deutsch
english
français
español / latino america
italiano
český
slovak
polski
dansk
suomi
українська
pусский
north america
NEWS MESSAGE
Success factors for perfect silage quality
A three-part series on the key aspects
The 2007 harvest season starts in a couple of weeks. Many factors need to be taken into consideration in order to achieve optimum silage quality. In addition to grassland care and fertilization - which has already been taken care of this year - there are numerous different aspects that need to be taken into account during and after harvesting. We would like to discuss these factors in more detail in a three-part series starting in this issue.
- Cutting date and mower technology
- Harvest
- Storage and silage quality
The harvest itself is the cornerstone for good silage quality. If mistakes are made here they are extremely difficult to iron out later on.
1. Cutting time
It is not always easy to get the cutting time spot on. On the one hand there is the nutrient content of the plants, on the other hand the yield per hectare. The nutrient content rapidly decreases as the crop ages, while the yield per hectare goes up. 
It is precisely during the first cut that special attention needs to be paid to the nutrient content of the plants since this drops very rapidly. Although considerably higher quantities of crop can be harvested the later the cutting date is, a huge compromise has to be made regarding nutrient content. The motto "Less is worth more" applies here. 
The ideal cutting date is between the panicles starting to develop and full development of the panicles. Cutting in this phase ensures that both the yield and nutrient content are ok.
2. Mowing and conditioning
The most important factor on mowers is the cutting height. If this is set too low, the settings on the machinery in subsequent passes will also need to be set lower, causing unnecessary contamination of the crop. 
The cutting height should be at least 6 cm, although this also depends on the composition of the meadow. For mixed plants with a relative high grass content a cutting height higher than 6 cm may also be sufficient. Purely lucern crops (alpha-alpha) should be cut higher however - here a cutting height of around 9 cm would be favourable. 
3. Dry matter -> which value should be achieved?
The drying sequence can be greatly shortened by using a conditioner. Grass silage should be harvested with a dry matter content of between 35 and 40 %. Freshly-cut forage has a dry matter content of between 18 and 20 %.. The condition rubs away the waxy layer on the plants so that water can evaporate better; the plants drying more quickly as a result. The higher the proportion of leafy plants (e.g. white or red clover) in the crop, the more aggressive the conditioner settings should be. The use of a roller conditioner is most suitable for purely lucern crops. The conditioned forage should be spread out as widely as possible behind the mower to promote a uniform drying rate of the whole forage crop. The dry matter content of silage should not be higher than 40% in order to prevent problems compressing the crop in the clamp as well as reducing the risk of fermentation failure and mould. 
Created: 20.04.2007
