A research note: A short survey of key silage-making practices on Northern Ireland dairy farms and farmer's perceptions of the factors influencing silage quality
Date
2022-11-07
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Publisher
Teagasc
Abstract
Northern Ireland dairy farmers (n = 174) were surveyed to identify key silage-making practices, and factors perceived to influence the quality of grass silage made on their farms. The majority of farmers (65%) harvested grass for silage three times/year: 62% normally used a contractor, while 47% routinely used a silage additive. Delays to mowing and delays to harvesting due to adverse weather or poor ground conditions were perceived to have a large or very large impact on silage quality (68% and 53% of farmers, respectively). Inadequate wilting, poor-quality swards on owned land, on rented land and “contamination” of first-cut grass with autumn or winter growth herbage were all perceived as having a large or very large impact on silage quality (32%, 27%, 40%, 30% of farmers, respectively). Over the previous decade, 11%, 41% and 37% of farmers claimed a small, moderate or large improvement in silage quality, mainly due to earlier cutting of grass and ensiling better quality swards.
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Keywords
Farmer perceptions, grass silage quality, survey
Citation
Ferris, C.P., Laidlaw, A.S. and Wylie, A.R.G. (2022) ‘A short survey of key silage-making practices on Northern Ireland dairy farms, and farmer perceptions of factors influencing silage quality’, Irish Journal of Agricultural and Food Research. Compuscript, Ltd. Available at: https://doi.org/10.15212/ijafr-2022-0103.