There has been plenty of second-cut silage harvested at this point of the year.

With grass settled in clamps and bales stacked in yards, mid-August is a good time for a quick check on fodder stocks.

Working out how much silage is currently on farm will show if there is a fodder deficit. To carry out a fodder budget, visit the Irish Farmers Journal online calculator.

To work out fodder reserves manually, multiply the length, width and average height of the clamp in metres to get cubic capacity.

Multiply this figure by 0.65 to convert to tonnes of silage on a freshweight basis, assuming dry mater is between 25% and 30%.

Count up how many bales are on farm and multiply by the average bale weight. Add this to the tonnage of pit silage.

Cattle demand

Next, calculate how much silage cattle eat over a typical winter. Dry spring-calving cows will eat around 1t to 1.2t every month. Lactating cows will eat 1.5t to 1.6t per month.

Allow 0.6t to 0.75t/month for weanlings and light stores, with 0.9t for finishing cattle. Factor in an extra month’s silage in case of early housing or a late turnout.

Supply

If silage stocks on farm exceeds the tonnage required by cattle, there should be adequate fodder. But if fodder stocks are below cattle demand, there is a shortage to address.

Consider all options now, which include a third cut, buying silage, selling some stock, drying off cows early, feeding meal to stores or ad-lib meal finishing.

The earlier a deficit is identified, the more options there are available to farmers.

Read more

Feeding cattle at grass and measuring silage pits

Time for weight gain check on grazing cattle