Next season’s silage starts now: a paddock-first plan (before you pick a seed)

Article summary: Silage is rarely “just a harvest decision”. On grazing farms, it is a whole-system decision that changes rotation pressure, pasture quality, and spring options. This December guide gives you a paddock-first plan you can run before you pick a seed: when silage blocks should come out of the round, how to avoid robbing the milker platform, and how to protect regrowth and soil structure. It includes a simple “Now / 30 days / 90 days” timeline, three common mistakes to avoid, and a call-to-action worksheet you can use to lock in the plan.

 

Silage planning often starts with the wrong question: What should I plant?

A better question is: Which paddocks can I afford to take out of the grazing round, and when, without squeezing the platform?

On grazing farms, silage is not just about filling a pit or wrapping bales. It changes your rotation, your residuals, your regrowth, and your ability to keep the herd on quality grass.

This is a paddock-first plan you can run in December (or whenever your early-summer surplus window hits), before you pick a seed.

Define the terms once (then keep it simple)

  • Silage block: paddocks you intentionally remove from grazing to build a surplus and harvest it.

  • Milker platform: the grazing area that must keep the lactating herd fed well, every day. If that platform gets tight, everything downstream gets harder.

The goal is straightforward: make silage without stealing the grass you need to keep the system running.

Step 1: Start with paddocks, not seed

If you get the paddock choice wrong, no seed choice saves you. Start by sorting paddocks into two buckets:

Good silage candidates (usually)

  • Easy access and good trafficability (you can get machines in without cutting the place up).

  • Reliable yield (they grow well, respond to N, and recover fast).

  • Low disruption to the round (they’re not the “glue paddocks” that keep your rotation workable).

  • Clean and uniform (less risk of dirt contamination, weeds, or uneven swaths).

  • Suited to your storage type (pit silage wants volume and consistency; baleage can be more flexible).

Paddocks that are risky silage choices

  • Heavy soils that are prone to pugging/rutting when the weather turns.

  • Critical rotation paddocks (close them and your round time collapses).

  • Awkward shapes or steep blocks that invite soil contamination at harvest.

  • Paddocks with a history of compaction that already struggle to regrow.

Rule of thumb: if a paddock is hard to graze well in a tight rotation, it is often hard to harvest well too.

Step 2: Decide when silage blocks come out of the round

This is where most silage plans go sideways. You do not “make silage” when you feel like it. You make silage when the farm has a true surplus.

What a true surplus looks like

  • Your rotation is where you want it (not shortening unintentionally).

  • Average cover is stable or rising in a controlled way.

  • You are not chasing residuals or grazing too low to stay on track.

If you pull paddocks out too early or pull out too many at once, you end up doing one of these:

  • overgrazing the platform to keep cows fed,

  • feeding more supplement than planned,

  • pushing rotation length shorter (and creating quality problems later).

A simple “don’t rob the platform” method

Instead of choosing silage paddocks once and hoping for the best, use a staged approach:

  1. Pick your first 1–2 candidates (the safest paddocks).

  2. Close them only when you can see the surplus building.

  3. Add the next paddock only if the surplus persists.

Think of it like widening a doorway, not ripping out the wall.

Practical cue: if you can’t keep your desired rotation length without grazing harder than you want, you’re not in surplus. Hold your silage plan and protect the platform.

Pasture.io tip: if you’re using a feed wedge (or any consistent cover tracking), you can sense-check whether you’re genuinely above target across the farm before you pull area out of the round. A quick “what happens if I remove this paddock?” scenario check can save a lot of pain.

Step 3: Protect regrowth and soil structure (silage can either lift the farm or scar it)

Silage can be a huge win, but only if the paddocks come back quickly and cleanly.

Protect regrowth

  • Graze tight before closing (so the regrowth is leafy, not stemmy).

  • Don’t leave it too long (quality and digestibility slide fast once it gets away).

  • Post-harvest management matters:

    • avoid grazing regrowth too early

    • avoid heavy traffic when soils are vulnerable

    • watch residuals and recovery

Protect soil structure

  • Plan for machinery movement like you plan for stock movement.

  • Avoid repeated passes on the same wheel tracks where possible.

  • Reduce tight turns, especially on softer soils.

  • If conditions are marginal, delay or change the plan rather than “getting it done” at any cost.

The fastest way to make next season harder is to compact the paddocks you rely on for pasture growth.

The simple timeline: Now / 30 days / 90 days

Use this as your planning rhythm. Keep it short and actionable.

Now (this week)

  • Set the purpose: what is this silage for?

    • a spring buffer?

    • a summer/autumn feed gap?

    • drought insurance?

  • Estimate the requirement (even roughly):

    • how many tonnes DM or bales do you want on hand, by when?

  • Identify your candidate paddocks (rank them):

    • trafficability

    • yield potential

    • how “critical” they are to your rotation

  • Decide your “trigger” for closing paddocks:

    • what will you see on-farm that tells you a surplus is real?

  • Book the people and gear:

    • contractor availability can decide your cutting date more than your pasture does

In 30 days

  • Soil test the likely silage paddocks (don’t guess).

  • Correct what you can early:

    • pH (lime takes time)

    • P/K/S where needed

  • Plan your nitrogen timing (and align it to your local rules and withholding requirements).

  • Set up access and infrastructure:

    • gateways, laneways, turning space, damage control plan

  • Lock in storage readiness:

    • pit: face, walls, plastic, tyres/cover plan

    • bales: wrap, storage site, vermin and puncture control

In 90 days

  • Close paddocks in stages, not all at once.

  • Cut on time, prioritising quality and clean harvest.

  • Manage the aftermath:

    • inspect for compaction/ruts

    • decide whether the paddock goes back into grazing, gets renovated, or goes into a crop plan

  • Record what happened:

    • paddock, date, yield estimate, and any issues
      (This is gold for improving next season’s plan.)

Three common mistakes (and how to avoid them)

1) Cutting too late

What it looks like:

  • “We’ll just let it bulk up a bit more.”

  • By the time you cut, quality has dropped, stems are up, and regrowth is slower.

Why it hurts:

  • Lower feed quality and intake potential.

  • More waste at feed-out.

  • Harder to get back to clean grazing residuals later.

Fix:

  • Set a cutting window and protect it.

  • Close paddocks with enough lead time to hit that window.

  • If you can’t cut on time, reconsider whether those paddocks should have been closed yet.

2) Compaction and poor preservation (especially in pits)

What it looks like:

  • Thick layers, not enough rolling, slow covering.

  • Heat, spoilage, and visible losses.

Why it hurts:

  • You “made” silage, but you lost a chunk of it before it was ever fed.

Fix:

  • Pit: thin layers, continuous rolling, cover quickly and properly.

  • Bales: aim for consistent dry matter, wrap promptly, store on a clean, safe site.

3) Sacrificing paddocks you need for rotation

What it looks like:

  • You take out the most convenient paddocks, not the right paddocks.

  • The platform tightens, rotation shortens, and residuals blow out.

Why it hurts:

  • Milk production (or liveweight gain) pays the price now.

  • Pasture quality suffers later, and you end up “chasing your tail”.

Fix:

  • Close silage paddocks in stages.

  • Protect the “glue paddocks” that keep your rotation workable.

  • Use a simple weekly check (covers, rotation pressure, residual outcomes) before you commit more area to silage.

Mini checklist: your paddock-first silage plan

If you only do one thing, do this:

  • Which paddocks are my best silage candidates and why?

  • What is my trigger to start closing paddocks?

  • How many hectares can I remove without squeezing the platform?

  • What cutting window am I protecting?

  • How will I avoid soil damage if conditions turn?

  • How will I measure what worked (so next season is easier)?

- The Dedicated Team of Pasture.io, 2025-12-11
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