What are your forage options?

Our Senior Nutritionist Dr Robin Hawkey and Senior Agronomist Graham Ragg have been looking at the merits of the different types of wholecrop cereal in the diet to improve your livestock’s performance - and your bottom line.

Wholecrop needs to be grown as a ‘good crop’ rather than foraging a poor cereal crop as otherwise it can dilute the nutrient density and decrease digestibility.

Mr Ragg said: “Good husbandry of the growing crop is essential to ensure the cereal crop grows to its full potential by using a full programme of weed, pest and disease control, as well as ensuring the crop is well supplied with key nutrients.

“Grain maturity, yield and quality will tell us the starch and protein content of the wholecrop silage, so treating it like you were growing to sell the crop for grain is key.”

For maximum benefit wholecrop cereals needs to be planned with a specific function rather than ad hoc inclusion. Consider how much is required and whether you want fermented or alkali treated.

Wholecrop quantity

Many farms will already have a good idea of grass silage stocks and subsequent cuts. The maize acreage will be known, so it should be possible to estimate winter forage stocks. The tonnage of wholecrop required can then be calculated.

It can be fed to dry cows which will save other forages and it can be an effective buffer for the following year’s spring grazing.

Consider ensiling in a different clamp to facilitate access. Dr Hawkey said: “The key factor in successful wholecrop is when you harvest. If the correct window is missed, it’s better to combine the crop. Generally, wholecrop can be harvested earlier as a much greener, more digestible crop or later as a drier, high fibre crop.

“If silage stocks are low, or there’s a reduced maize acreage requiring quality, high-energy, more digestible wholecrop, then consider harvesting a younger, greener crop.”

Ideally this crop would be less than 40% dry matter, with a soft cheddar grain and the crop quite green. The use of Ecocool additive is recommended to ensure a stable fermentation and reduce waste at feed out.

If the silage for next winter is wetter and quite acidic, or a higher proportion of maize silage is fed which will increase the requirement for fibre, consider a slightly more mature wholecrop. This will be drier, more alkaline and higher in fibre.

This can effectively stabilise rumen health, supporting feed efficiency and enhancing butterfats. It could be 40-50% dry matter and to ensure a strong fermentation it will need a shorter chop length and a quality specific additive, like Ecocool. This crop might be more golden with harder cheddar grains.

An alternative for drier wholecrop is urea or Maxammon treated wholecrop. This requires a completely different ensiling procedure with the crop often in the range of 65-80% dry matter, producing an alkaline wholecrop with much higher protein levels.

The table below shows the crop characteristics, dry matter and feed values of the different types of wholecrop: