Silage Insights - Testimonials
Using Silage in the Garden of England

William Alexander, a farmer from Kent, tells Silage Insights why big bale silage provides the right combination of flexibility for his mixed farm…

Like his father before him, William Alexander has been farming on Kent's North Downs for over thirty years. Renowned as the 'Garden of England', Kent's rolling hills support a wide variety of agricultural enterprises and William Alexander's mixed farm is no different. William's 1200 acres of land support a mix of arable and horticultural crops, as well as a beef growing unit.

Over the past thirty years, William has joined the growing trend of British farmers who have diversified.  He cultivates chamomile, rosemary and particularly lavender essential oils, which are distilled on the farm. Hops are grown for the decorative and dried flower market, being used by interior designers, for weddings and in kitchens. Indeed, William and his wife Caroline once exhibited their dried flowers at the world famous Chelsea Flower Show in London and won five gold medals. William also has an orchard where visitors can come to  pick their own apples and buy from his farm shop, The Hopshop, which sells the farm's own fresh produce, including fruit, beef and, of course, William's own brand of lavender oil, together with locally sourced food and gifts.

William rears between 200-250 beef calves each year, using a combination of clamped maize silage and grass big bale silage. William finds that maize silage provides high levels of energy for his cattle, particularly in the winter months, but lacks protein, whilst the grass and clover big bale silage provides better protein levels and has excellent palatability with high intake.
William recently introduced clover into his grasslands as it is possible to make a cost saving because less fertiliser is needed. Clover also provides greater production during dry summers compared to grass only swards.  Using nitrogen naturally supplied by clover also improves the sustainability of the farm.
William explains: "Maize needs to be grown in the larger fields which can be harvested using large, modern forage machinery; whereas big bale silage can be made in smaller, more awkward fields using smaller equipment".

"The flexibility of big bale silage also extends to feeding, because individual bales permit us to feed small groups of cattle in fields during the autumn and spring without needing to open up a large silage clamp. Clamped silage can suffer from secondary fermentation and spoilage due to moulds unless used rapidly".

William also adds that it is equally important to prevent deterioration through oxygen permeating the film, "by correct wrapping of every bale with a quality grade plastic film".

For more information on William's farm please visit www.hopshop.co.uk

 

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