Download Importance of more milk from forage press release

MEDIA RELEASE
8 April 2016
GRASS SILAGE QUALITY KEY TO COMBATING MILK MARKET VOLATILITY
Forage-based dairying underpinned by quality grass silage offers many mainstream UK milk
producers a profitable future and a solution to volatile market conditions.
So said expert speakers representing Andersons, Ecosyl and Germinal at a recent farming
industry briefing, where all agreed that opportunities to improve production from forage
within current set-ups exist for many, without major investment.
Using The Andersons Centre’s Friesian Farm model to compare systems, Richard King, a
partner in The Andersons Centre, demonstrated how a focus on quality silage allows
significant cost reductions whilst maintaining relatively high yields, due to greater milk
production from forage.
Both Ben Wixey of Germinal and Phil Jones for Ecosyl concurred, with Mr Wixey pointing to
industry figures showing that milk from forage in the UK has actually been falling. Each
therefore highlighted critical areas that could help to boost silage quality this season and
allow more milk producers to reap greater benefits from their cheapest natural feed source –
grass.
“First and foremost, it is vital that silage leys contain the best quality ryegrasses,” said Ben
Wixey, “but whatever the state of your swards going into this current season, there is still a
lot that can be done to maximise the feed value of grass silage.
“Simply cutting at the optimum stage of growth can mean a difference of several D-value
points, raising the ME of the silage and boosting the milk production potential. Aiming for
quality not quantity will more than likely mean lower bought-in feed costs next winter.”
Phil Jones, research and development manager for Ecosyl, agreed that producing higher
quality silage is a key step to driving up milk from forage. That will require farmers to
scrutinise every stage of their silage-making process, including the quality of the
fermentation, to minimise feed value losses, he stressed.
“Making good silage isn’t all down to the weather,” said Mr Jones. “It is important that
farmers really understand the biology of what is happening in the clamp.
“In a good fermentation there is a rapid domination by good bacteria to lower the pH,
whereas in poorer silage, good and bad bacteria naturally present on grass compete, so
fermentation is left far more to chance.
“Good bacteria convert the sugar in grass to lactic acid which produces the fastest pH fall
and with no loss of dry matter, whereas in other types of fermentation other less effective
products are also produced as well as carbon dioxide, which is effectively lost dry matter.
“Many farmers may be missing out on the benefits of producing a good fermentation
because they don’t fully understand what adding lactic acid bacteria with a proven silage
additive does.
“In trials, adding a specially-selected strain of lactic acid bacteria with a silage additive has
not only produced a much quicker drop in pH in the important period of the first 24 hours
after ensiling, but also improved digestibility and given an average extra 1.2 litres of milk per
cow per day.”
Whilst these measures should help secure better quality grass silage this season, Ben
Wixey added that improving the raw material would generate even better returns in future for
a large majority of dairy farmers.
“Reseeding rates for UK grassland are far too low to maintain swards at their optimum
performance levels,” he revealed. “We estimate current reseeding rates are at around 2-3%
each year, which means many leys are being expected to perform well beyond the 8-10
years that we can expect sown species to remain, even under the very best management
conditions.
“So in many cases, silage leys will contain large proportions of weed grasses, which yield
less, are of lower quality, and do not respond as well to fertiliser as modern ryegrasses.
“Investing in more regular reseeding may seem like an added cost, which few will feel they
can justify in the current climate, but the payback from grassland that is capable of delivering
far higher yields of better quality, higher intake forage, will be achieved very quickly.
“Furthermore, when making the investment in reseeding, be sure you maximise the value by
selecting the best available varieties from the independent Recommended List. Choose the
best varieties for the purpose, and consider details like compatible heading dates within the
mixture, as these small points can make a significant difference.”
This short and medium term focus on grass silage quality is something that is within the
scope of the majority of UK dairy farmers, as is the forage-based system illustrated by the
Andersons model.
“The forage-based model should not be confused with the grass-based system,” said
Richard King. “We recognise that the low input / low output extended grazing approach does
not work for everyone, due to factors like soil type, farm layout or having the finance to
convert.
“The forage-based model works for a year-round calving herd, with yields of around 8,250
litres/cow. The key to this system working is having sufficiently high quality silage to allow a
reduction in concentrate feed costs and higher milk from forage. Under this type of system,
forage costs will be higher than in the intensive system, but the savings in concentrate feed
and also lower vet and med costs will more than compensate, converting a potential loss
under current milk prices into a potential profit.”
-ENDSPhoto: Mowing for quality silage
Caption: Mowing grass before it goes to head will result in a higher D-value silage.
(A selection of other images are available on request from ABC. Please contact
[email protected])
Photo: Phil Jones
Caption: Producing consistently high quality silage is a key step to driving up milk
from forage, said Ecosyl research and development manager, Phil Jones.
Photo: Ben Wixey
Caption: Rates of reseeding for UK grassland are far too low to maintain swards at
their optimum performance levels, said Germinal GB National Agricultural Sales
Manager Ben Wixey.
Photo: Richard King, partner in The Anderson Centre
Further information from:
Philip Jones
Agri R&D Manager for Ecosyl
Volac International Limited
Tel: 01639 825981 E-mail: [email protected]
Ben Wixey
National Agricultural Sales Manager
Germinal GB Limited
Tel: 01522 868714 E-mail: [email protected]
Issued by Matt Mellor, Agribusiness Communications Ltd
Tel: 01694 731777 E-mail: [email protected]
The text from this news release can be downloaded directly from the ABC press centre at
www.abccomms.co.uk