Silage Insights

Autumn 2006

Dear readers,

As another silage season closes, we can all reflect on mixed weather conditions over the last few months. These climatic variations continue to challenge us all in the silage producing industry and demand increased flexibility. In this new edition of Silage Insights, we bring you practical advice and considerations into the some of the flexible uses that bale wrap silage can provide and its benefits.

You will also find out about the latest news, trends and research developments from Dow and our partners. All of these developments help to increase our understanding of how to improve both the value and quality of your silage. Of particular interest are the new insights in film layer work.

I hope this issue will provide useful 'food for thought' and help some of your planning for next season. Best wishes for a healthy and prosperous winter.

Mark Saurin
Silage Market Manager
Dow Europe GmbH

Benefits from applying additional film layers

The application of an additional two layers of film, from four to six, has become more popular in recent years as it has been shown to provide a more robust oxygen barrier resulting in less spoilage of bales by yeasts and moulds, as well as more stable and consistent silage at feed out. Recent research at the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER) evaluating film layering at different dry matter contents, has given conclusive evidence that increasing film layers result in significant improvements and financial returns for farmers.

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Haylage for performance horses

Farmers are increasingly specialising in the production of haylage for horses as a means of diversifying their businesses. Initially production was of variable quality but, as the market matures, producers of horse haylage realise they must achieve high quality standards for their product to be accepted by the increasingly knowledgeable end user. Derek Cuddeford, Senior Lecturer at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh looks at the roles haylage can play in the well-being of performance horses and provides nine golden rules to follow in selecting haylage.

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The use of haylage in the equestrian world: a vet's perspective

For the last 25 years, James Sutton (MRCVS) has been the Head of the Veterinary Team at the world-renowned Horse of the Year Show which takes place in the UK every October.  Highly respected in his field, Mr Sutton has a wealth of experience in equine care and nutrition.  He recently spoke to Silage Insights about his views on the increased use of haylage in the equestrian world.

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Which crop species are suitable for grass silage?

Grass is the most commonly ensiled crop.   Many other crops can be used for ensiling: maize and whole-crop cereals, including wheat, barley, oats and occasionally triticale. However, legumes are also ensiled, particularly lucerne, red clover and peas. Kale is another option. The economics of alternative silages are the same as those for grass and depend on crop cost and yield, silage quality and any losses. Silage Insights brings you an overview of crop species suitable for grass silage.

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Bale silage for sheep

While silage for sheep is not totally new, the advent of the silage bale has made it a more practical option and increased its use.

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2006 silage season highlights

This year's silage season was characterised by exceptional weather conditions that affected silage production and grass quality across Europe, but in many cases was saved by round bales. Silage Insights has asked silage experts in Germany and Sweden to review the season in their respective countries.

Review of the 2006 bale season in Germany, by Dr. Johannes Thaysen

Review of the 2006 bale season in Sweden, by  Dr. Rolf Spörndly

The effect of wilting time and number of film wrap layers applied to baled grass on silage quality

A recent study from the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research in Wales shows that increasing the number of film layers applied to grass bales reduces air ingress, reduces silage dry matter loss and mould growth, and results in a more efficient fermentation. So increasing bale film layers results in more silage of a better quality to feed to livestock.

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Trend towards haylage for horses revealed by Dow's annual survey of big bale silage trends 

This is the third year that Dow sponsors a survey aimed at finding out how baling and wrapping silage is developing in terms of wrap type, number of wraps, film colour, etc. The 2006 survey reveals that while beef and suckler cows were the two main applications for baled silage in 2005, seven out of ten respondents were baling for horses, up from four out of ten in 2003 and 2004.

Find out more on survey results

Haylage literature review project

The shortage of conclusive scientific technical data is one of the inhibiting factors for an increased use of haylage among horse owners and breeders. Responding to this, Dow is conducting a major literature review project aimed at collecting and evaluating published scientific research data, studies and literature on haylage.

Read more

When to handle a round bale?

It is becoming more common to press and wrap the round bales on the field using a combined baler and wrapper machine. The discussion has been intense among farmers and contractors on when the bales should be removed from the field for storage. The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences has started a research project to provide a scientific view on this open question.  Silage Insights readers will be able to discover the findings in the next edition of the newsletter.

Read more

News from Dow:

Silage Website and Silage Insights newsletter now available in German

Following the launch of the silage-dedicated website in English this spring, Dow has expanded the site with a German language version, now available on www.dowsilage.de. The website offers an in-depth and comprehensive platform to gain new insights, practical advice and best practices with regards to the European bale silage market.
Alongside the launch of the new German silage website, Dow will also start publishing Silage Insights in German. To receive the next issue in German by email, please subscribe here.

Economic Benefit Tool now available for Swedish farmers

The web-based Economic Benefit Tool (EBT) launched at the recent Dairy Event is now available for Swedish farmers. The EBT helps farmers predict the economic benefit of harvesting silage as bales compared to forage harvesting and storage in clamps. The analysis of the economic benefit from bales in Sweden validates closely the UK values, confirming that baling is a cost-effective alternative. Calculations in Sweden show even greater benefits in favour of bale silage with savings up to 23€ per tonne DM when feeding baled silage to dairy cows and 16€ per tonne DM for beef. The model was developed by the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER) in Wales, in cooperation with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala and Dow. The EBT on-line calculator is available on www.dowsilage.com/calculator

Dow encourages new form of modern art

From straw men to giant silage bale turkeys… no one can have failed to notice the increasingly weird and wonderful "bale sculptures" constructed by farmers in recent years. Dow wants to celebrate this creativity by launching a Bale Sculpture Competition, co-sponsored with the Farmers Guardian magazine, for UK farmers to show off their creative flair with silage bales. Visit www.farmersguardian.com/balecomp to discover a new form of modern art and to vote your favourite bale sculpture!

Upcoming events:

Dow at the International Symposium in Plasticultura

Mark Saurin, European Silage Market Manager at Dow, will be speaking at the forthcoming II International Symposium in Plasticultura about the "Future Development of the European Silage Market". The two-day symposium, organised by CEPLA, the Spanish Committee of Plastics in Agriculture, will take place on November 21-22 in Almeria (Spain). For more information and the conference programme visit www.cepla.com

DeLuTa 2006 in Muenster (Germany)

The third DeLuTa (Deutsche Lohnunternehmer Tagung/ German Contractor Tradeshow) will take place in Muenster, Germany on December 6 and 7. Held every two years, the 2004 show had a record number of visitors with more than 5,000 contractors and industry players. A total of 130 companies used this platform to demonstrate their technology and services to contractors. More information is available on www.lohnunternehmen.de/deluta

Industry news:

Claas claims fastest rate for new big square baler

Claas has launched the Quadrant 3400 - a new big square baler that is said can handle more material per hour than any other machine on the market. According to the company, peak loads of more than 60 tonnes per hour can be processed, even when working with heavy swaths of wet silage. To achieve this, Claas has developed a two-stage pre-compression process that enables the operator to hold material back and pack it tightly before it is rammed into the bale chamber. For more information, visit www.claas.com

Direct aid to farmers from the European Commission

On September 19, the European Commission agreed to pay direct aid to farmers earlier then expected due to the bad weather during the summer. The Commission announced that payment could be made from October 16 rather than the usual December 1 date. It will be up to individual member states to determine whether early payments will be made.

On-line dairy medicine book unveiled by the Cattle Information Service

The first on-line dairy medicine book was unveiled at this year's Dairy Event.  This is the latest service to be provided by the Cattle Information Service (CIS). The book is aimed at helping farmers to meet all their herd's statutory record-keeping needs. At the same time, it is a powerful management tool to improve health, welfare and productivity. For more information, visit www.thecis.co.uk

New advisory service launched in the UK to help farmers generate income from spreading waste to land

Launched by Agrogate, this service is said to increase the awareness of the financial possibilities of farming waste. Farmers are generally aware of waste legislation; however, they are generally not up to date on the possibilities dairy and vegetable waste can induce. The ecological improvements and agricultural benefits for the land can also mean an increase of revenue for the farmer. For more information visit www.agrogate.co.uk

A very special relationship: farmers and their animals

Yann Arthus-Bertrand, the French photographer renowned for his famous "Earth from Above", has now portrayed many farm animals together with their proud owners during the agricultural shows in Paris, London and Buenos Aires. These charming and original pictures can be found on www.yannarthusbertrand.com, where you can also download your favourite picture as a screensaver.