Farmers are being warned against the temptation to reduce cutting height or delay cutting to boost grass silage shortfalls.
Ken Stroud, Technical Business Manager for Volac, has travelled the length of Britain this spring and noticed a worrying tendency for growers to reduce cutting height.
I’ve seen many fields that have been shaved off at first cut, probably in an attempt to get as much dry matter in the clamp as possible. But this strategy could actually be achieving the opposite across the season,” he says.
Cutting grass too low stunts regrowth by taking off the leaf node. That can translate into 7-9 days of lost regrowth. “On farms aiming for four cuts of silage, scalping grass at each cut could mean a month of lost growth or 5-6t/acre across a season. At 6t/acre, that’s 600 tonnes lost across 100 acres of grass,” Ken explains.
This is a shortfall farmers can ill-afford, particularly considering the need to replenish forage stocks following last season’s drought. Results from Volac’s UK Grass Silage Survey found that 20% of the 140 respondents had seen the amount of grass silage made in 2025 reduce by up to a quarter because of the drought; 19% had seen it reduce between a quarter and a half and 10% had seen it reduce by more than half.
Combine this with lower milk price and increased costs, and maximising the production of quality silage to optimise milk from forage is vital. In fact, nearly two thirds of farmers surveyed said they wanted to increase milk from forage.
With that in mind, Ken urges farmers to review cutting height and avoid cutting below 5cm. “This is even more important as we head into hotter months. You’re really asking for trouble if you scalp grass in June as regrowth could be suppressed even more if the moisture isn’t there,” he explains.
He also emphasises the value of focusing on quality over quantity at each cut, and upping cutting frequency. “You can always add straw to the diet or use wholecrop or maize later, don’t panic,” he says. “Also, fuel costs might be high, but don’t be tempted to reduce the number of cuts as you will quickly lose quality.”
Cut timings will always need to be adapted with the season. Ken says the key is not to wait for grass to bulk up or it will go to head and quality will be lost. He also encourages growers to use a proven silage additive to safeguard forage DM and quality.
When milk price drops, that’s when it’s imperative to use a proven additive to squeeze as much milk out as possible,” he stresses. “Trial work has found that using Ecosyl on grass silage roughly halves DM losses and delivers silage of higher metabolisable energy and higher true protein. That equals more milk in the tank.
Ultimately, while the pressure to maximise silage stocks is understandable, maintaining the correct cutting height, prioritising forage quality and protecting regrowth will be key to achieving better yields, improved milk from forage and a more resilient silage supply across the season.