It's first-cut time - Remember quality beats quantity when it comes to silage

Richard Fleming of Fleming Agricultural Contractors LTD was one of the first to start silage-making this year for Timoleague-based dairy farmer Finbarr Griffin. He was using a brand new Fuzion 4 baler and a John Deere 6150R tractor when this picture was taken at the end of April. Picture: Andy Gibson

Quite a bit of silage has been cut over the last week or so. Quality from these cuts will be fantastic once they are ensiled well. 

Having tested some crops for nitrate levels over the last week, if the nitrogen applied was not excessive, then crops were fit to cut and should have no problem preserving if handled correctly.