Unlocking your forage’s potential

Farmers must be on top of their game as feed represents up to 70 per cent of beef and dairy production costs.

If not utilised efficiently by the animal, it not only can be a considerable expense, but also lead to less milk produced in dairy cows or reduced weight gain in beef cattle.

Grass silage is generally the main winter feed for dairy cows in Northern Ireland. Unpredictable weather across the country this summer has left us with silage quality and quantities that vary immensely across different farms. It should be a key priority over the next few weeks to have silage analysed to allow for an accurate feed budget.

An accurate forage analysis lets us know the silage characteristics, how much concentrate will be required for supplementation and the necessary minerals. It must also be noted that if silage is of poorer quality, supplementary feeding, usually in the form of concentrates, will be required to obtain desired performance targets.

A feed budget is very important as it allows you to compare forage requirements with forage stocks, and if additional stock is required, it is better to know early in the season. A useful app developed by InTouch can quickly establish forage quantities and how much forage is required to oversee the winter season. Search InTouch Forage in the Apple store or Google Play for access.

In terms of forage quality, from those analysed so far this year, we see a drop in quality with lower protein and higher fibre present. This is impacting performance, which many farms will have noticed already.

This grass silage takes up space in the diet, but the low protein and high fibre will reduce the amount the cow can consume, meaning we lose out on that higher energy diet while also needing to balance with additional protein. To help you combat this challenge, Alltech is organising an online webinar titled Making Silage Sense, where they will have top industry speakers providing their insights into managing forages and how you could potentially maximise performance.

The webinar will take place on 12 October at 7.30pm.

If you would like more information about the webinar, please contact Richard Dudgeon, 07739745379