Good Planning Leads to Improved Performance and Profits

October 2009

The transition to winter feeding is a crucial period for cows in many ways. Trying to take too much from autumn grazing results in disappointing yields and milk qualities, which are quite obvious but imbalances in autumn grass often leads to poor feed utilisation. This leads to negative energy balance and so weight loss, which is often less obvious to a person seeing the cows every day. Cows then start the winter on the back foot and potentially performance will struggle for the duration of the winter. To avoid this, ensure that cows have adequate buffer feeding and be flexible in the feeding approach depending on the prevailing conditions. Especially vulnerable are freshly calved cows, and if possible, these cows often benefit from being housed earlier to give them more consistent intakes and leaving more autumn grazing for staler cows to utilise. Checking intakes of both forages and concentrates against the planned feeding strategy going into the autumn is vital

As well as carefully assessing autumn feeding, in this period it’s also really important to assess the silages available for the winter. Often core silage samples are taken, but as silage ferments the silages change, so face samples are needed to check the nutrients available. Silage acidity is often overlooked, not just pH, but look at levels of the fermentation acids, in particular lactic acid. A silage high in lactic acid is often a good ‘milky’ silage, but needs careful balancing to avoid acidosis and to maintain butterfat’s; suitable rumen buffers and yeasts help to reduce rumen acid loading or where possible adding extra digestible fibre. Silage dry matter content will affect winter rationing. When assessing silage stocks, the dry matter will affect how well the overall ration is digested, so if a silage is too wet or too dry, other ingredients in the ration need to be used to balance the silage dry matter. For example, mixing first and second cut can be very beneficial in getting the most out of the forages, often better than feeding all of one cut then abruptly changing entirely onto another cut. So, testing your silages and planning how best to use them through the winter; will lead to better silage utilisation and healthier cows.

Maize silage also varies in quality depending on the stage of harvesting, the variety and location. Although rations are often balanced after the maize has been tested, it’s often a good idea to think about whether the maize should be harvested earlier or later to influence dry matter and starch levels, in relation to other forages in the clamp. Care is needed though in ensiling drier forages, generally with shorter chop length to aid consolidation and additives are crucial to prevent heating at the face to reduce the risk of moulds and mycotoxins. How much maize is going to be harvested? Planning forage stocks to maintain ration consistency through the winter is vital in getting the best from your cows this winter.

As well as the main nutrients and dry matter, forage mineral analyses are always worth checking. Once the ration has been planned in outline for the winter, balancing the mineral supply for deficiencies, or excesses, in advance can prevent problems occurring – planning! Although forage mineral balances may seem satisfactory, it’s often worth thinking back to last winter and any issues, such as increased cell counts or lameness, as mineral elements can be important preventative tools.

So, assess your forages and plan the winter feeding regime for improved performance and profits.

Contact Cornwall Farmers to Profit from Forage.

For further details do talk to your Cornwall Farmers expert by calling: Robin Hawkey on 07770 816581; Tom Mann on 07901 854477 or Andy Hawken on 07901 854463.