Taking an early first cut of silage has become increasingly common as the focus on forage quality has grown. Younger grass typically delivers higher digestibility, higher energy and improved protein levels, which can support better animal performance and reduce reliance on purchased feeds. Capturing this quality at harvest is often one of the most effective ways of improving the value of home-grown forage.
The challenge is making sure “early” doesn’t become too early. Very young crops can have low dry matter and lighter yields, and grass grown rapidly after nitrogen fertiliser applications can also contain elevated nitrate levels, particularly during dull or cool conditions. During the ensiling process nitrates can be converted to nitrites, which may slow the early stages of fermentation and delay the drop in pH. In most cases this resolves as fermentation progresses, but it can make the process slightly less predictable.
Monitoring a few key indicators before cutting helps reduce this risk. Dry matter, crop growth stage and fibre levels such as NDF can all give a useful indication of crop readiness. Grass approaching the stage just before seed heads emerge generally offers a good balance between digestibility and yield. From a practical silage management point of view, many advisers suggest aiming for a wilt that brings the crop into the region of 28–35% dry matter, which supports good fermentation while maintaining clamp stability.
Because early silages can be more variable in terms of dry matter, sugars and nitrate levels, fermentation can sometimes be less consistent. Using a silage inoculant designed to support rapid and efficient fermentation can help reduce this variability by encouraging beneficial bacteria to dominate quickly in the clamp. Used alongside good harvest management, this can help stabilise high-quality early cut forage.
In the end, early cutting is about balancing forage quality, crop maturity and practical harvest conditions. When that balance is right, early cut silage can deliver excellent feed value throughout the year.
