Forage focus vital after 2025 drought, says silage expert

With milk prices also under pressure, making the most from homegrown forage will be more important than ever.

That is the message from Ken Stroud, technical business manager with Volac. He says the 2025 drought not only limited grass yields across many regions, but in many cases also had a negative impact on silage quality.

Silage expert and Volac technical business manager for Ecosyl, Ken Stroud (Image: web)

“With lower milk prices increasing the importance of maximising milk produced from forage, there’s a compelling case for protecting 2026 silage production against another drought and rebuilding silage stocks,” says Stroud.

“As much as half of the dry matter (DM) tonnage of grass silage can be lost between mowing and feeding. Many losses are caused by unwanted microbes growing in silage.

"It’s not possible to eradicate all losses, but there are steps that can improve silage output and reduce them.”

1. Reseeding tired swards

The starting point for good silage production is productive, high-quality grass leys. Stroud advises farmers to consider reseeding tired or older swards with more productive varieties.

Alternatively, he suggests multi-species leys could be worth considering.

“They seemed to cope better with the dry 2025 season than grass-only leys, possibly due to the tap roots of the herb species accessing deeper soil moisture. Therefore, don’t rule these out,” he said.

2. Taking an early ‘clearance cut’

Taking a March or April ‘clearance cut’ of silage fields is becoming increasingly useful after the milder winters now experienced.

Removing grass that has continued growing through winter can stimulate regrowth of fresh material for the main spring cut, and farmers who adopted this approach in 2025 often achieved extra tonnage.

Rapid wilting to the target dry matter is key to minimising losses when rebuilding silage reserves (Image: web)

3. Cutting more often

Although frequent cutting was not always feasible during the prolonged dry spell last year, more regular harvesting can help boost yields where conditions allow.

“Compared with three cuts, trial work showed cutting five times yielded 0.92t/ha more dry matter over a season,” said Stroud.

“The multi-cut grass was also around 0.5 MJ/kgDM higher in metabolisable energy on average and almost 3% higher in crude protein.”

4. Best practice mowing and wilting

While mowing close to the ground may seem a simple way to increase yield, the sward base often contains higher levels of undesirable bacteria that can compromise fermentation and lead to greater losses in the clamp.

“As well as mowing high enough to reduce this risk, cut before grass heads to avoid it becoming stemmy and difficult to consolidate. This can lead to fermentation problems and increased heating losses,” he said.

Rapid wilting is also key. In-field dry matter losses can be 2–10%, so grass should be wilted quickly to 28–32% DM and ensiled promptly. Ideally this should be achieved within 12 hours.

“Avoid mowing in the evening, as grass won’t start wilting effectively until the sun is up the following day, leaving sugars vulnerable to decline overnight,” he added.

5. Best practice harvesting and clamping

Correct chop length is another important factor in reducing in-clamp losses. Drier grass may need a shorter chop to aid consolidation, while lusher material can benefit from a longer chop, so consulting a silage adviser can be worthwhile.

Stroud also stresses the importance of strong clamp management. Boosting fermentation with a proven inoculant can help reduce dry matter losses and improve feed value, while ensuring clamps are airtight and fully weighted will help minimise heating and spoilage.

6. Building a buffer for winter

Finally, Stroud suggests aiming to make around 20% more silage than is needed for winter to provide a useful carryover stock.

“Around 15% extra silage is possible by getting mowing, wilting, chop length, inoculant use and clamp management right,” he estimated.

“Well-conserved silage is like money in the bank. If you don’t use it, there can be opportunities to sell it; I’ve seen grass silage priced as high as £65/t. If short of clamp space, consider baling the extra silage.”