French advice helps to lower feed costs
French advice helps to lower feed costs
Putting French feeding
practices into action will
save one dairy herd £4000
in purchased feed costs this
winter. Jessica Buss reports
REDUCING concentrate inputs and crude protein levels, and relying on the cows ability to eat forage maize has enabled one-Somerset milk producer to cut purchased feed costs by 2.3p/litre.
Richard Robertss summer calving, 75-cow herd will have produced over 5000 litres of its 6658-litre yield from forage by March.
Winter rations at Bussex Farm, Weston Zoyland, Bridgwater, include maize, fed as 80% of the forage, and grass silage. Maize is grown on 16ha (40 acres) of the 65ha (160-acre) farm.
In November and December cows produced 16 litres of their 22-litre average daily yield from forage, compared with 9 litres a day last winter. Mr Roberts has reduced concentrates for high yielders, averaging 30 litres, to just 3.3kg dry matter, which includes 1kg DM soya, 2kg DM rapemeal and 0.3kg DM fishmeal, added to which is 0.5kg of minerals.
His lower yielding group averaging 15 litres receives 1.3kg DM rapemeal, 0.7kg DM soya, and 0.15kg DM of minerals.
The concentrate saving is worth 2.3p/litre, given that cows will produce 174,000 litres this winter, thats a total saving of £4000 worth of purchased feed costs.
Intakes assessed
By feeding a complete diet, Mr Roberts can assess cow intakes accurately. Intakes for high yielders are 25.7kg DM and low yielders 23.9kg DM. Forage is now the major part of their diet, with high yielders eating 17.2kg DM of maize and 4.7kg DM grass silage, and lower yielders 13kg DM maize, 7kg DM grass silage, and 0.7kg DM caustic straw.
"We didnt realise the potential of our cows to eat forage, when concentrates were restricted, and how well they would perform from forage when forced to," says Mr Roberts.
In previous years, 5 or 6kg of concentrates were offered as a 50:50 soya and rapemeal mix and some fishmeal fed. This balanced the ration at a typical level of 18-19% crude protein. Cutting concentrates this year, Mr Roberts has balanced the ration at 15.5% crude protein (see panel far right).
Cutting back on concentrates and dietary crude protein needed confidence in both the cows ability to eat forage and the potential of that forage.
Mr Roberts gained that confidence from the French producers he visited last autumn on a Maize Growers Association members trip. He joined the trip because as MGA ruminant research group chairman he was impressed by reports from MGA director of operations John Morgan who visited French producers last summer.
Mr Morgan explains that most French herds visited were feeding 80-90% maize diets in winter, providing long fibre from hay, dried lucerne or dried grass.
The group was told how high yields were produced off 18-19kg DM of forage and low levels of concentrates by extension worker Valerie Brocard of Frances Institut de lelevage (Institute of Milk Production).
According to Ms Brocard, achieving high intakes depends on having cows with a high intake capacity, good quality palatable forage, and a high standard of feeding management, reports Mr Morgan.
Mr Robertss breeding policy has always aimed to produce cows with high intake capacity. The herd averages £18 PIN, with heifers in milk at £38 PIN.
Forage quality, he believes, is mostly achieved by good clamp management when ensiling crops. "Grass and maize silage are harvested, clamped with two tractors rolling the crop, and sheeted in 12 hours, increasing the chance of a good fermentation.
"Clamps are washed out before filling and side sheets are put up with enough plastic to meet in the middle of the filled clamp. Another heavy plastic or two thinner plastic sheets are added before tyres are spread."
No extra starch
Good fermentation is reflected in the low ammonia-N content of the maize silage at 2%, he adds. This years maize analysed at 34% DM, 10.8 ME, 8.7 FME, 67 D-value, 34% starch and 8.7% crude protein. Mr Roberts says enough starch is provided for the cows to achieve milk proteins of 3.42% without any starch fed as concentrate.
"It is well proven that drier rations achieve higher intakes. Both grass and maize silage are 34% DM. Although the grass silage is not top quality, it has to be cut late in May because the farm is on the Somerset levels which are flooded in winter."
High intakes also require good feed trough management and an adequate supply of water to cows, says Mr Roberts. "Cows are offered warm water after milking from the plate cooler in the dairy. And feed troughs are swept clean each day to ensure there is no build up of stale or mouldy feed." There is also plenty of trough space to enable cows to meet their potential for high forage intakes. *
Confidence in cows ability to eat over 20kg of forage maize was helped by visits to French maize feeders last autumn, says Richard Roberts.
MGAs John Morgan: Most French dairy herds feed 80-90% maize diet and low levels of concentrate.
Less extra protein needed
Maize rations may not need as much protein supplementation as has been fed in the past.
Following the example of French milk producers, who believe in feeding lower protein levels, Richard Roberts has successfully reduced the crude protein level of his dairy ration to 15.5% from 18-19% last winter.
"We expect a flatter lactation curve because cows have not peaked as high as last year, but yields are not falling as quickly." Some cows are still peaking over 45 litres.
Cows have not lost weight on the ration because they receive enough energy from the forage, and have held well to service with an average conception rate of 60%. The French also believe that feeding low levels of concentrate reduces the risk of metabolic disease.
MAX MAIZE INTAKES
• High capacity cows.
• Confidence to reduce concentrates.
• High quality, palatable forage.
• Good feeding management.
MGA conference
French extension worker Valerie Brocard, who hosted the MGA trip, will speak at this years MGA conference on Feb 25 at the Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet, Somerset.