National forage survey confirms benefits of wholecrop
Date: 04 June 2010
Results from the recent National Forage Survey sponsored by Biotal, British Seed Houses,
Syngenta and Dairy Farmer show some real benefits from growing wholecrop, and this could be good news for dairy farmers after the difficult grass silage season.
“The dry and late grass silage season has resulted in many light crops with harvest commonly two weeks later than usual,” comments Biotal National Technical Support Manager Roy Eastlake. “This will leave many farmers facing a forage shortfall and in many cases this can be filled effectively by making wholecrop.”
Based on the quantity and quality of first cut Mr Eastlake advises it might be prudent to make wholecrop to boost forage stocks. The results of the forage survey confirm that feeding mixed forages can have a beneficial effect on milk yields.
“The Survey showed that those farms where mixed forages are fed, are on average producing over 1,100 litres per cow more than those farms which relied solely upon grass silage. Mixed forage encourages higher forage intake, increases rumen health and also reduces diet sorting “To ensure a palatable well-fermented forage we would recommend treating wholecrop with an additive proven in well-designed scientific trials.
The Survey shows the benefits of using silage additives with herds fed on treated silage producing on average 900 litres per cow more than herds fed untreated silage.
“Well made wholecrop silage could be the saving grace on many dairy farms this year
faced with lower than expected first cut grass silage crops,” Mr Eastlake concludes.
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Careful decision making required to maximise forage value
Date: 24 May 2010
The late, cold spring will have a big impact on first cut grass silages. Roy Eastlake, National Technical Support Manager at Biotal, considers the implications and the options for securing sufficient forage this year.
The weather this spring, following on as it did from a hard winter is having a significant effect on first cut harvests. The cold, dry season means that many crops have not bulked up, meaning that harvest will be delayed and it is quite likely that yields will be down.
In many areas nitrate uptake and utilisation by grass has been less that expected. This could result in lower protein grass and also affect the fermentation process in the clamp.
If the weather improves between now and harvest time it is possible that silage quality will be good, even if quantity is down. I always advise farmers to choose the cutting date for first cut silage based on cutting for quality rather than quantity, and to use an inoculant to ensure a well-fermented crop with as many of the nutrients preserved as possible.
The one thing you can’t do is change what you have in the clamp. As a general rule it is always more cost effective to have adequate stocks of quality forages, than to supplement higher yields of poorer quality silage with extra concentrates. The important action will be to assess first cut silage stocks quickly and plan what to do to ensure that total forage stocks are adequate for the winter.
Get clamps analysed as soon as is possible and work out how much grass silage you have and the kgDM/cow/day this equates to over the winter. Comparing this to your forage requirements gives the target tonnage required from subsequent cuts and alternative crops.
If grass growth recovers in late May it might be that second cut acreages can be increased, particularly if grazing swards have been well-managed in early season and still have adequate covers. Farmers growing maize should also be able to form an opinion of prospects for the crop.
Right now farmers can make decisions about how best to conserve cereal crops destined for livestock feed. Where they find they are likely to be short of forage, they will be best advised to make traditional fermented wholecrop silage. While wholecrop is relatively easy to preserve, an inoculant should always be used as the higher dry matter makes it prone to heating and moulding.
I suspect the majority of farmers will be faced with the need to bolster total forage stocks and for many, wholecrop cereals will be a cost-effective solution.
Where a farmer is short of forage but has not planted cereals for wholecrop it might be possible to source standing crops from local arable farmers.
For those where the quantity of first cut grass silage is adequate, there is a real possibility that quality will be down. In these cases it will probably be beneficial to preserve cereals as crimp to provide a high energy, high starch concentrate supplement.
As crimping involves combining crops around three weeks earlier than a conventional harvest, it is important to make a decision to crimp grain as soon as possible.
The key to making the best of this forage season will be early assessment of first cut and prompt decision making regarding the best way to conserve home grown or purchased cereal crops. The right decisions, taken at the correct time should result in sufficient, good quality forage to provide the basis of cost-effective diets this winter.
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National Forage Survey - winners
Date: 20 May 2010
The results of the National Forage Survey are in and the survey has revealed big opportunities for forage growth.
You can read all about the findings of the survey in the June edition of Dairy Farmer.
Dairy Farmer, Biotal, British Seed Houses and Syngenta would like to thank everyone that particicpated in the UK's first ever National Forage Survey. Each participant was entered into a prize draw for a chance to win a flight to New Zeland.
Results of the draw can be found below:
Winner: W J & M J Holdcroft & Sons, Cheshire
Runners Up:
A Owen, N. Wales
Skirwith Hall Farms Ltd, Cumbria
Green Hill Farm, Newtownstewart
G E Symms & Son Ltd, Dorset
Nigel & Norman McCutcheon, N. Ireland
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Reducing the silage weather lottery
Date: 04 May 2010
Paying close attention to achieving high quality fermentation will allow dairy farmers to produce better
quality silage irrespective of the conditions at harvest.
According to Nick Berni, forage products manager with Biotal it is possible to reduce the impact of poor harvest
conditions by understanding how different dry matter crops ferment and modifying crop management accordingly.
“The weather at first cut can play havoc with silage making and last year’s wet conditions in mid and late May
were blamed for some disappointing forages. Wet grass turned into low dry matter silage, with disappointing intake
characteristics.
“Wet grass presents some specific fermentation challenges which if overcome, allow better quality silage to
be produced.” Mr Berni points out that grass harvested in the wet will be low dry matter. These crops often have less opportunity to wilt
and the quality of wilt will be reduced if ambient conditions are cool and damp.
“Grass harvested in the wet will have a low sugar content, especially if the weather leading up to cutting has not
been particularly sunny. Furthermore, the natural populations of lactic acid bacteria can be unpredictable.
“This means the grass is short of the two factors essential for a rapid fermentation, yet in order to preserve
lower dry matter grass and achieve a stable fermentation it is essential to achieve a much greater pH drop than
for drier grasses.”
A significant pH drop is necessary to prevent the proliferation of undesirable bacteria, such as clostridia, which are
responsible for the secondary, butyric fermentation so often associated with wet silages. Rapid fermentation also
reduces the breakdown of protein and so improves forage feed value. To help ensure a rapid and effective
fermentation, Mr Berni recommends using an additive formulated specifically for low dry matter crops such as
Biotal axphast gold which contains high levels of lactic acid producing bacteria. “Farmers should also look for
an additive which contains enzymes which help breakdown fibre, improving forage digestibility and increase the
availability of sugars.”
To ensure the fermentation starts quickly the clamp should be well consolidated and sealed, although it
should not be difficult to consolidate and roll wet material. Consolidation however can be a problem with silages at the other
extreme of dry matter and Mr Berni believes dry silages present a different range of challenges.
“Higher dry matter grass does not require such a significant drop in pH to undergo preservation, the rule of thumb
being the lower the dry matter, the lower the pH required to stabilise the silage.
“The big problem is actually ensuring aerobic stability as the crop is hard to consolidate and at risk from yeasts and
moulds which will reduce feed value.”
Mr Berni recommends an additive designed to work on drier silages. These will contain a high level of Lactobacillus
buchneri 40788 which unlike most other inoculants produces a number of metabolites that combine to prevent the
growth of yeast and mould in the clamp.
“With dry silages a high level of lactic acid can be a bad thing. When oxygen is introduced into the clamp yeasts
actually use the lactic acid as a feed source and will multiply quickly, raising the pH and causing the clamp to heat up.
“If a dry crop is being made the aim must be to roll and seal the clamp well and weight it down effectively to prevent
oxygen getting in. This combined with an additive like Biotal axcool gold which ensures an effective pH drop and
the control of yeast will lead to better quality forage,” Mr Berni concludes.
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Feed more of the silage you put in the clamp
Date: 23 April 2010
New developments in silage sheeting can significantly reduce clamp losses. Silostop has invested significantly in research to increase the effectiveness of sealing silage clamps to reduce clamp losses, and to understand how much improvement can be made by using a more effective oxygen barrier.
Oxygen is the number one enemy of silage fermentation and needs to be excluded from the clamp. Achieving high silage densities is the first step tto reducing the oxygen present in the clamp. However, oxygen can then re-enter via two main routes: either from the outside edges or seams of the sheet, or entering through the sheet itself.
How can sheeting help?
Some thin clear films offer a clingy effect which restricts the flow of oxygen from the edges. However, they generally provide a far worse oxygen barrier than standard plastic. Adding additional layers of plastic increases the oxygen barrier and gives better results. However this is not always practical, and how many layers do you need to achieve maximum returns?
The ideal compromise is a product which has a clinging effect while also providing an effective oxygen barrier. Silostop® 45 clear is a thin and clingy film designed to restrict entry of oxygen from the edges, while also offering the benefit usually achieved by additional layers of standard plastic (at least 100 layers in fact!) Independent trials have demonstrated around 20% dry matter loss in the top 1m of the clamp under one layer of standard plastic and around 18% dry matter loss under two layers of standard plastic (either 2 thick sheets or 1 thick black and 1 thin clear) but only 8% dry matter loss when using Silostop®.
This gives a minimum 5:1 return on investment, without considering all the other benefits such as less visible mould, improved silage quality, reduced labour and reduced recycling.
Just one layer of Silostop® film is required to achieve these excellent results. Silostop® film can be protected with a standard black sheet or a heavyweight woven net, such as the Silostop® Anti-UV net.
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