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Silage Sampling
Benefits of Silage Sampling
1. Accurate Nutritional Information
Analysis reveals:
- Dry Matter (DM)
- Crude Protein
- Digestibility (DMD)
- Metabolisable Energy (ME)
- Fibre content (NDF, ADF)
This helps tailor rations to meet the exact nutritional needs of livestock.
2. Improved Animal Performance
Tailored rations support:
- Better growth rates & fertility
- Stronger immunity
- More efficient weight gain/milk yield
- Beef cattle: Faster, more efficient finishing
- Dairy cattle: Higher milk yield & solids, precise concentrate calculation
3. Reduced Feed Costs
- Avoid overfeeding expensive concentrates
- Supplement only where necessary
- Prevent underfeeding of energy/protein
- Result: Lower costs + maintained performance
4. Silage Management Feedback
- Results from sampling can help Evaluate harvest timing & fermentation quality
- Assess preservation (pH, lactic acid, etc.)
- Improve future silage-making & storage.
5. Veterinary & Advisory Support
Vets/nutritionists can use results to:
- Optimise diets for health & performance
- Diagnose/prevent nutritional issues (acidosis, lameness, etc.)
Order a test kit
Order your test kit online , return samples and the completed submission form and a test report will be emailed back to you with the test results.
When to Sample
Timing: At least six weeks after silage is made (fermentation stabilises at this stage).
Frequency: Repeat at regular intervals during feeding to ensure results match the feed currently being eaten.
How to sample silage for testing
Pit Silage Sampling
Core Sampling (for early pit assessment)
Take three full-depth samples (minimum 1.5m deep) from the top of the pit along its diagonal.
Face Sampling (represents feed being eaten)
- Avoid mouldy or damaged areas if they will not be fed.
- Collect samples from 15–30 cm behind the face.
- Follow a ‘W’ pattern across the pit face:
- Take 9–15 samples from different horizontal and vertical positions.
- Each sample should be at least 250g.
- Mix thoroughly, then reduce to a 500g composite sample for the lab.
Baled Silage Testing
Baled silage can be tested in much the same way as pit silage, but sampling needs to ensure a representative result across the batch. Ideally, select a handful from the centre of 5 or 6 bales after splitting. Alternatively, bales may be sampled using a corer, but this is more difficult than coring pit silage and a corer designed for plastic-wrapped bales should be used to avoid contamination. If bales are from different fields or cutting dates, test each batch separately. Always reseal the puncture point after sampling to maintain quality.
Veterinary & Advisory Support
Veterinarians and nutritionists can use the results to optimise diets for health and performance and to diagnose or prevent nutritional issues such as acidosis and lameness.
Importance of good sampling
Collecting a representative sample on the farm is essential if the laboratory analysis is to reflect the actual feed. It must also account for natural variation within a pit or series of bales.
- Sample size: At least 500g.
- Packaging: Sealed, refrigerated sandwich bag with all air expelled.
- Mixing: Combine multiple samples from the same site for best practice.
- Storage & transport:
- Keep cool (store in fridge).
- Send to the lab as soon as possible.
- Avoid posting late in the week to prevent weekend delays and deterioration.
A well-mixed, promptly dispatched sample will produce the most accurate nutritional results for your silage and ensure rations are based on what livestock are eating.
