The drymatter figure was particularly important for silage because it was a guide on how much wet silage needed to be fed to achieve the end feeding result. It also gave an indication of how palatable the silage was because very dry (more than 80%) or very wet (less than 20%) were generally less palatable.
The most desirable crude protein level depended on what the silage was being fed for. A 10-12% range was suitable for hind maintenance whereas 14-16% was needed to put weight on weaners.
With metabolisable energy (ME), the higher the better and the ideal range depended on what it was being fed for. Reasonable growth came from silage in the 10.5-12 ME range.
Stevens said that 0.5% should be deducted from the test result for newly made silage.
Another noteworthy reading was the ash level. If more than 10% this indicated dirt contamination and a potential listeriosis risk.
Ways to mitigate leachate loss from pit silage were overviewed by Andrew Wall of AgResearch. He said the big problem with leachate was it sucked up the oxygen in waterways.
Leachate was produced during the making of silage, grazing at the feeding face, rain, and transfer of silage by deer to the run-off area.
Wall said ideal silage should comprise 25-28% drymatter. It shouldn’t be stacked too high and needed to be covered as soon as possible to prevent moisture seeping in.
In order to maintain quality and prevent wastage only two days worth at a time needed to be uncovered.
Any waste should be regularly cleared from the grazing area to prevent it from being tramped back into the run-off area.
