Production costs

There is a wide perception that big bale silage is expensive relative to clamp silage. However this belief may be inaccurate if all costs are taken into account. Estimates of the comparative costs of big bale and conventional clamp silage over three cuts have been carried out at Greenmount Campus and the Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland (Table 7). The calculations have incorporated certain assumptions where possible to account for the establishment and production of grass and the cost of producing a clamp silo according to DARD specifications. The costs are presented as a full economic cost to allow producers to make direct comparisons against purchased feeds and as a cash cost to allow farmers to make assessments in situations where the full infrastructure already exists on farm. The results show little difference in the cost of producing grass silage (£/t DM) using either a clamp silo or a big bale system. Bale weight can have a major bearing on the cost of production. For example, previous work carried out at Greenmount Campus has shown that although a higher cost per bale is incurred for chopped bales, the increase in bale weight resulting from the chopping process means that less bales are produced and production costs are reduced. It is therefore important to follow the guidelines given earlier (Baling guidelines).

Table 7. Comparative costs of big bale and convential grass silage.

Source: Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

The costs of feeding baled or clamp silage will vary between different farms. Each system has its merits and individual farm circumstances will determine which system should give the best financial solution.