Silage Insights

Testimonials

This section contains a series of testimonials and case studies from farmers, horse breeders and trainers and other end users who share their knowledge and experience in feeding bale silage to dairy cows and beef cattle, and haylage to laisure and performance horses.

Silage making in the garden of England Testimonial from William Alexander, a farmer from Kent

William Alexander, a farmer from Kent, tells Silage Insights why big bale silage provides the right combination of flexibility for his mixed farm. Read article

Successful horse-breeders choose bale silage Testimonial from the Björnsson family (Sweden)

The Björnsson family runs one of the leading stud farms in Sweden, with over 250 horses, 800 hectares of agricultural land and 12,000 bales of silage produced every year, mostly sold to trotting studs throughout Europe. Read article

The Importance of Quality Film in Bale Silage Production Testimonial from Stefan Metz (Germany)

German contractor, Stefan Metz, shares his 19-years experience in bale silage production. Equipment and quality film are key for a successful and cost effective bale silage production. Read article

Bale silage for horses - a good feeding alternative Testimonial from Peter Imholze, agricultural contractor from Schwaförden in Lower Saxony (Germany)

Peter Imholze, agricultural contractor from Schwaförden in Lower Saxony (Germany) shares his tips for producing quality bale silage for horse feeding. Read article

Maurice Jones, Welsh farmer, shares his tips on silage production in wet weather and difficult markets Testimonial from Maurice Jones, owner of a dairy farm of 1000 hectares in Montgomeryshire, in Mid-Wales (UK).

Maurice Jones, owner of a dairy farm of 1000 hectares in Montgomeryshire, in Mid-Wales (UK), shares best practices on how he copes with unpredictable weather conditions and how to produce best quality silage and make a decent profit. Read article

Baling maize silage: the experience of a German contractor Testimonial from Rainer Fischer, a contractor from Dümmerlohausen in the district of Damme in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Rainer Fischer, a contractor from Dümmerlohausen, Germany, is a pioneer in baling maize silage, a practice he started in 2005. Fisher runs his own company, which alongside producing with maize silage also offers the exploitation of liquid manure on behalf of companies. Fischer shares with Silage Insights his experience in producing and baling maize silage. Read article

The importance of bale silage to a farmer’s business: testimonial from a UK farmer Testimonial from Len Farr, farmer in Herefordshire

The Farr family have many generations of experience of farming in the Wye Valley, England. Len Farr explains how they benefit from the rich agricultural landscape and how baling silage plays a great role in his business. Neighbouring Herefordshire farmers also explain how big bale silage facilitates their business. Read article

Flexible feeding system: A German farmer's view Testimonial from Werner Groten, farmer in Kesternich (Germany)

Werner Groten manages a grassland farm with 90 dairy cows plus calves at an elevation of 540m. He has been exclusively using bale silage for over 10 years as it complies best with the conditions on his farm. Reduced losses, greater independence, flexible feeding are some of the benefits that Werner Groten experiences from using bale silage. Read article

Investing in a new clamp or moving to bales? The experience of a German farmer A testimonial from Johann Poller, farmer and contractor in Bavaria (Germany)

Johann Poller manages a farm with 80 hectares and 60 diary cows. He exclusively made clamp silage for 25 years, when four years ago decided to look at bale silage as an alternative to investing in a second clamp to accommodate increased silage storage needs. Read article

Feeding bale silage to sheep: The experience from a German organic farmer A testimonial from Uwe Kleinert, an organic farmer in Olberhau in Sachsen (Germany)

Mr. Kleinert feeds his 200 sheep exclusively bale silage and produces 250 bales per year. According to this organic farmer, bale silage is a high quality, healthy and secure fodder for his sheep. Read article

Six or eight layers? A researcher and a contractor share their views A testimonial from Dr. Günter Pahlow, Federal Agricultural Research Centre in Braunschweig and Ludwig Brüggemann, contractor from Elze, Niedersachsen (Germany)

Dr. Günter Pahlow and Ludwig Brüggemann, contribute to the open debate in the farming community about the number of layers of stretch film to be applied to silage bales to ensure optimal silage quality. They seem to agree on a minimum number of 6 layers to produce high quality bales silage for cattle and up to 8 layers for horses. Read article

Correct bale handling key to quality silage: A German contractor's view A testimonial from Hans-Albrecht Reerman, contractor based in Brilon, in North Rhine-Westfalia (Germany)

Hans-Albrecht Reerman is a contractor producing bales for many customers in his region. According to him, careful handling of the bales when preparing for transportation and storage is essential to prevent damage to bales and ensure good quality silage. Read article

Bale wrapping: different options A testimonial from Pascal Bordeau, Editor of the 'Machinery' section of ENTRAID, official newspaper of the farmers association in France

Today, there is a very wide choice of bale-wrappers in the market. Mr. Bordeau helps to map the different options available and some of the criteria that a farmer should consider. According to him, choosing the type of bale-wrapper depends on the number of people available at the site, the fodder storage system, the number of bales to be wrapped each year, and the farmer's choice concerning mechanization. Read article

Baled silage for milk production: a Finnish farmer's view A testimonial from Heikki Niemela, farmer in Finnland (Nordic Region)

Heikki Niemela runs a 25-head dairy herd, together with 25 heifers and calves in his 63-hectare farm. He exclusively relies on bale silage for its quality that guarantees him a steady milk production throughout the year. Read article

Getting the most from silage: a Finnish advisor's view A testimonial from Jaakko Helminen, agricultural advisor in Finland (Nordic Region)

Jaakko Helminen spends most of his time visiting farms and advising farmers on how to get the best from bale silage. He describes why its flexibility makes it so attractive for small farms, and gives useful technical explanations on D-value (digestible organic matter in the dry matter). Read article

Allowing for better balanced diets: a Swedish dairy farmer's opinion A testimonial from Mats Eriksson, farmer in Sweden (Nordic Region)

Mats Eriksson has the choice but definitely prefers baled silage for its flexibility. It gives him the possibility to control and vary the quality of feed for the cattle and so offer better balanced diets. Read article

A truly flexible system: a UK dairy consultant view A testimonial from Derek Gardner, National Dairy Consultant at Promar International, a leading UK agricultural consultancy (UK)

Derek Gardner sees in the flexibility the key advantage of bales. Farmers can make small quantities with bales, feeding distinct livestock groups and moving the forage to less accessible areas. Read article

Little spoilage: A UK contractor's experience A testimonial from David Phillips, farmer and contractor in Brecon, South Wales (UK)

David Phillips is both a farmer and contractor. He makes about 9000 bales a year for his own purposes and for the farms around. The flexibility and the little spoilage of the system is what he and his customers appreciate most. Read article

Benefits from additional layers: a UK researcher's perspective A testimonial from Richard Phipps, Principal Research Fellow and Deputy Director, Centre for Dairy Research (CEDAR), Reading University (UK)

Research conducted at Centre for Dairy Research (CEDAR) in the UK has shown that as the number of layers increases, spoilage and losses decrease and nutritional content can improve. Read article

Haylage for race horses: a UK event rider's view A testimonial from Lisa Keys, a stable owner and eventing rider in Hertfordshire, England (UK)

Lisa Keys is a stable owner and eventing rider based in Sarrat, Hertfordshire, England. She has been using haylage as a feed for about 10 years and manages the horses' nutrition herself. Lisa shares her experience and the reasons that made her shift from hay to haylage. Read article

The advantages of haylage: an entrepreneur's view A testimonial from Noel Lawlor, entrepreneur in County Kildare (Ireland)

Noel Lawlor makes around 10,000 small bales each year and 800-900 bigger bales which he sells to a variety of equestrian enterprises. Advantages and best practices according to an entrepreneur. Read article

Optimising Results in Arabian Performance Horses with Haylage Interview with Sarah Kelleway, a champion endurance horse trainer

Horseracing and endurance expert, Sarah Kelleway, has enjoyed a rich and varied career riding and training Arabian horses across Europe and the Middle East. Having ridden over 500 winning horses in Europe alone, Sarah has extensive knowledge of high-octane equine sports and an in-depth understanding of how to optimise performance through nutrition. A regular columnist and spokesperson on horse matters, Sarah shares her advice on the benefits of haylage with Silage Insights. Read article

Feeding Haylage to Horses: Perspective of a Olympic Games and World Championships Horse Breeder Interview with Bernhard Sieverding, horse breeder in Germany

Bernhard Sieverding has 25 breeding mares of the finest stock on his 60 hectares, traditional stud farm in Twistringen in Germany. Horses from his stud farm participated in a number of Olympic Games and World Championships with rider Anna Mehrfeld. He shares with Silage Insights his positive experiences with feeding haylage to his horses. Read article