Turning cereals into nutritious forage

With winter cereal plantings down last autumn and spring cereal delayed thanks to the weather, there are warnings the UK cereal tonnage and straw yield could be hit.

Farmers will have to decide whether its worth harvesting conventionally as dry grain and straw or harvest as a wholecrop to supplement forage stocks.

For maximum benefit wholecrop cereals need to be planned so they fit into the ration. Consider how much is needed and whether you want fermented or alkali treated.

By June farmers should have a good feel for the amount of grass silage harvested on first cut, how the second cut is growing and have planted up their maize acreage.

Although the critical growing months of June, July and August are ahead, it’s possible we will experience another hot, dry summer. This could result in reduced silage and grazing quantities.
It’s probably a good idea to make some wholecrop to replenish silage stocks. Many farms will have had their silage stocks wiped out as livestock had to be kept in longer due to the extended
wet spring.

Wholecrop can be fed to dry cows to save other forages and it can be an effective buffer for the following year’s spring grazing. Consider ensiling in a different clamp so it can be accessed easily.

When to harvest your wholecrop

Generally, wholecrop can be harvested much earlier than traditional dry harvest. The crop is cut greener when it’s more digestible for increased nutrients or cut later as a drier, more fibrous crop. If grass silage stocks are low, harvest at the younger greener crop stage. The big advantage of early cut wholecrop is that it allows plenty of time for grass reseeds to be planted or cereals to be sown.

Fermented wholecrop: Ideally the crop would be less than 40%dry matter with a soft cheddar grain and the crop still green. The use of Ecocool additive is recommended for a stable fermentation and to reduce waste at feed out.
Drier fermented wholecrop: If there is a requirement for a more fibrous feed, wholecrop harvest can be delayed producing a 40 to 50% dry matter silage. A shorter chop length is recommended for this type of wholecrop, together with using Ecocool. This wholecrop is more golden in colour and has harder cheddar grains.
Maxammon treated wholecrop: For those wanting to enhance the protein content and the pH of the diet, there is urea treated, or Maxammon treated, wholecrop. This is usually done on 65 to 80% dry matter producing an alkaline wholecrop with higher energy and protein levels.