with a trailed harvester, aiming for a DM of 28% to 32%.

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Provita products improving profitability with better silage and footbathing

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Provita hosted a series of on farm demos throughout Northern Ireland last week outlining the benefits of making better silage and improving footbathing practices.  Andrew Dale in Limavady, Dean Wright in Portadown and Declan Rafferty in Pomeroy were host farms.

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Provita hosts Norwegian visitors

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Provita Animal Health had the pleasure of hosting a group of Norwegian beef farmers.  During their time in Northern Ireland, the Norwegian visitors had the chance to see several different farms that use Provita products giving them the opportunity to see the products in action.  Those that visited from Norway highlighted the differences in the Norwegian agricultural environment and that of Northern Ireland. Whilst the overall annual GDP of agriculture in both countries works out at roughly 2%, the percentage of the land cultivated in the two countries is very different.  Norway has only 3% of the land cultivated, due to the cold climate, thin soils and mountainous terrain, whereas 78.8% of Northern Ireland’s land is under cultivation for grazing, crops, forestry and fruit.

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