| Grassland
volume you have. While cost per
acre will generally be higher in a
multi-cut system (four to five cuts
plus), due to the higher levels of
inputs and greater harvesting
costs, the higher dry matter
production over the season means
there is a cost benefit just on the
amount of material utilised. When
the extra energy produced is
calculated it shows that the multi-
cut system will produce 50%
MJ/acre more than a traditional
three-cut system. This leads to a
14.5% reduction in cost per MJ,”
concludes Paul.
Table 1: Comparison between a
traditional silage system (3 cuts)
and a multi-cut silage system (5
cuts)
3 Cuts 5 Cuts
Yield & DM
Tonnes/acre
Dry Matter (%)
Dry Matter (Tonnes/acre)
Clamp Losses (%)
Amount Fed (TonnesDM/acre) 15
28
4.2
10
3.78 17
35
5.95
10
5.35
Nutrient Values
Energy ME (MJ/Kg DM)
Protein (% in DM) 10.8
14 11.7
16
Cost
Freshweigh