Moving into winter always brings a new discussion point, the last two seasons have been poor summers, average forage quality, but reasonable quantity. This season finally saw a summer and a decent early spring, bringing with it early cuts of silage and the opportunity for a large quality second cut. We got what we wished for with extras, drought areas with reports that many farms had used their first cut by August and looming forage shortage issues.
This often results in higher qualities which has not fully transpired. Reviewing silage averages from Trouw Nutrition Ltd (tabled below), 1st cuts performed slightly worse than the prior year with small reductions in energy and protein and an increase in fibre, possibly due to rapid growth in drier conditions. Many took a 1st cut and had a healthy dose of rain straight after, which helped deliver a quality 2nd cut, with higher energy, protein and dry matter. Yields were variable across the country, so balancing forage stocks and variability will be the key to unlocking the cow’s potential this winter. Dryer cuts will need either a wetter forage to balance (and vice versa), molasses added to increase palatability and intakes or moist feed to achieve the same goals. Dryer silages run the risk of heating, particularly with lower lactic acid levels. Manage this by keeping as small an amount of open silage as possible and consider feeding twice daily to keep the mix fresh. Additives can be added to prevent the heating from getting worse. Test silage cuts every month to make sure you’re on top of any variations in quality and intake characteristics; a small change in the diet could pay dividends.
Protein levels are typical, this is an opportunity to ensure forage supplies rumen requirements for protein, and quality by-pass protein enables cows to reach peak yield and achieve a healthy feed conversion rate. With a milk price to feed price ratio of 1.48 (Source: AHDB, September 2025), while this doesn’t mean we should feed for the sake of it, it does make it more worthwhile to ensure quality ingredients are used to deliver a return. Ultra Pro-R (protected rapeseed meal) and Ultra Soy (protected soyabean meal) are high by-pass protein supplements tried and tested on British farms for over 20 years. Backed also by having all NWF soyabean meal and Ultra Soy sourced from North America, ensuring a sustainable source approved by most milk processors.
Where forage stocks are an issue, consideration must be given to two main areas:
- Replace fibre with fibre. Cows are limited by NDF (Neutral Detergent Fibre) intake, adding
1kg of a low fibre supplement, such as wheat, would only replace 0.6kg fresh weight of
grass silage. Whereas adding 1kg fresh weight of NWF’s moist feed, Brayton Gold would
replace 1kg of grass silage. If using straw, 1kg can replace up to 4kg fresh weight of grass
silage, having a significant effect on forage replacement, but of course, you must keep in
mind the second most important point. - Make the energy backup. If using a moist feed like NWF’s Brayton Gold, with an energy
level higher than silage, there is a net benefit. However, using hay or straw has lower
energy, which must be supplemented to avoid yield loss. Replacing 4kg of grass silage
with 1kg of straw will reduce energy by 9MJ or 1.7 litres of milk, therefore, an additional
0.8kg of wheat or 0.3kg protected fat is needed to replace the energy.
Having this conversation early with your NWF feed advisor, assessing forage stocks, and planning requirements will help mitigate costs this winter.