Know silage value before switching feed regimes

Beef producers considering switching from cereal to silage-based finishing rations should think carefully before making the change, according to SAC beef specialist Gavin Hill.

Speaking to 100 producers at SAC’s beef event at Crichton, Dumfries, Mr Hill said there was a real danger producers alarmed at the increase in concentrate feed prices may rack up silage use without doing their homework.

“Simply jumping to a silage-based system using poor quality silage may not be as cost-effective as you think. With barley and straw you know what you are feeding, but silage quality is extremely variable and you need to analyse stocks carefully. Poor quality silages still need significant levels of grain to finish cattle and it will take longer,” he said.

At the present time, Mr Hill said, there is not one clear system which looks most cost-effective – each system has its pluses and minuses, so producers must have their eyes open.

One significant trend in the past year has been a shift away from producing bulls. A number of factors have contributed to this, including the level of grain needed for finishing bulls, said Mr Hill.

“With steers you have the option of selling them as stores in the spring and with so many producers now spring calving and bulls having to be away by 16 months, the result has been marked over-supply from May to July.

“In some cases bull finishers had their animals on a three-week waiting list with processors this summer and there is market speculation that some processors may continue to reduce their bull kill from the start of next year,” he added.

Looking forward, he said producers thinking of turning more cattle out to grass next year should consider what alternative use of that acreage they could be sacrificing – such as sowing more cereals or increasing cow numbers.

“An area we can improve on is maximising grass use. Better grassland management and increased use of grass and clover varieties can give excellent levels of performance. If we go more to grass systems we need to fully use this, as it is the cheapest way of putting weight on when carried out correctly. Grass may well play a more vital role in future,” he said.

And he emphasised silage analysis this year would be crucial due to the huge variation in quality (see table).

“Poor quality silage will give little benefit to finishing cattle, as large levels of concentrate are still required. Feeding 3kg barley a day with good quality silage (ME 11+) would result in a feed cost of 89.3p/kg compared with 131.5p/kg for poor quality silage (ME 9.5). This means poor quality silage could cost producers an additional 40p/kg because you are not getting the weight gain,” said Mr Hill.