RADICALREGIMEOUTSGRASS
RADICALREGIMEOUTSGRASS
Some of the management
changes under way at
Myerscough College
represent a major turn-around
in traditional practices, but
the farm management team
believe survival requires an
on-going review of every
facet of the business.
Jeremy Hunt reports
THE 300-cow dairy unit at Myerscough College, Lancs, wont be relying on grass as the basis of its future forage feeding. In fact the top third of the herds cows may never eat grass at all, if the planned new feed and management regime proves successful.
Although the colleges impressive new dairy unit is surrounded by some of the north wests most productive grassland, the likelihood of continued climate change and its impact on silage quality has prompted a radical new feeding strategy.
Whole-crop wheat, maize and home-grown protein from crops of lupins or peas, will form the mainstay of the new diets being fed to an elite group comprising of 120 of the herds most productive milkers. The herds average yield is 7500kg.
The intention is that these cows will be permanently housed – apart from access to a loafing area – and may well be fed a diet formulated solely from alternative forages.
College farms manager, Peter Tates review of the past year highlights the need for some changes.
"Like everyone else we have come through a difficult time and after the problems created by low milk price we all needed a good silage making season and a good autumn.
"We got neither, but it has served to focus our attention on the future. With margins as tight as they are it has become essential to manage cows to the highest standards. Removing risks that can undermine profitability is crucial. Leaving ourselves open to the vagaries of the climate and its ultimate impact on performance and income is something we can no longer afford, especially when there are alternatives."
Although relatively dry, silage being fed to cows this winter is far from good – ME is nearer 10 that the usual figure of over 11. Intakes are lower and milk yields depressed this winter.
Cows were housed in mid-September at the start of the wet autumn and it wasnt until late November that diets were supplemented with maize silage. Around 18ha (43 acres) was grown, yielding 600t.
Difficult harvest
"We were over six weeks late harvesting maize. There was a time when I didnt think we would get it at all because the land was so wet. Some cobs were starting to rot by the time we started. But we began feeding it straight away, including it as 50% of the dry matter forage, and it has saved the day," says Mr Tate.
Future cropping will include an increase in the maize acreage plus around 33ha (80 acres) of whole-crop spring wheat and 12.5ha (30 acres) of protein from lupins or peas.
"We have fed a grass-based forage ration for many years, supplemented in the parlour. What we are proposing is a radical step, but it is intended to give us much greater control over our forage rationing.
"We would also like to produce enough whole-crop to enable us to use it as a supplement to grass in late summer. There is no way cows giving 50 litres in August can be sustained by grazed grass and parlour feeds," says Mr Tate.
FUTURE FORAGE PLAN
• Less grass fed.
• More alternative forages.
• Increase in maize acreage.
An elite cow group, consisting of 120 cows, may be fed an alternative forage-based diet all year, says Myerscough College farms manager Peter Tate.