Time to join the winning Ecosyl team?

05 February 2025

Not one, not two, but three recent winners of the Federation of Welsh Grassland Societies’ (FWGS) all-Wales clamp silage competition conserved their grass silage with Ecosyl additive. 

Llion Davies, Glaspant Farm, Ceredigion    

• Winner of the 2024 FWGS grass silage competition

• Three cuts a year

• Simple system

Llion Davies, who runs a dairy and beef enterprise with his parents and helped by his wife, operates a simple system.

With milk going for cheese, milk solids are important, and calving of the 220 year-round-calved Holstein Friesians is skewed to August to January to make the most of higher winter milk prices. So good silage is key. 

Average yield is 7,500 litres/cow, with an aim of 4,000 litres from forage. The simple winter ration comprises grass silage from a feeder wagon plus cake through out-of-parlour feeders and in the parlour.

“We’re not a high-yielding herd,” explains Llion, “but want to run an efficient system. We’re striving for more milk from forage.

“We graze the silage ground with sheep over winter to freshen it. It’s far better to have fresh, young grass than stemmy swards. The sheep come off in late January.”

Three silage cuts a year are taken – in the first half of May, late June and early September. Milkers receive first and second cut. Youngstock have third cut and some second. 

“We mow and ted ourselves,” continues Llion, “and get a contractor in to rake, chop and cart, but we have two trailers so we’re part of the process to manage it. We can also help the contractor with rolling.

“We started using an additive 4-5 years ago. We used Ecosyl then a different product but didn’t get the result we wanted, so went back to Ecosyl.

“Silage is the biggest component of the diet and we’ve been happy with what we produce. You want to do the best you can for the cows with what you’ve got. The better the silage, the less concentrate that’s needed,” he adds. 

The farm’s winning silage analysed at 37% dry matter (DM), 15.7% protein and 11.4 ME, and Llion’s father admits with Ecosyl the silage does smell good.

Ifan Ifans, Tyddyn Cae, Llyn Peninsula, Gwynedd   

• Winner of the 2022 FWGS grass silage competition

• Five cuts a year

• Dairy herd only established in 2018

Historically, Tyddyn Cae was a beef and sheep farm with 40 suckler cows and 1,200 sheep, run by Ifan’s father, Tomos.

It was only after Ifan returned from Harper Adams with a degree in Agriculture and Business Management in 2018 that the dairy herd was established.

Starting with 200 cows, that has increased to 430 using Irish and New Zealand Friesian genetics with milk sold for cheese. Cows are grazed from February to late October and calved outside in a 12-week block starting in August to make the most of premium winter milk prices.

Average milk yield is 6,300 litres/cow with about 3,000 litres from forage and a combined butterfat and protein level of 580 kg/cow/year. 

“We’re pushing for intake from forage,” explains Ifan, who says grass production and grazing have been improved by re-seeding and closely monitoring soil pH and nutrients, and by improving field drainage and grazing infrastructure.

The winter TMR, which is also buffer fed to extend both ends of the grazing season, comprises grass silage, homegrown maize and wholecrop barley, a protein blend and caustic-treated wheat.

Five grass silage cuts are taken a year to maximise quality and quantity. Ecosyl has been used for four years. “We used to just use it on first and second cut, but now use it on most cuts. We’re trying to make the best silage possible,” Ifan adds.  

“We start cutting in the last week of April then at five-week intervals, with the last cut at the beginning of October.

“One contractor comes in with mowers and another picks up. We aim to wilt for no more than 24 hours, tedding when necessary depending on the weather. The wind can dry crops out quickly here; we used to get caught out making dry silage and were losing quality. If the weather is good, we try to cut in the morning and pick up at tea time, aiming for 30% dry matter.”

Michael Williams, Fagwrfran, North Pembrokeshire   

• Winner of the 2020 FWGS grass silage competition

• Four cuts a year

• Scientific approach

As a trained scientist as well as a farmer, Michael Williams pays close attention to detail to farm efficiency and silage-making.

Running 150 Holstein Friesian x Norwegian Red milkers, 100 heifers and 150 head of beef, with his parents, cows are milked an average of 3.2 times a day through the farm’s three robots. 

But despite averaging around 10,500 litres/cow, Michael says he is not chasing maximum yields. Instead the focus is on animal health and milk solids, with milk sold for cheese production, and on sustainable milk from forage.

“We’re building milk from forage all the time,” explains Michael. “We’re currently at about 25% with an aim of reaching 35% this year.

“We cut grass four times a year, which seems to be the sweet spot. First cut is normally the first week of May, then every 42-45 days from then on. We don’t want grass to go to head. 

“Because we’re mowing lusher grass, we’ve stopped using a mower conditioner because we don’t want to batter it. But we do ted straightaway.”

With cows housed September to April, the winter TMR comprises 60% grass silage and 40% of either maize or wholecrop plus a blend. Further concentrate is fed through the robots.

For better compaction and less variability, silage cuts are layered in clamps, rather than filling in a wedge. If needed, an extra machine is put on clamp rolling to help the contractor who looks after harvesting and ensiling. Ecosyl has been used for more than 10 years.

“What I like about Ecosyl is it has lots of trial work,” says Michael. “A science background teaches you not to take everything at face value. I like to know the ins and outs. We use it on all cuts normally, and use Ecocool on the maize and wholecrop. We put a lot of effort into making the best silage we can. 

“We consider an inoculant that bit extra that ensures there’s no waste. Nothing annoys me more than wastage because the cows don’t eat it. At the end of the day, Ecosyl is probably the least cost part of the process, so it’s not a high risk.”

A word from the FWGS

FWGS secretary, Charlie Morgan, says the federation represents 20 Welsh grassland societies, with the competition aiming to improve silage quality and farm efficiency, and allow farmers to benchmark their silage-making approach.

“It’s not just about producing good silage. It’s about producing silage appropriate to the livestock,” says Charlie.

“We encourage additive use for most farms because it’s important to stabilise silage quickly to achieve the best quality in terms of energy and protein. We’re also interested in the environmental side. The better the silage quality, the lower the animal’s concentrate requirement and the better the animal’s performance, so you’re getting a lower carbon footprint.”

Curious about how Ecosyl silage additives can boost your silage quality? Learn more here!