Forage warning: Mineral uptake in ensiled grass may be very poor
I am sure, like me, you are all more than a little frustrated with the weather we have been having this summer.
That is, unless you got to go to the beach every day!
Unfortunately for livestock farmers, the effect of the drought will be felt well into next year.
As has been well documented lately, fodder will be in short supply over the coming winter.
Coupled with this is the undeniable fact that forage quality on many farms will be less than optimum to achieve desired animal performance.
Many options have been explored by farmers in efforts to bridge the feed gap on their farm.
Many have purchased fields of grain for wholecrop, while others have forward bought by-products or beet where available.
Hopefully there is a lot of silage to be made yet in 2018!
Many farmers will test their silage for dry matter, protein, energy, pH etc this year, and will seek advice as to how best they can balance it for their stock.
But what amazes me is how many milk and beef producers still don’t test their silage to establish its nutrient value.
A more scientific approach is needed on farms to ensure better nutrition for stock, and to prevent unnecessary costs through possible over or under feeding of particular nutrients.
I have been using a great bit of technology called NIR4 Farm on my client’s farms for the last two years to test their silages.
It can test for all the main nutritional values required to formulate a diet, and to advise on field practices and ensiling methods.
A slight concern I have this year is that due to the poor growing season we have had, before the first cut and during the drought, mineral uptake by ensiled grass may be very poor. Most tillage farmers got excellent responses from the application of trace elements this year, so it is possible that the grass field next door may have suffered from similar deficiencies.
Testing for minerals in your silage is a good place to start, in order to establish deficiencies and to begin the balancing process for particular animal groups.
Any labs that test forages can do this or will have a resource to do so.
These results can be cross referenced with milk or blood analysis, and minerals are formulated to match.
Silage and grazed grass make up the predominant feed source on almost all Irish farms. If we know what level of minerals and vitamins an animal requires — based on breed, age, weight, sex and productivity etc — then we can formulate nutrient programmes to supply them with any elements deficient in the base forages.
Most farmers have a perception as to what particular mineral symptoms look like and have tried many things in the quest for a solution.
It has been well established that particular areas of the country have particular mineral deficiencies.
There are many old wives’ tales about minerals, but the science is there now to establish the real on-farm issues.
Minerals are classified into major elements and trace elements depending upon their concentration in the animal or the amount required in the diet. Some essential mineral elements are of more nutritional importance than others.
Each element has a specific function or multiple functions, and either an excess or deficiency of one or more elements will impair bodily functions such as digestion, immune response, thrive etc.
Many of the elements listed may interact with other elements to perform important functions. Interaction of minerals with each other is an important factor in animal nutrition, and an imbalance of mineral elements as distinct from a simple deficiency is important in the diagnosis of certain nutritional disorders of livestock.
There is a perception out there that finishing cattle require no minerals, which is totally inaccurate.
For instance, copper is a natural growth promoter, calcium and phosphorous make up the animal’s bone structure, and are essential for saliva production.
Zinc prevents lameness in intensively fed animals, and Vitamin E helps an animal’s immune response.
With feed prices continuing to rise, and poorer quality forages conserved on many farms, one way that farmers might achieve better animal performance, less animal losses, and fewer vet calls, may be to home in on mineral supplementation.
Straw will be used to replace silage in a lot of diets this year, and it is naturally lower in minerals, both in level and range, than grass silage. Straw may be widely used in particular during the dry period on both dairy and suckler units.
A silage mineral analysis will cost you in the region of €60 to €70 and may be the best money you will spend this year. Feeding a general-purpose mineral costing €600 might be a total waste of time if it doesn’t balance your forage sources. Establishing the correct mineral premix for your stock is essential to optimise performance and minimise animal losses.
Now is a good time to begin planning for winter mineral supplementation, because autumn calving has commenced on many farms and these cows require accurate mineral supplementation.
Obviously, a lot silage to be fed this winter has not been made yet, but testing current stocks will suffice to give a good profile of your farm.
- Independent dairy and beef nutrition consultant Brian Reidy, Premier Farm Nutrition, can be contacted at brian@pfn.ie
