Answering the key questions on silage 2026
The cost of silage production is set to rise this year given current pressures on input and service prices. However, the difficult spring period again underlined the value of having adequate quantity, and quantity of silage in place.
To help farmers in this regard as the silage season kicks into gear, Teagasc will host a webinar ‘Gearing up for Silage 2026’ on Tuesday, 5th May at 8pm. Tuesday’s webinar will address some key management issues for dairy and drystock farmers in this context.
“Farmers across the country are understandably concerned about the cost of making winter feed this year. That said, demand for silage next winter will be largely unchanged so the overall silage plan on farms has to meet the budget targets,” Teagasc Dairy Advisor and host of the webinar, Deirbhle Browne explained.
“Our webinar will seek to answer practical questions such as the cost of pit silage versus bales, does bulking first cut make sense this year, if fertiliser was delayed can silage still be harvested early, and what effect will silage strategy have on feed costs next winter?”
Silage costs
To discuss these points and more, Deirbhle will be joined by an expert panel on the night. Dr Peter Doyle, grassland researcher in Teagasc Grange, has done extensive work on different silage cropping systems; he will present the comparative costs for a range of silage harvesting strategies for different beef and dairy systems, with updated input prices factored in.
Balancing quality and quantity
Bernard Ging, dairy farmer from Portlaoise, will share his real-world experience of balancing good silage yields and quality across multiple silage cuts. Bernard places a big emphasis on having excellent silage in stock for his high performing spring-calving dairy herd. He uses this home-grown feed to maintain diet quality and keep feed costs down during early and late lactation, and also during periods of summer drought.
Beef feeding considerations
David Argue, Teagasc Beef Specialist in Ballyhaise, will look at the effect of silage Dry matter Digestibility (DMD) on animal performance in calf-to-beef and suckler systems. He will also look at the costs of balancing diets with concentrates for different stock types on beef farms.
Achieving good preservation
Finally, Dave Davies, a UK based consultant with Silage Solutions Ltd, will talk through the key practical points on achieving a good preservation of the silage crop, including the effect of Nitrogen fertiliser on cutting dates, testing the crop for sugars, the value of wilting, and decisions on use of silage additives.
There will be plenty of opportunity for audience members to submit their questions on the night, so please register in good time.
To register for the ‘Gearing up for Silage’ webinar, visit here.