How to make your forage go further 

With 2025 being dominated by drought, particularly across the south, farmers have suffered reduced grass growth and yields, with many forced to offer supplements and feed conserved forages early. 

Whilst there was very high dry matter at cutting, there was also rapid plant maturation, higher fibre and lower digestibility in grass silage, commented soil health specialist Shane Brewer, of Eurofins Agro UK.

This follows on from 2024’s prolonged rainfall and flooding, which led to delayed cutting dates, nutrient leaching, low sugars and higher risk of poor fermentation, which will also have had implications for 2025’s silage.

Low confidence

There was huge variation in silage quality – with one farmer in the south testing his silage four times as his dry matter was 20% lower than his neighbour, Mr Brewer shared at the Forage Forum last month.

He noted that appearance can be misleading, as despite good bulk, samples from 2025 had high fibre, lower digestibility, sugars and metabolised energy. 

Eurofins received 5,000 samples, with a split of 75% grass, 15% maize and 10% other. Many samples were retested as results were so poor, confidence in them was low – many farmers said values were outside historic norms for their farms. 

Maize results, however, showed good DM and digestibility, and although protein was slightly lower it was within acceptable levels.

With silage quality unusually variable, visual assessment is no longer enough. Mr Brewer stressed the importance of accurate silage analysis, and recommended combining on-farm tools with lab analysis, using data to guide feeding decisions. 

Eurofins has partnered with Trinamax to develop a hand-held on-farm NIR device which measures the key parameters for silage, giving results in around five minutes. It’s especially useful at the clamp opening or for those housing animals early for winter – or if the visual assessment of silage doesn’t match feeding performance. 

Ewes in mid-pregnancy 

Alison Bond, technical services manager at Rumenco, told attendees at the forum that early scanning results are slightly behind on 2024 – which is undoubtedly due to the lack of grazing and body condition as ewes approached tupping.

The focus should now be on looking after ewes in mid-pregnancy and onwards into lambing, maintaining or increasing their body condition score. Whilst there’s not a lot of foetal growth in mid-pregnancy, the development of the placenta is important during this phase.

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A typical lowland ewe should be eating 1.5% of her bodyweight in dry matter – just over 1kg DM 9–10MJ/kg for maintenance. Forage and grazing are usually sufficient but this year there will potentially be ewes that need to gain condition.

Dr Bond advised understanding what you have on the farm and considering supplementation earlier than usual. 

75% of the lamb’s foetal growth occurs in the last six weeks of pregnancy, which puts a lot of stress on the ewe, pulling large amounts of energy, protein, minerals and vitamins.  

The udder is also developing ready for milk and colostrum production, so diets should reflect this, Dr Bond added. 

Unfortunately, when lambs are growing and taking up a lot of space, the ewe’s appetite will reduce – potentially by up to 30%, so nutrient dense rations are needed to keep pace with this. 

Whilst drier silages such as those seen this year can be beneficial, digestibility is needed, which we’re not seeing this year, she added.

On the approach to lambing, diets should provide more than 10.5ME/kg DM and protein above 12%, she advised. Key elements such as selenium, vitamin E and cobalt play an important role. Mineral forage analysis at the beginning of the season is recommended as drought may have impacted the mineral profile in forages, and uptake. 

Cattle body condition 

Typically over the summer, cattle would be putting on condition and storing excess energy, allowing for a poorer winter diet, however this year cows are potentially going into housing in poorer condition. 

For cattle, body condition score should be 2.5-3 about 6-8 weeks before calving, Dr Bond advised – for those that need to gain condition, typically 13% of bodyweight gives one BCS so to gain half their BCS they will need to gain 40kg (0.5kg/day) – requiring grass silage of 10.5ME/kg DM or more.

Closer to calving, higher magnesium and lower calcium will be required – this ratio is key to preventing milk fever. Magnesium is also important in uterine contractions; the data shows that deficiencies lead to prolonged calvings.

Autumn calvers: For autumn calvers, meanwhile, it’s essential that they are recovering and getting back to the bull in 80 days in order to meet targets for the 365-day calving period. Any lost condition will need to be put back on. 

Dr Bond advises a constant feeding rate during the mating period and for up to six weeks after. Poor grass silage below 10.5ME/kg DM will need supplementation, and the ration should contain 11ME/kg DM and 12% protein. Once pregnancy is established and the cow is in good condition (3 or more), poorer quality forage can be used if necessary.

Heifers and youngstock: Consistent steady growth rates of 0.7–0.8kg/day are needed for heifers and youngstock – which may not have grown as well as they should in the summer. It’s worth thinking about forage replacements such as brewer’s grains this year if diets are short. 

Dairy lactation: It’s very important to analyse forage frequently as you work back through the clamp, to understand the variability and adjust rations accordingly. Maize silage has lower starch due to early cutting, as well as slightly improved D values and better NDF digestibility. However, higher fibre could be a risk for rumen acidosis. 

Health risks

David Anderson, of Derbyshire Farm Vets, warned that metabolic health issues such as twin lamb disease could occur as a result of forage issues – animals at particular risk are those with a poor body condition, multiple births and fat ewes. 

Scanning and feeding according to how many the ewe is carrying, is the best investment you can make, he said. He recommends scanning at 80-100 days gestation and condition scoring – scores at tupping should be 3-3.5 for lowland and 2.5-3 for hill ewes. 

Key risks for cattle this year include downer cows due to milk fever and grass staggers, as well as digestive disturbance as a result of feeding different diets to make forage go further. This includes acidosis in cattle and sheep, ketosis, primarily in dairy cows, and left/right displaced abomasum, which is usually secondary to ketosis. 

For farms with plentiful forage of variable quality, David says palatability is key – clean troughs regularly to avoid older/mouldy feed contaminating fresh feed. Sufficient feed space is also important (60cm for cattle, or 30cm for ad lib; 45cm for sheep or 15cm for ad lib). 

For those with good quality forage in small quantities, minimising waste is important. Again, clean and maintain troughs, and ensure there are no tears in bale wraps, store bales correctly, keep the clamp face clean, and minimise soil contamination to avoid clostridial disease.

And finally, if you’re adding things to the diet such as wholecrop wheat, fodder beet, waste vegetables, potatoes etc – be careful to ensure they are properly prepared, and there’s not too much readily fermentable sugars, starches etc.

Vets can also assist with additional analysis such as blood sampling, he concluded.

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