03 April 2025
Why Gareth Peoples prioritises high-quality silage
Teagasc Signpost Programme Participant, Gareth Peoples fills us in on how things are progressing on his farm this spring, focusing on grassland management and his plan for producing excellent quality silage – a must for his calf-to-beef system in Co. Donegal.
High-quality silage is an absolute priority on my farm since all animals are priority stock, meaning they need to gain weight consistently throughout the year. To maintain these performance levels, it is essential to produce silage with a high digestibility value. In recent years, I have consistently achieved silage quality exceeding 70 DMD, which has had a positive impact on animal performance.
One of the key strategies in ensuring top-quality silage is tight grazing of the silage ground before the main growing period begins. The current weather conditions is allowing for this and the removal of any dead material from the sward, allowing new growth to emerge as high-quality, leafy material from the base of the plant.
Most of my silage ground is index 3 for phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Since these fields received 3,000 gallons of cattle slurry earlier in the spring, my fertiliser plan for the first cut involves applying 90 units of protected urea with sulphur. Over the past few years, I have included 12–15 units of sulphur per acre in my fertilisation programme and have noticed a clear improvement in both yield and quality.
My standard approach for first-cut silage involves a split fertiliser application. The plan is to spread 50 units of nitrogen in the first week of April, followed by the remaining 40 units in mid-April. My target cutting date is around May 20th. Given that grass generally uses nitrogen at an average rate of 2 units per day, I expect that by the time of cutting, all applied nitrogen will have been fully utilised, ensuring high-quality silage.
Getting stock out to grass
The recent dry spell has been a welcome change, providing an excellent opportunity to complete essential tasks around the farm and begin turning out stock. Currently, 50 animals have been turned out, taking full advantage of the improved ground conditions.
Earlier in the month, 25 of the lighter, spring-born weanlings were turned out. These animals were chosen first because their lower weight meant they caused minimal damage to the land while conditions were still marginal. Now that the weather has remained favourable, I have also turned out another 25 heavier steers that were born in autumn 2023. These steers are intended for slaughter later in the year, and by getting them out onto grass early, I hope to maximise weight gain in a cost-effective way. Over the coming weeks, I plan to turn out additional stock as conditions allow.
At present, grazing conditions are excellent, with animals achieving good graze-outs. However, grass covers remain relatively low, and growth is still slow due to cold temperatures. I have applied approximately 30 units of protected urea per acre across the grazing block and some of the lower-index paddocks have received 2,000 gallons of cattle slurry applied using a dribble bar. This should help kick on growth when warmer conditions come. The plan for the next fertiliser application is to spread a bag and a half of 18-6-12 per acre in the first week of April to further kick on growth.
Gareth Peoples is a participant in the Teagasc Signpost Programme and Teagasc DairyBeef 500 Campaign.
The above article first appeared in the Farming Independent.