Using an additive on your grass, maize or wholecrop silage at harvest can yield many benefits, including helping to produce a better-quality feed and improved animal performance.

However, additives are not a one-size-fits-all solution, according to Dr Simon Pope, crop protection manager at Wynnstay. "There are a range of different types for different jobs, but generally they help to improve fermentation, reduce dry matter losses, ensure less protein breakdown and give you more palatable silage that is of a higher feed value," he says.

 "Good quality silage helps everything fall into place with winter feeding. The costs of growing and ensiling forage are high and the use of an appropriate additive not only helps to protect the investment, but also produces good returns and an additive should be expected to pay for itself many times over," adds Dr Pope.

"We have a large number of customers who recognise the benefits of using additive on their silage and consider it to be an important part of their forage management.  Using products like Volac's Ecosyl and Ecocool at harvest can help a fast and efficient fermentation, which reduces losses and produces a high feed-value silage which improves animal performance.

"The main role of Ecosyl is to improve the efficiency of the fermentation by delivering one million highly effective lactic acid producing bacteria per gram of forage treated.," Dr Pope explains.

"Ecocool is slightly different in that it contains the same MTD/1 strain of lactic acid bacteria found in Ecosyl which dominates the fermentation, but it also contains a second species which improves aerobic stability of higher dry matter forages. There has been a lot of completely independent research into these products and they consistently perform."

In 15 independent dairy trials, cows fed a range of silages treated with Ecosyl yielded an average of an additional 1.2 litres of milk per cow per day compared with untreated silage. Likewise, in beef trials, grass silage made with Ecosyl resulted in an average improvement in daily liveweight gain of 15.2%. 

Wynnstay currently has an offer on Ecosyl and Ecocool; until 31^st January customers will get one bottle free with every 5 bottles ordered and the additive will not be delivered until the date specified on the order.

"If customers would like to order both their grass and maize additive at the same time before the end of January, the offer will apply to the entire order, the additive will be delivered on the dates requested and they will not be invoiced for the product until after delivery," he says.

·        For more information visit www.wynnstay.co.uk