SILAGE quality is well down on last year, and also below the six-year average, according to a study of more than 1,000 grass silage samples from across the UK, reports BASF. According to nutrition specialist Frank Wright Ltd, of Derbyshire, this season's average dry matter, at 24.65pc, is significantly lower than usual. Average protein (13.36pc), D value (66.0) and ME (10.57MH/kg) are also less than average. Based on these findings, Frank Wright nutritionists calculate that a dairy cow will need an extra 1kg of compound feed per day to maintain a production of 30 litres. It is calculated that silage dry matter will be down, but intake of fresh silage will be up by 2kg per cow per day due to silage being wetter. Commenting on the analysis of the first 1,000 samples, Frank Wright's senior ruminant manager David Wilde said: "The range of values between silage samples is very wide this year and underlines the need to get an accurate analysis carried out before the start of winter feeding."
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