Agria mower clips are taken from the standing grass crops only days before mowing. D-value is estimated by the M.A.D. fibre method. This MADFibre based prediction may not be appropriate for fresh grass sample analysis from swards containing these hybrid varieties. The relative fall in D- value would have a marked effect on the silage feeding quality from such grass. Delayed cutting of these swards must be avoided.
Crude protein is very sensitive to the stage of grass maturity.
Grass leaf is superior to stem in crude protein content. Refer to the typical values above. This would suggest that the former swards were less mature at each cut during the season. All 4 fields cut for silage had low crude protein levels across the season. This is the total number of cow equivalent grazing days per hectare over the whole season, for a specific field.