Adopting a holistic approach to forage management based on targeted herd performance will generate significant performance and financial benefits on most dairy farms by achieving greater synergy between individual ration components, according to Nickerson Direct, the UK’s only specialist supplier of seed directly from breeder to farmer.
"Modern forages require modern management techniques to obtain the best from them, so producers should focus on growing crops which work well together,"
emphasises Simon Broddle, the company’s Forages Manager. "Planning an overall forage strategy will allow a much more pro-active approach to herd management, which will help to prevent health problems from occurring and avoid the need to resort to costly, time-consuming ’fire brigade’ tactics to deal with them.
"Traditionally, farmers have often produced a mismatch of different forage products, including silage, grazed grass, maize and fodder crops. Only after these have been harvested and analysed do many consider how to feed them, resulting in a disjointed approach to herd nutrition and sub-optimal results.
"The starting point for a more coherent strategy is to decide what you want to achieve in terms of herd performance. This will allow you to calculate your forage requirements and develop a cropping plan based on forages which complement one another rather than being ’antagonistic’, which occurs when two forages contribute to the same dietary requirement. Maize and high-quality grass are good examples, while late-cut grass and wholecrop exemplify silages which offer high fibre and low ME.
"Maize is creating great interest because of its potential to produce very high- quality forage. Where grass protein is around 80% rumen degradable, maize is perfectly suited to ruminant animals. Its starch quality means that it feeds the whole digestive system, from the rumen to hind gut, while its energy feeds the entire digestive system. Newer varieties of maize such as LG Beethoven are bred to ’stay greener’, which enables a much longer chop length, creates a more ’open’ diet and improves intakes.
"Maize feeds well in almost any circumstances, but using a higher-fibre grass which is cut slightly later or an Italian ryegrass-based ley such as Nickerson’s ’Green Circle’ will improve intakes and ruminant function as well as reducing the need for straw. Go one step further by using lucerne and you’ll have the most synergistic base diet possible under UK conditions.
"Quantifying the potential performance and profitability gains from a more joined-up approach to forage management is difficult, because every farm is individual and has a different approach. However, designing a cropping plan in which all forages complement each other is logical. The process should be ongoing and encompass every conceivable factor, from breed, calving pattern, system, housing and type of milk contract to assessment of swards, potential yields, weather, harvest dates and subsequent cropping.
"It takes just 24 hours or so to harvest most forage crops but the consequences of any mistakes or shortcuts will last 250 - 300 days, so it’s vital to get things right when it matters most! Every farm is different and although there’s no ’one size fits all’ solution profitability depends on fastidious attention to detail at every stage. Poor forages create a host of problems, so getting that aspect right will improve herd performance and make every other aspect of management much easier."
