Tackling silage costs and reducing waste

Making the most from multi-cut silage, eliminating waste and making efficient use of machinery are key areas of focus for George Wade’s autumn calving herd in Leicestershire.

Making the most from multi-cut silage, eliminating waste and making efficient use of machinery are key areas of focus for George Wade’s autumn calving herd in Leicestershire.

While Honeypot Farm already generates 10ppl profit and achieves 5,000 litres from forage, George wants to consistently improve and move his business to the top 5%.

Moving from three to four cuts and targeting 11MJ ME in the clamp over all cuts will help reduce waste, increase forage value and improve system resilience.

Independent consultant Dr George Fisher worked with George taking a Lean Management approach to the challenge. They reviewed the assets involved in his forage making process and to hit target, they expect improvements will cost £11.6k. On the flipside, this would generate an additional £21k of income through increased potential production by 3 litres per cow per day for the 70 days before turnout.

Harry Henderson, AHDB’s machinery specialist looked at George’s options for purchasing two new tractors for Honeypot and their other farm.

Owning a machine is usually the cheapest option, but always check whether a contractor can do the work more efficiently. As a rough guide, farm costs should be around two thirds of a contractor.

Honeypot 117 ha of 1^st cut silage, which could be managed in three eight-hour days based on a sensible speed of 12 – 14 kph and 80% field efficiency for mowing.

Consider the size of the implement needed – wider equipment get the job done quicker but costs can quickly mount up to be more than a contractor. Equipment not able to get the work done in good time can also cause costs in missed weather windows. The right balance is needed. 

After getting quotes from several dealers, George opted for two New Holland tractors which can handle their 3.92m mower. Both were bought outright on hire purchase over three years. Harry suggests that you treat the dealer as a business partner and take any operator training offered.

Top tips when choosing farm machinery:

1. Buy the machinery for the job, not to sell on
2. Buy the right sized machine for the job
3. Think of machinery as items that make you money, not cost you money
4. Machinery isn’t going to go down in price
5. Ask the dealer to calculate the machinery needed, rather than ask them to sharpen their pencil with a something they’d like to sell you
6. Look after your investment
7. Assess whether a contractor is a better option for seasonal work.