If you’ve ever stood at the feed fence and thought, “This looks different today” or “Are the cows sorting this?” — the Penn State 3-tray shaker box is one of the quickest, simplest tools you can use to get a straight answer.

After the difficult season for grass growth in 2025, consider what steps you can take to mitigate against another drought in 2026 causing grass silage shortages again next winter, dairy farmers are being urged. Especially with falling milk prices.

It’s fair to say, many farmers are facing tight silage stocks this winter – after the summer drought. If you’re in that position, and looking to minimise further losses, this is for you.

Squeezed milk prices and tight silage stocks are seeing Shropshire farmer Mark Fitton squaring up for a challenging year in 2026.

Once forage has been clamped, as well as preventing rain driving into the open clamp face and ‘washing away’ the fermentation acid that’s preserving it, the key is to minimise ingress of air.

Dry conditions affected both maize and grass growth in 2025. Shropshire farmer Mark Fitton spent a busy autumn getting silage stocks back on track.

After a drought-hit growing season, North Shropshire dairy farmer Mark Fitton of The Farms near Whitchurch seized the opportunity to harvest his 35ha of forage maize almost a month earlier than normal this year.