When it comes to making wholecrop silage, timing and technique are everything. Get the details right, and you’ll create a high-value forage that supports milk production, feed efficiency and silage stability. Get it wrong, and you risk feeding stale, spoiled forage that cows won’t touch.
In this guide, we’ll break down how to nail your wholecrop silage harvest and ensure the clamp management keeps it in great condition through feedout.
Timing Is Everything: Aim for Soft-to-Mid Dough
To get the most out of your cereal crop, it must be harvested at the soft-to-mid dough stage. This is the sweet spot where:
- Grain starch is at its peak availability
- Fibre hasn’t yet become too lignified
- Dry matter content is optimal (typically 35–45%)
If you harvest too early, you’ll sacrifice starch content. On the other hand, if you leave it too long, digestibility drops off quickly, especially in the stem. Therefore, walking the crop regularly in July and August is essential. Crops can change rapidly within days, so act promptly once soft dough appears.
Cutting Height: A Few Inches Higher Pays Off
Although it may feel counterintuitive, cutting higher than usual will improve your silage quality. The base of the plant contains more lignin and is less digestible. It’s also where soil contamination is most likely, which can be a major risk for spoilage and mycotoxins.
Cutting 10–12 cm off the ground helps you:
- Avoid heavy, indigestible stem material
- Reduce the risk of soil entering the clamp
- Maintain a cleaner, more palatable forage
What’s more, you lose very little yield by doing so, but gain a lot in nutritional value and clamp performance.
Chop Length and Compaction: How to Make Wholecrop Silage
Wholecrop silage is naturally springy and doesn’t compress easily. Because of this, chop length matters. The ideal length is around 10-12 mm, short enough to improve compaction but long enough to maintain structure in the rumen.
Proper chop length supports:
- Tighter packing in the clamp
- Faster oxygen exclusion
- More efficient fermentation
As a result, you minimise spoilage risks and preserve more of your crop’s nutritional value. For older crops (those nearing hard dough), using a wholecrop header and grain processor becomes vital. Cracked grains digest better and don’t pass through the cow undigested.
Clamp Management: Every Layer Counts
Excellent wholecrop silage clamp management begins with how you build your clamp, and continues with how you seal it.
Because of the high dry matter and low natural sugar in wholecrop, fermentation is more difficult than with grass silage. Therefore, oxygen control is critical.
Here’s what to do:
- Layer thinly – spread each load across the clamp in shallow layers
- Roll continuously – compact each layer thoroughly before adding the next
- Add weight – lots of it, especially once the clamp is full
- Seal with oxygen barrier film – standard black plastic alone isn’t enough
If you’ve not yet used oxygen barrier sheeting, now is the time to switch. It drastically reduces air ingress, leading to faster fermentation, lower losses and better stability at feedout.
Additionally, avoid folding plastic back over the face, even in wet weather. While it may seem helpful, this traps warm, moist air, encouraging yeast and mould growth. It’s far better to use a secure clamp face and feed steadily.
Don’t Forget the Additives
Although this guide focuses on how to make wholecrop silage through harvest and clamp management, your success can be greatly improved with the right inoculants.
Wholecrop has a high risk of spoilage, so using additives like SiloSolve FC can offer major benefits:
- Rapid oxygen removal
- Balanced lactic and acetic acid production
- Suppression of yeasts and moulds
- Early opening – within 7 days
Additives also help maintain aerobic stability when feeding out in warm or humid conditions – an increasingly common issue on UK farms.
Equipment Matters Too
Choosing the right machinery can make your life easier and your silage better.
- Wholecrop headers improve intake and reduce field losses
- Grain processors are essential for cracking mature grain
- Chop-length control systems ensure consistency across the clamp
These tools are particularly useful as crops mature beyond soft dough or when aiming for high starch rations.
How to Make Wholecrop Silage: Final Thoughts
Ultimately, wholecrop silage harvest and clamp management are not just about storing feed, they’re about protecting your investment.
By getting your timing, cutting height, chop length, and sealing process right, you set yourself up for a stable, palatable and productive feed source. And with additives and equipment to support the process, you can push your forage quality even further.
Whether you’re making wholecrop as a backup or part of your regular system, attention to detail during harvest and clamp makes all the difference.
