What can we learn from 1,100 Irish silage samples?

Ideally, sugars in grass silage at the time of cutting should be higher than 3%.

Getting the fundamentals right at the start is the key to making good silage. Picture: Frédéric Michel / iStock.

Quality silage pays for itself Many farms learned the hard way this year about the need to have reserves of good quality silage.

When cows are stuck indoors, silage makes up the majority of the diet, and no matter what levels of concentrate we feed, we will find it hard to get enough energy into the diet when cows need it the most.