Silage Insights - Market Surveys
Trend towards haylage for horses revealed by Dow's annual survey of big bale silage trends

Dow's annual survey of big bale silage trends showed that while beef and suckler cows were the two main applications for baled silage in 2005, seven out of ten respondents were baling for horses, up from four out of ten in 2003 and 2004.

Detailed questions on haylage were introduced for the first time. Bale sizes are an important issue for the equestrian market, and while more than a third were making the traditional 1.22 by 1.37m (4ft by 4ft 6in) bale, a further third were making smaller 1.22x1.22m or even 1.07m bales. Square bales were made by 17 per cent of the respondents.

Just over half of those questioned were making haylage both for their own use and for customers, while 43 per cent were making it solely for customers. Riding schools were the most commonly mentioned customer group, while one in five were selling to racing stables. Percentages of sales to each sector suggest that orders are generally for small quantities.

Baled silage dominant
Baled silage was made by nearly all respondents in 2005 - six out of ten made only baled silage, and 77 per cent of all grass ensiled was baled, with 23 per cent clamped. This pattern has remained fairly constant for the past three seasons.

Grass silage continues to be the dominant crop, with haylage an increasingly close second. Inroads were made with whole crop cereal, with one in four respondents baling this crop in 2005, compared to one in eight in 2004.
However, respondents made fewer bales overall in 2005 - 347,250 bales of grass silage compared to 410,520 in 2005. Haylage accounted for 135,220 bales, up from 108,155 bales.

There were few differences between the number of bales - by crop - made in 2005 compared with the previous year. With the nine out of ten respondents making grass silage, 65 per cent produced more than 2000 bales of this crop. One third the seven out of ten respondents making haylage produced up to 1000 bales.

Green film use growing
On the subject of film colour, the overall use of black film has changed little over the seasons, and nine out of ten respondents claimed that they used it in 2005. However, the number of those saying that it was their only colour choice in the last season and the season before has decreased slightly.

While white film is only used by one in eight respondents, the use of green film has increased, with 67 per cent saying that they used it in 2005, compared to 54 per cent in 2004.Green film is a popular choice for haylage, principally to distinguish it from other crops, so this may have accounted for the increase.

Choice of film colour was down to the customer, according to 42 per cent of respondents in 2005, while a third said that they always use the same colour and a further third suggested that it was down to advice given or information received.

Number of wraps used was evenly split between respondents using four, six or eight layers only and using a combination of layers.

Rise in six and eight layer baling
Compared to previous seasons, there is to be a small reduction in numbers using four layers only, and an increase in the general use of six and eight layers. In 2005, 68 per cent of respondents were using four layers for at least some of the crop, 72 per cent six layers and 25 per cent eight layers.

More than half of the respondents use six layers of film on haylage bales, while 13 and 17 per cent use four layers and eight layers respectively.

Customer choice again was the main factor in the number of layers used for almost half of the respondents, with 'always use the same' as the second most popular reason.

A wide range of film brands are used, with Silotite being the most frequently recalled and named by 25 per cent of respondents. . Most common reasons for choosing a particular brand were supplier recommendation and the commercial nature of the deal. Use of 750mm film continues to grow, at 93 per cent of respondents, and just under half of these using it since the mid 1990s.

Spoilage in bales was attributed to pest damage by 72 per cent of respondents, with poor handling and poor storage also commonly cited.

In terms of capital purchases made over the past three seasons, balers were the most commonly mentioned items, with seven out of ten having purchased a baler, followed by wrappers. Mower/conditioners and rakes/tedders were also significant.

More off-farm disposal
Disposal of silage film has become a major issue with the new farm waste regulations and 42 per cent of respondents have opted for off farm disposal at a licensed site, with just 14 per cent investing in on-farm facilities to recycle under licence. The majority feel that the new regulations will lead to more money and more time being spent disposing of waste.

Figure 1 - What are the main livestock enterprises for which you bale silage?

Figure 2 - Those using different coloured films last season

Figure 3 - What was the main reason for your choice of number of layers?

Figure 4 - How many layers did you wrap bales with this season?

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