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How to make more from your grass silage

Making the most of your forage crops has never been more important. We are here to help you to make more high quality silage from your grass and produce more milk and more valuable milk from your silage.

A UK-based trial undertaken at Reading University undertaken last year indicated that using an inoculant such as MAGNIVA Platinum Grass on grass silage can improve clamp stability, increase feedable dry matter by 29% and improve fat-corrected milk yields by 1.9 kg/day. It also increases milk fat and milk protein levels, giving a return on investment based of 17:1 based on the trial.

A side-by-side comparison of silage with and without the use of the Magniva Inoculant from the Reading University Trial 2024.

Three things to tackle ahead of the silage season

Lientjie Colahan, Technical Sales Support at Lallemand Animal Nutrition, outlines three important things to consider for the silage season ahead:

1. Develop a plan with your nutritionist, agronomist and contractor
- Nutrition – Work out a forage budget for your needs in terms of silage volumes and quality
- Agronomy – Discuss fertiliser plans and re-seeding policy to improve grass yields
- Cutting – Plan your cutting timings and clamp construction, especially if cutting earlier than usual. Young, lush grass will compact more easily, so will need to be put in the clamp in thin layers and rolled with less weight
2. Test before you cut
- Get your grass tested before cutting – you cannot manage what you do not measure.
- Pre-cut grass testing helps ensure the crop is at the optimum stage for cutting. Start sampling two weeks before the previous year’s cutting date, given the yearly variation in grass growth. Monitor nitrate, neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and sugar content.
3. Make sure you have everything you need
- This includes silage sheets and inoculants – check stocks at least two weeks before you plan to cut. Remember, using an inoculant should always give you a return on your investment.

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How an inoculant helps you make great silage

The right inoculant, applied correctly:

Rapidly lowers pH
Increases aerobic stability for early and conventional clamp opening
Reduces waste and increases energy from silage, helping maximise the value of your forage and your milk

Lallemand’s Magniva range of silage inoculants utilises the bacteria strain Lentilactobacillus hilgardii CNCM I-4785 in combination with the industry gold standard Lentilactobacillus buchneri NCIMB 40788. The product’s unique combination of bacteria and enzymes optimises the silage fermentation, giving you up to 13% more digestible fibre and up to 29% more dry matter. See the Reading University trial results for more information There are different Magniva inoculants available, depending on the dry matter content of your silage. The Lallemand team are on hand to offer their advice on making the best quality silage possible.