Grass silage out of favour for beef finishing diets
For beef producers intending to finish stock next winter, now is the time to plan for home-produced feed.
After a very late spring, where turnout to grass is only beginning, we must look already at next winter’s forage supply.
Grass growth remains slow around the country.
However, as we head towards the end of March, our attention must turn to grass silage.
Grass silage production is getting more and more expensive every year, and unfortunately its quality can be variable, depending on weather, cutting date, grassland management, and reseeding policy.
Poor or average silage in the pit will in fact increase overall beef production costs.
As I have mentioned here before, the vast majority of silages on Irish beef farms are not suitable for efficient, cost-effective finishing of cattle.
Crops such as maize silage and whole-crop cereals provide high dry matter (DM) and starch contents.
Other alternative feeds such as fodder beet, sugar beet and potatoes are also excellent energy sources.
Maize
Maize produces very high quality forage when grown on appropriate sites.
It stimulates high dry matter feed intakes, and improved animal performance.
Where target yield is achieved, the cost per tonne of dry matter is significantly less than grass silage.
2015 proved to be a challenging year for maize growers, but most crops have tested and fed very well.
Maize grown under plastic in 2015 produced excellent quality and yields, and I would suggest that it pays for itself in both good and bad growing years.
There are no rotational constraints with maize, and it utilises slurry very well.
Site selection, sufficient fertiliser, variety and weed control are critical factors in producing a successful crop.
Maize is not suitable for some areas of the country, so get the right advice before growing a crop, to avoid disappointment.
Whole-crop Cereals
Whole-crop cereals, like maize, offer the opportunity of improving the returns from beef production.
Whole-crop cereals, wheat, barley, oats and triticale have been ensiled for a number of years.
Producing a successful whole-crop means the crop must be grown as you would grow a crop destined for the combine.
Cutting back on fertiliser, weed control, disease/pest control etc is not cost effective.
The most critical part of the operation is to get the harvest date right.
The length of the harvest window will depend on the preservation method you choose.
As with all high-DM forages, use a long, narrow and low pit and consolidate very well by constant rolling.
Root Crops
Fodder beet, sugar beet and potatoes are excellent energy sources for beef production.
Many farmers may not be in a position to grow beet themselves, but now is the time to book it from a local producer for the next feeding season.
When fed in a mixed ration, beet can boost performance in beef animals significantly by promoting dry matter intakes, resulting in improved live weight gain and reduce concentrate requirements.
The addition of a second forage source along with grass silage to a beef finisher diet will increase forage dry matter intake by 10% to 15 %.
This will result in reduced concentrate inputs being required.
Many are now considering the option of eliminating grass silage entirely from their finishing diets.
Costs
When comparing crops for feeding, the important figures are cost per tonne of dry matter and energy supply per kg of dry matter.
Alternative forages provide a much more consistent quality product from year to year than grass silage.
The technology is now there to help farmers produce these feeds on their farm.
All of the alternatives, if produced efficiently, will cost less than grass silage, and will enhance animal performance.
Buying these alternatives from a specialised crop producer also remains a viable option, in light of the forever variable cost of concentrates.
This option is becoming more common as stock numbers rise, and specialised tillage producers have identified the need to produce forages for livestock producers.
By-Products
Feeds such as brewers grains, wet distillers grains, breakfast cereals, bread and confectionary waste are all worth considering as part of any beef finishing regime.
Cost, ease of storage and feeding method are the things to be considered with these products.
