silage additive

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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How to measure grass silage yields

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One of the most common questions around silage making time is, how many tonnes per acre are there?

Provita’s Tommy Armstrong suggests the following method.

“Silage yield can be assessed very easily by simply weighing the actual quantity of grass cut from a half metre by half meter quadrat.

“When doing farm trials this year, I wanted to be very accurate in the application of our silage inoculant Advance+.

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Fantastic silage results from farmers using Advance+ province wide

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For 25 years farmers across Northern Ireland have trusted Provita’s silage inoculants to ensure the best possible silage quality. Advance+ is the only inoculant made in Northern Ireland and it’s designed to produce excellent results in the wildly varying conditions we experience here.

 

Its strains have been tested through the EU registration system plus it has been tested on farm in mini-silo and split-silo tests.

 

“We’ve tested it on farm from 18% to 60% dry matter, from 0.7% to 9% sugars on grass wholecrop and maize. Provided good management is also practiced its use results in better fermentation, stability and predicted animal performance,” commented Tommy Armstrong.

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Wright family farm continues to see great results using Advance+

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One farm who has used Advance+ since its launch in 2013 is Jim and Dean Wright from Portadown. They have targeted more milk from forage as an essential performance target.   

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Advance+ inoculant dual benefits on Fivemiletown dairy farm

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Nathan Hall combines his job at Fane Valley Stores’ operation in Augher with milking 55 spring calving dairy cows. He started up the dairying business as a new entrant five years ago. The Fivemiletown man is committed to maximising milk output from grass and forage.

 “The cows are currently averaging 7,000L and there is scope to expand the herd over the coming years,” he said.

Optimising output from grazed grass and silage are equally important for Nathan. He normally takes two cuts of silage annually.

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Silage Inoculant Applicator Deals Available

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Provita can provide farmers and contractors with the means to apply Advance+ silage inoculant accurately on all types of silage making machines. Cab controlled non-blocking powder, standard liquid, digitally controlled liquid and ultra-low volume systems are available. These can fit self-propelled machines, trailed harvesters, balers and silage wagons. Competitive deals are available when using these machines along with Provita Advance+. 

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Advance + delivering optimal silage quality and almost zero forage losses on Tyrone dairy farm

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Given his herd’s predominantly autumn/winter calving pattern, making good silage is an absolute priority for Co Tyrone dairy farmer Cyril Maxwell. The Augher man is currently milking 130 cows, averaging 8,300L over 305 days

“The cows calve between October and April,” he confirmed.

“The aim is to produce maximum levels of high quality milk from forage. This includes silage and grazed grass. The cows are currently receiving 2½t of concentrate per lactation.

“Our current milk quality is good with butterfats averaging 4.23% and proteins 3.15%.”

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Second cut silage swards are heading fast

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Second cut silage harvesting got underway this week with farmers and contractors reporting that grass swards have headed faster than anticipated.

“We started harvesting our own second cut a few days ago,” confirmed Gilford-based milk producer and grass contractor Mark Spence.

“The recent spell of hot weather, in tandem, with the rain of recent days has really boosted grass growth rates.

“On Wednesday of this we harvested 10 acres that had been cut the first time at the beginning of May. The field in question received the equivalent of 1¾ bags of 24: 0: 6 as soon as the first cut had been taken.

“I was truly surprised at how well it had grown on over the past number of weeks. The grass was cut with a mower conditioner, allowed to wilt for 24 hours and then picked up with a John Deere self- propelled harvester.

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Don’t ‘over cook’ mown grass

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The current hot spell is providing farmers and contractors with an excellent opportunity to make first cut silage of the highest quality, according to Provita’s Tommy Armstrong.

“Most swards are now at the right growth stage for cutting. Sugars are high and with dry matters also high grass nitrogen levels are not a problem,” he added.

“All of this adds up to the perfect scenario, from a silage making perspective, with one possible exception.

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