An Overview of Silage Production and Utilisation in Ireland

C. S. Mayne, Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland
P. O'Kiely, Teagasc, Grange Research Center, Co Meath, Ireland

Description

Key Points

  1. The seasonal nature of grass growth in Ireland necessitates effective integration of grazing and grass conservation to fully manage and utilise grass within meat and milk production systems.
  2. Silage now accounts for 87% of the total grass conserved in Ireland.
  3. The rapid expansion of silage making in Ireland between 1950 and 2000 was facilitated by significant advances in mechanisation (forage harvesters, mower conditioners and stretch film wrapping of big bales) and by improved understanding of the preservation process. The expansion was required to support the major increase in livestock numbers.
  4. Excellent silage-making practices can result in grass silages with similar nutritive values to those of the grasses from which they were made and these silages can sustain high levels of performance in cattle and sheep.
  5. Key challenges for the future include: the development of lower cost, reduced labour harvesting systems; the improved prediction of silage feeding value based on analysis of the standing crop; the development of feeding strategies to improve the efficiency of nutrient capture in silage-based systems; and the production of meat and milk of enhanced nutritional value.

This paper has been withdrawn.
 

An Overview of Silage Production and Utilisation in Ireland

Key Points

  1. The seasonal nature of grass growth in Ireland necessitates effective integration of grazing and grass conservation to fully manage and utilise grass within meat and milk production systems.
  2. Silage now accounts for 87% of the total grass conserved in Ireland.
  3. The rapid expansion of silage making in Ireland between 1950 and 2000 was facilitated by significant advances in mechanisation (forage harvesters, mower conditioners and stretch film wrapping of big bales) and by improved understanding of the preservation process. The expansion was required to support the major increase in livestock numbers.
  4. Excellent silage-making practices can result in grass silages with similar nutritive values to those of the grasses from which they were made and these silages can sustain high levels of performance in cattle and sheep.
  5. Key challenges for the future include: the development of lower cost, reduced labour harvesting systems; the improved prediction of silage feeding value based on analysis of the standing crop; the development of feeding strategies to improve the efficiency of nutrient capture in silage-based systems; and the production of meat and milk of enhanced nutritional value.