A national survey has highlighted the value Irish dairy farmers place on forage and the scope for producers to make financial gains by using a proven silage additive.

250 farmers took part in Ecosyl’s Grass Silage Survey, with 90% of respondents saying that maximising milk from forage was very/extremely important to them.

In fact, 58% were looking to increase production from forage.

This clearly shows that forage efficiency is a core business priority for producers, whatever the milk price.

30% said using a proven silage additive was an area they wanted to focus on in 2026 to make those gains.

And with around half of those surveyed not using an additive yet, it is an area many farmers could improve to make significant forage performance gains and lower costs.

Silage additive

Volac’s calculations also show it is an investment that pays, says Volac technical business manager, Ken Stroud.

He explained: “Compared to untreated grass silage, using Volac Ecosyl has been found to halve grass dry matter losses in the clamp, leading to higher volumes of cost effective, homegrown forage to feed.

Across 15 independent trials, cows fed a range of silages conserved with Ecosyl silage additive yielded an average 1.2L more milk per cow per day.

At a milk price of just 36c/L, and even after deducting the inoculant cost, this extra milk yield would equate to a gain of €9.15/t of Ecosyl-treated silage fed.

Ken said: “With that in mind, it’s well worth taking the time to review your silage-making strategy and thinking about how you can make tweaks this season to boost forage production and lower costs.

"That might mean applying an additive for the first time or deciding to use it across all cuts."

He also advises thinking about wilt time - something 34% said they wanted to improve.

“Whatever the conditions, aim to wilt grass silage to a dry matter of around 30% within 12-24 hours,” Ken said.

“Also, be sure to prioritise clamp consolidation and make full use of side sheets, oxygen barriers and top sheets and avoid overfilling.”