Feasibility and economic advantage of conserving grassland forages as wrapped bale silage in mountain environment of Italy

In the European mountain environment 40% of dairy farms were abandoned in the last 20 years. In order to remain profitable, the farms still operating must reduce feed-input costs by maximizing the utilization of local forage resources from native grassland. Two trials were conducted at Sauze d’Oulx (Torino, Italy) with the aims of comparing two conservation systems (baled silage vs. field-cured hay) and of determining the effects of harvesting herbage for baled silage at two stages of maturity on nutritional quality, forage production costs and milk income over feed cost in comparison with field-cured hay. Total harvest costs were higher for bale silage than for hay (66 vs. 80 € Mg-1 DM), and only an earlier cutting date than in traditional haymaking could increase baled forage quality, thus enhancing milk production and income over feed costs of winter feeding