Discovering Quality Silage with the Fane Valley Silage Competition

Fane Valley are running a competition to find the best silage in the province this winter. Any farmer who uses Fane Valley to analyse their silage this winter will automatically be entered into the competition to win 250t worth of grass silage additive for next season. 

Silage quality is key to good animal performance, reducing winter feed costs and increasing profitability during the housing period. Grass silage is the basis of most winter feeding systems and animal performance is largely dependent on the adequate intake of good quality silage.

The level of meal feeding on your farm is determined by the quality of your silage. Therefore knowing your silage quality must be the starting point in planning your winter feed when making cost effective decisions on concentrate supplementation.

The Fane Valley technical team will shortlist the top 5 silages analysed through the Fane Valley Group for the competition based on dry matter, energy, protein, intake characteristics and fermentation quality. The finalists will then be judged on their clamp management to find the winner. 

If taking a silage sample to get the most accurate result it is best to sample a freshly opened bale or take the sample from deep into the pit in a W pattern. The sample should be placed in a labelled ziploc type bag and kept cool. The sample should be sent away as soon as possible afterwards. Samples which are left in a bag over the weekend in a car for example, will deteriorate rapidly and give rise to inaccurate results.

To have your silage analysed by Fane Valley, be entered into the competition for 250t of free grass silage additive and get information to make a plan for winter feeding contact your local Fane Valley representative. Call 028 9261 0485 for Agronomy & Forage or 028 8224 3221 for Fane Valley Feeds.