Wastage in silage making is inevitable – but careful management can reduce losses significantly, resulting in considerable cost savings and markedly improved silage qua...

Adopting a multi-cut silage system, which reduces the interval between silage cuts could be one way to help farmers maximise milk from forage - something nearly all respo...

The terms ‘herbal ley’ and multi-species swards’ are often used synonymously. They typically refer to temporary grasslands made up of a mix of grass, legume and her...

Historically, diverse species swards were the domain of specialist systems. However, the benefits of planting a diverse mix of species make them a valuable resource for m...

Nitrates in forage can reduce milk yields and cause fertility problems, can turn silage butyric and even cause death in stock. This Farming Note covers: How to ens...

The costs of ammonium nitrate and urea have more than doubled in the last year, taking prices to over £500 and £600 per tonne respectively. Optimising fertiliser use sh...

A 15% dock infestation in a good quality sward will typically result in £80/acre of lost milk per year on an organic farm and £120 on a non-organic system. Without acce...

Kingshay's recent Forage Costings Report clearly showed grazed grass to be a very cost effective forage. A good quality grazing sward can produce a litre of milk for abou...

Phosphorus is an essential element for soil, plant and animal health but its high cost and potential as a pollutant makes it essential not to overapply. This Farming Note...

Many factors determine the quality of the silage that is ultimately fed to dairy cows. The Forage Cost Report bases yield and cost values on an average of well grown crop...