Strawlage proves a real cost cutter

With home-produced straw costing about £3.50 per heston bale and silage £10.50, Martin Lowcock reckons he has made considerable savings since changing his suckler herd feeding system in recent years.

He now feeds “strawlage” from August to January, only offering silage from pre-calving to turnout. The straw from grain harvested for crimping is baled and wrapped without additive at 30% moisture directly behind the combine.

“This preserves an element of green stem and flag leaf and enhances protein content,” says Mr Lowcock.

“The extra expense of £2.10 a bale for wrapping is a worthwhile investment, not least because it means the straw can be stored outside, leaving buildings free.

“Otherwise I would have to dry the straw before baling it,” he says. “This system produces almost no waste. Even when air gets inside the plastic there is little spoilage and cattle still find it palatable.”

In total, Mr Lowcock finishes about 350 cattle a year at Maltby Grange Farm, Middlesbrough. The Simmental-sired heifers are killed at about 11 months weighing 270-290kg and sold through the farm shop.

Bulls take about 14 months, usually achieving R4 grading at the local abattoir. Both sexes have access to straw as bedding, with strawlage available through ring feeders.

Feeding policy for the past five years has been to use crimped wheat mixed with beans to produce a 15% protein ration.

Combined at 30% moisture and processed using an acid-based additive, wheat is clamped and sheeted down with plastic.

Wheat and beans are then mixed on a concrete pad, with ingredients weighed by a weigh cell on the telehandler bucket to ensure a consistent feed.

“The JCB bucket works just as well as a mixer wagon at a fraction of the cost,” says Mr Lowcock.

“Crimped wheat is better than rolled barley, which was a dry, dusty feed, quite unpleasant to handle. I tried using molasses to suppress the barley dust, but that involved extra expense and more work.

“I am convinced barley caused lung irritation, coughing and even pneumonia in some instances. In an average year I was losing about a dozen cattle because of pneumonia, but there hasn’t been a single case since I changed policy.”

Cutting out the drying process for wheat makes more time available for other tasks and Mr Lowcock feels that its high level of palatability encourages intakes. An estimated three to four weeks has been shaved off finishing times for heifers, with between five and six weeks saved on bull finishing.

A keen supporter of farmer-to-farmer co-operation, he is sure that crimped moist grain has the potential to benefit both hill and lowland producers. “Combining can start earlier because the dry matter is not so crucial, which leaves more time for getting the next crop in,” he points out.

“Lowland farms could sell it direct off the farm and receive an instant payment from beef producers in the uplands, who in turn would have a fully traceable feed without paying merchants’ fees,” he says.

Vet comment
Rolled barley can be dusty and it is possible it could lead to health problems, says Robert Edwards of Cain Vet Centre, Llansantffraid, Powys.

“High levels of dust can be dangerous, particularly where hoppers are being filled from a height in the pens and the ventilation is less than ideal,” he says.

“The bacteria which cause pneumonia are usually present in healthy animals and whether they succumb to the disease depends on many factors. However, any foreign material can set up an inflammatory response in the airways, making it more likely that pneumonia will develop.”