Making the most of every mouthful
By Dr Robin Hawkey, Senior Nutritionist
Forage stocks are massively variable this year, both in terms of quantity and quality.
Every year regularly testing silages ensures digestion is balanced and you’re getting the most out of it to promote cost-effective production, good milk quality and herd health.
The most important figure of any silage analysis is the dry matter content. This helps understand the type of fermentation - if the face might heat up with secondary fermentation and mycotoxin risk for drier silages - the dry matter of the overall ration and a more accurate estimation of silage stocks.
If animals appear to be leaving silage, the TMR mix or quickly clearing their feed, it might indicate the forage dry matter has changed, so retesting might be a good idea.
After the dry summer, silage stocks are hugely variable around the country. For many, alternative feeding plans have been adapted to help cope with forage shortages.
Make the most of what is available
Bought in forage - regularly analyse the silage and look for cow signals that indicate changes. Whilst diets need to be changed to match the silage, there’s also a need
for balanced ration consistency. Live dual action yeasts like Vitality X2, with both pre and pro biotics, can help. Rumi-TOX will also protect against mycotoxins.
Moist feeds - can be used to extend forages, whether brewers grains or fodder beet and stock feed potatoes. Understanding overall ration dry matter provision is important, as is ensuring good rumen function. Check the supply of rumen degradable protein (RDP), digestible fibre and rumen acid loads. To make the most of limited forages, the rumen needs to be in top condition.
Forage extending straights, blends and compounds - products such as wheatfeed, palm kernel and high fibre cakes can effectively save forage, with approximately 1kg replacing 2-3kg forage. Whilst they offer a good supply of fibre, these rations may have limited RDP which should be addressed. Diets higher in these products will be much drier, slowing rumen function and reducing intakes, so the addition of water can make a huge difference. Also consider the supply of minerals and vitamins on straights focused diets, which can develop into potentially serious issues over a long winter.
Feeding straw - can be a great way to save forage by feeding to youngstock and dry cows. Straw should be of a reasonable quality and generally chopped straw is better. To potentially avoid rumen impaction, adequate water and RDP is vital, as is correct overall protein supplementation to hit targeted growth rates.
Late season grazing and out-wintering - this may be an option for some. Realistic supplementation is needed to ensure animal performance is not compromised and bear in mind the additional energy required for walking and maintaining body temperature.
Maize silage - maize fed in November is quite different to New Year maize. The type and amount of dietary starch will need changing through the winter, with increasing acid loading.
With all these dietary options, these nutritional parameters need consideration:
- Controlled ration dry matter and water provision
- Minimum forage dry matter intake and ration structural fibre
- Forage/concentrate ratio
- Starch/fibre ratio
- Rumen function & health
- Rumen degradable protein (RDP)
- Digestible fibre (dgNDF)
- Rumen acid loading
- Mineral and vitamin supplementation
Regularly test forages, consider cow signals - including milk quality reports - and be consistent and realistic when feeding this winter.
Our Nutrition and Agronomy teams are happy to visit you on farm to help you make the most of your forage, so call us today on 01566 780261.
