DAIRY NEWSLETTER Technical advice to drive your herd’s performance
www.wynnstayagriculture.co.uk
Our Team Iwan Vaughan
Steve Brown
Head of Dairy Technical Services
Ruminant Feeds Product Manager
m: 07990 578548 e: iwan.vaughan@wynnstay.co.uk
m: 07774 855026 e: steve.brown@wynnstay.co.uk
@maesmochnant
@sirbilly55
Dairy Specialists Ken March
Alasdair Taylor
m: 07454 015610 e: ken.march@wynnstay.co.uk
m: 07766 302124 e: alasdair.taylor@wynnstay.co.uk
Dairy Specialist - Shropshire & Borders
Dairy Specialist - South & West Wales
Mark Price
Bethany May
Dairy Specialist - Midlands
Dairy Specialist - North Wales
m: 07876 824314 e: mark.price@wynnstay.co.uk
m: 07771 740857 e: bethany.may@wynnstay.co.uk
@m_priceo
Rachel Gardner
Dairy Specialist - South Wales
m: 07810 444834 e: rachel.gardner@wynnstay.co.uk
Our Calf & Youngstock Specialists
Sandy Wilson
Eimear Diamond
Calf & Youngstock Specialist West, North & Mid Wales
Calf & Youngstock Manager
m: 07881 379008 e: eimear.diamond@wynnstay.co.uk
m: 07879 841672 e: sandy.wilson@wynnstay.co.uk
@diamondcalf1
@petticoatcalves
Jess Charlton
Sammy Howorth
m: 07990 584740 e: jess.charlton@wynnstay.co.uk
m: 07810 444948 e: sammy.howorth@wynnstay.co.uk
Calf & Youngstock Specialist Shropshire, Cheshire, Staordshire
Calf & Youngstock Specialist Lancashire & Cumbria
@charltoncalf1
@howorthcalf1
Millie Hendy
Elinor Thomas
Calf & Youngstock Specialist Somerset & Gloucester
Calf & Youngstock Specialist - South Wales
m: 07500 979398 e: elinor.thomas@wynnstay.co.uk
m: 07717 495746 e: millie.hendy@wynnstay.co.uk
@thomascalf1
@hendycalf1
For more information on dairy, calf or youngstock management contact one of your Wynnstay Specialists or visit
www.wynnstayagriculture.co.uk/meet-the-wynnstay-teams.html www.wynnstaydairy.uk
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WELCOME Welcome to the latest instalment of the Wynnstay Dairy Newsletter With the first signs of spring upon us, it is time to focus on forage once again. As we try and re fill empty silage clamps up and down the country, we are seeing the true value of forage and how combined with good herd management, it reaps rewards in terms of herd performance and profitability. With such an uncertain political climate and market volatility, never has it been more timely to maximise the output of your farmed area. This is the focus of our Spring Dairy Newsletter, with a feeds market update, advice on maximising your returns from grazing and forage, along with the financial implications of doing so. Profitable milk production starts off with good soil management and agronomy, so contributions from our Arable & Forage Team provide guidance on how to maximise this resource. Efficient and balanced nutrition and good herd health, from calves through to the milking herd are of upmost importance- all areas that are covered in this Dairy Newsletter.
We hope that you find some useful information in these articles- written by members of our specialist teams, who are on hand to help and support your dairy business to succeed in the future.
Iwan Vaughan Head of Dairy Technical Services m: 07990 578548
e: iwan.vaughan@wynnstay.co.uk
@maesmochnant
AGRICULTURAL MARKETS Raw Material prices remain low across the world in dollar terms and crop forecasts remain good in most countries, the only concerns being possible restricted weather difficulties in South America. Soya has continued to drop since the New Year and is currently at a season low for the summer. Other proteins have followed suit with rape leading the way and distillers lagging as UK supplies lowered with the closing of the Ethanol Plant. These closures with the use of alternative materials have reduced the overall demand for grains which has resulted in the recent drop in the farm-gate prices for wheat and barley. Fibres remain well priced / little movement in base levels with reasonable demand nearby as farmers try to extend their onfarm stocks. So why is UK agriculture uncertain about commitment to forward business and why aren’t sterling prices dropping more?
Secondly - something you may have missed - called Brexit. The current impasse in Westminster does not encourage forward commitments from any level in the supply chain as the potential effects on the FX markets and the value of sterling is impossible to predict. Any one of the three scenarios that appear to be on the table will affect the £/$ ratios and move prices massively one way or the other leaving farming businesses unable to have a fact-based decision on what to do going forward and how to show due diligence in business decisions. I guess we might know by next month. Possibly.
Two things Donald Trumps Hawkish approach to trade tariffs against China, the EU and Canada for example is proliferating confusion in the markets. This confusion leads to uncertainty and thereby higher prices in importing countries (possible lower in those producing) as shippers lose liquidity of trade and movement of goods.
Eric Thomas Commercial Manager - Feed t: 01691 828512
e: eric.thomas@wynnstay.co.uk
MILK QUALITY MEASURES CAN IDENTIFY MISSING YIELD POTENTIAL An annual pattern of milk composition has been well recognized on dairy farms across the world for years, with the highest milk fat and protein concentration in milk observed during the winter and lowest occurring in the summer. This trend is manipulated solely by season, and impacts housed and grazing cows similarly. So, when we get to spring, and then turnout for some, and milk butterfats start to decline- how do we know if this is real milk fat depression or not? Is it simply a seasonal response which we have little manipulation over, or are we seeing changes which can be regulated by the feed, avoiding loss of milk and associated impacts throughout lactation? We can have a better idea by analysing multiple bulk milk parameters, individual cow milk recordings, along with the diet and identifying what is really going on.
into Ammonia through Proteolysis, this is absorbed into the blood but will be ‘de-toxified’ by the liver to Urea and this uses up valuable energy, which could otherwise be used for milk production. This is then excreted in urine and milk which is a waste of nutrients from the cow and lost to the environment. Consistently high circulating Urea can also be detrimental to fertility, reducing heat expression, pregnancy rates and ability to hold service (Butler et al, 1996).
Butterfat and Protein
However, during grazing, milk ureas are often above 0.03% and hard to manage, as the high rumen available protein is not being fully captured due to lack of digestible fibre in grass. We can help prevent them getting excessively high and therefore utilise more of the protein available by feeding a buffer feed or concentrate low in oil and RDP (rumen degradable protein), high in quality digestible fibre (Sugar beet) and slowly fermentable starch (Maize). Another benefit of supplementing additional digestible fibre at grass is that it will encourage cudding, where the cow will produce saliva containing urea which recirculates it back to the rumen for another chance to incorporate it into microbial protein.
Firstly, look out for sudden or ‘out of season’ changes to butterfat or protein % on bulk tank recordings. As we head into spring we would expect butterfat to drop slightly, but mostly as a result of ‘dilution’ as yields go up (see Figure 1), and total milk solids should be consistent. We want to minimise any further drops that could be caused by SARA (Sub Acute Ruminal Acidosis) which is fairly common on lush early grass, reducing the rumens ability to synthesis milk fat pre-cursors. Reductions of >0.3% butterfat could indicate SARA, which could lose you -2.5L/cow, on top of the reduced value per litre. It is important to provide enough palatable buffer feed, containing high digestible fibre feeds such as sugar beet which contains ‘acid-regulating’ pectins, and ensure minerals are balanced.
On the other hand, low levels of MUN may indicate a shortage of RDP however this must be taken with caution, as there are many other factors influencing the rumens function and ability to utilise protein and generate microbial protein. However, both scenarios are economically and metabolically adverse to any commercial dairy herd.
MILK QUALITY
On the contrary, if butterfat is abnormally >1.35 times the protein, the cows are in early lactation, and losing condition, they are likely mobilising body fat for energy and may be in ketosis. The energy level of the ration should be reviewed, is there enough fermentable carbohydrates for the rumen and importantly is there enough rapidly available glucogenic energy for the higher yielding cows. Sometimes a top up energy source such as propylene glycol may be needed for particularly high yielding fresh cows. Protected fats, ensuring they are the right fatty acid profile, can also supply much needed energy boosts. Protected fats like Dynalac is formulated for earlier lactation and will provide the correct fatty acid profile, on top of a balanced diet, needed for milk production and spare body condition; which in turn will help fertility. Looking after the early lactation or transition cow is critical for the remaining lactation performance, so make sure milk quality parameters are monitored and acted on if needed.
Figure 1: Shows the seasonal effect on milk constituents throughout the year, no matter what system, but when either fall outside these ratios we need to take appropriate action with the feeding 4.4 4.2 4.0
Percent
3.8 3.4
Milk Fat
3.2 3.0 2.8
MUN
Milk Protein
2.6 2.4
Another important indicator on the daily milk results which is often overlooked, is MUN (Milk Urea Nitrogen). This tells us how much Nitrogen from protein is excreted in the milk and is positively correlated to blood urea levels. MUN can tell us a lot about the diets balance of rumen available energy to protein, indicate if there may be sorting of the ration, whether the protein supplied in the diet is optimum for this production level, and if we are maximising rumen efficiency. MUN is often a precursor to drops in milk yield and protein percent and can indicate metabolic problems. If milk urea’s are consistently >300 mg/L or 0.030% (NML reports) then the protein in the diet is not being utilised effectively. Excess protein in the rumen is turned www.wynnstaydairy.uk
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Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Bethany May Dairy Technical Specialist - North Wales m: 07771 740857 e: bethany.may@wynnstay.co.uk
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MAKING FULL USE OF THE RUMEN Ruminants are fascinating creatures. What sets them apart from monogastric organismisms with one simple stomach, is that they possess a huge fermentation chamber - the rumen. The rumen is full of a microbial population made up of bacteria, protozoa and fungi. This microbial population is able to break down forage and raw materials, that aren’t edible for humans into essential nutrients that can be used for body function and performance. When we think about feeding the cow, we are actually feeding the rumen bugs, the rumen bugs will then feed the cows. As dairy producers we must make full use of this, manipulating the rumen population and its end produce to meet the cow’s requirement for production.
Protein The cow doesn’t have a crude protein requirement, instead, like monogastric, they metabolise amino acids (AA). Metabolisable Protein (MP) is the protein available for absorption by the animal in the small intestine, coming from a combination of microbial protein (60-65%) and protein that has not been broken down in the rumen, but is available for absorption in the small intestine -known as bypass protein, contributing up to 35% of MP supply
especially fibre sources are often replaced with starch to increase overall starch supply. Understanding Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF) and how we can balance rumen fibre allows for higher rates of starch within our diets, without exposing the rumen to SARA and achieving higher MP production from less supplemental protein.
Rumen degradable protein (RDP), can be supplied as nonprotein nitrogen (NPN) or true protein (Amino N as shown below in Figure 1). This is then broken down in the rumen to ammonia, which is used to create microbial protein as the rumen bugs multiply. The rumen bugs also need sufficient fermentable carbohydrates such as starch and sugar to feed the bugs energy. If there is too much ammonia and insufficient energy, ammonia will build up and passes through to the bloodstream. Ammonia is toxic to ruminants so is converted to urea in the liver. There is an energy and metabolic cost to doing this which can affect performance.
NDF analytics from Cornell University allow us to break NDF down into 3 pools allowing us the opportunity to balance accordingly with supplementation. Through understanding the degradability of the fibre sources, it is possible to increase starch within our diets safely capturing more of the nitrogen within the rumen, therefore being more efficient.
Figure 1- Metabolisable Protein Production
UK diets are often based on grazed grass or grass silage as the main forage source. Although a great feed source and the cheapest available dry matter on farm, these diets are unbalanced for generating MP. Grazed grass and grass silages are high in crude protein, from amino nitrogen and NPN, meaning there is an excess of ammonia within the rumen. The limiting factor for MP generation in these types of diets is often fermentable carbohydrates (starch and sugar).
The AminoMatch concept is based around this theory to deliver what the cow needs in the most cost effective and efficient way. Here are a few tips from the AminoMatch concept to ensure greater efficiency in performance of the animals, financial performance and environmental efficiency;
Protein is one of the most expensive ingredients on the farm, so efforts should be made to capture as much quality protein as possible form grass to limit the need to purchase as much to supplement the diet. Due to the deficit in fermentable carbohydrates in the diet, we are losing metabolisable protein production, and wasting a lot of the protein which has been fed into the rumen, which was expensive to do so.
• Capture as much protein form homegrown forage as possible • Reduce the need to supplement purchased protein • Increase fermentable carbohydrates within the diet • Balance fibre pools
There is a huge opportunity to address the imbalance through supplementary feeding, whether it is 0.5t/year or 3t/year of purchased feed, make sure it’s making full use out of your homegrown forage and is complementing performance.
• Supplement bypass protein when necessary
Iwan Vaughan
Increasing starch within diets is usually associated with increasing the risk of SARA (Sub Acute Rumen Acidosis),
Head of Dairy Technical Services m: 07990 578548
e: iwan.vaughan@wynnstay.co.uk
@maesmochnant www.wynnstaydairy.uk
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WYNNSTAY DAIRY NEWSLETTER
MAKING FULL USE OF THE RUMEN
If we are unable to generate sufficient microbial protein from the rumen, the ration will be short of the MP requirement of the cow. At this time the use of rumen protected proteins, through rumen protected rape meal and soya, play a vital part in the diet. However microbial protein synthesis is the cheapest source of MP and we should realise this potential first.
HOW TO MAXIMISE YOUR GRAZING SEASON With turnout on the horizon for most, now is the time to prepare and tick off the ‘to-do’ list, to ensure it runs smoothly and utilisation of one of the cheapest feed sources (forage) is maximised. Getting through the summer and into winter last year was difficult for many producers, with limited silage stocks meaning budgeting was a top priority. Kingshay annual report identifies this, with generally higher feed rates and less milk from forage (Kingshay annual report 2018). Forage shortages have driven decisions to offload culls and poor performers earlier, which has helped reduce the herd size and leaves the highest performers. However, some have still had to rely on more bought in feeds or look at alternative feeds and additional forage crops over winter and as an early turn-out option as well. The Kingshay annual report also identifies the most profitable producers as those which have the highest total grazing days, so ensuring your grazing period is as long as possible, extending into early spring and late autumn is important. One extra day at grazing is worth ~£240/100 cows in spring, so considering alternative crops early in the season and ensuring everything in the grazing grounds is prepared by end February, you are maximising your chance of gaining these extra days. Forage crops such as forage rye, kale, fodder beet or forage rape can be an excellent substitute for silages or grazing at either end of the winter, providing essential forage dry matter. To start with, grazing of early forage crops should be limited to 2-3hrs a day, and dry matter intakes will be about 3-5kg at this time. It is important to remember these forages will not directly substitute grass silage or grazed grass nutritionally and care needs to be taken with re-balancing the remaining ration so milk quality and yield are maintained. Forage rye for example is a great crop for early grazing in Feb/March, it is a good fibre source but energy and protein can start to run low, especially if it goes to stem. It is fast growing even
over winter and is ready to graze when about 15cm high in February, yielding well. This a good option for those running low on silage stocks at the end of winter, but make sure early grazing is controlled, trip grazing is a good way to manage daily allowances and minimise poaching damage to the remaining crop.
MAXIMISE YOUR GRAZING SEASON
When planning paddocks and allocating grazing, water trough access and availability is key. Limited water availability will impact milk yields no matter what time of year. Cows will consume up to 80L/day of water, and 50% of this will be in the first three hours after milking, so calculating the flow rate and trough availability to be able to support the herd demand after milking is the next step. Based on this, the flow rate needs to be ~13L/cow/hour, ~22L/minute for every 100 cows. Ideally troughs should be in the centre of a paddock, and if you can see tracks to the troughs there may not be enough or are too spread apart; 2 per paddock is ideal. Cow tracks are the next to tackle on the ‘to-do’ list prior to turn-out. A typical cow will make up to 600 return trips along a cow track to the parlour each year- that’s a lot of pressure on the feet and surface needs to be suitable. Assess whether the track will be used by heavy machinery as well as cows, because this will require a heavy stone base with no additional topsoil. To ensure optimum cow flow and reduced lameness, there should be no sharp corners >90 degrees, it should be 3-5m wide, and as level as possible.
Bethany May Dairy Technical Specialist - North Wales m: 07771 740857 e: bethany.may@wynnstay.co.uk
www.wynnstaydairy.uk
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ZINC FEET HEALTH; DIGITAL DERMATITIS IN HEIFERS Digital Dermatitis (DD) is a highly infectious disease, with associated costs due to loss of production ranging from £75- £81 per case (N.Bell), so minimising its affects are a no brainer, especially as DD can be under diagnosed in many herds. Once there is DD in your herd there is no way of getting rid of it, but the affects can be minimised new infections can be stopped. Although you may not see a lot of lesions, once animals undergo a period of stress, or are exposed to conditions which compromise the skin barrier, the DD bacteria called ‘treponemes’ corkscrew their way through the skin where they will remain.
fed to animals before they become exposed to environments where you know you have DD.
Anaerobic, wet, damp conditions, like slurry, will challenge the skin surrounding the hoof which is where the treponemes flourish and can make their entry. (Gomez,2018).
Correct mineral supplementation will also help improve immunity and general health and is something that can be visually seen through improved skin and hair condition.
Trial work has shown that animals fed a specific mineralised DD formula, not only saw a big reduction in DD but also an increase in: dry matter intakes; feed efficiency; and a first lactation milk yield.
Animals that pick up the bacteria early on in life will be more predisposed to developing active lesions post calving as their immunity is supressed. Lameness post calving will result in lower DMI, performance and increase the risk of early culling (Bicalho, 2007). This suggests that to make any difference in reducing the costs of DD more emphasis needs to be put on improving feet and skin conditions in young animals before they become exposed to DD.
Giving heifers:
• Better feet • Better immunity
Resulting in:
• Reduction in lameness post calving • Increase in first lactation milk • Reduction in culling rates
Obviously having clean, passage ways and bedding is going to help conditions, but DD bacteria is still going to be present. As soon as the skin barrier becomes over whelmed and breaks down you will see a rise in more active lesions.
This can only be done nutritional and through feeding a combination of zinc, manganese and copper.
ZINC – MANGANESE – COPPER High iron levels in grass or from water sources can reduce the ability of zinc, copper and manganese to be absorbed by the body. Feeding protected sources minerals will increase absorption rates and is a way to combat the issues of high antagonists. Having forages and water sources check for mineral levels will allow any major antagonists to be identified.
Supplementation with a specific DD formula for 2 months prior to animals being exposed to challenging environments where DD is active will build up immunity to combat the rising infection pressure.
Zinc is the main trace elements required to promote a healthy skin barrier and encourage growth and repair. However, it works with manganese and copper and is necessary for essential cell functions in keratinised tissues (Tomlinson et al, 2004)
Improving the integrity of the skin barrier is the best way to help prevent and minimise the incidents of DD. Correct mineral supplementation and targeting animals at a young age alongside regular foot scoring. prompt treatment and foot bathing routines will reduce financial costs associated with DD. Increasing the performance and profitability of your herd.
ZINC • Forms part of the immune system in the skin to prevent entry of bacteria • Stimulate the healing process when wounds occur • Ensure skin and other keratinised tissues are strong and durable Using protected zinc, copper and manganese has been shown to reduce the incidents of DD by up to 60%. Particularly when
Alasdair Taylor Dairy Technical Specialist m: 07766 302124
e: alasdair.taylor@wynnstay.co.uk
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WYNNSTAY DAIRY NEWSLETTER
DIGITAL DERMATITIS
Most farms focus on DD in the milking herd using routines involving foot bathing or topical treatments; which can help prevent outbreaks and flare ups in active lesions. However, if farmers are serious about making a difference to the financial cost of DD, they need to start looking at younger animals and understanding the knock-on effects this has on reducing the impact of lameness post calving. Often, DD breakouts go undetected in heifer facilities and once a foot is infected, the infection can become chronic in the foot for life. Heifers also undergo a huge amount of immune pressure when entering the herd, with exposure to the wider herd diseases for the first time.
Strengthening the skin barrier and tissues around the feet is the most practical way of preventing DD.
AMINOMATCH – INCREASE UTILISATION OF GRAZED GRASS THROUGH SUPPLEMENTATION The western side of the UK has the potential to be one of the best grass growing regions of the world. However, are we fully utilising this quality feed source to our advantage? this is far quicker than most other forages we would feed. The degradability of NDF follows the growth rate curve through the season, with very digestible grass being seen through April and May (2nd and 3rd round grass) and also as we get a second peak of growth in late August/September. As growth rates drop in mid-summer, the degradability of the grass NDF will also drop and break down slower within the rumen.
It has been well documented that grass when grazed is the cheapest feed available on farm. The Grass Value Project run by Coleg Sir Gar at Gelli Aur between 2011 and 2013 found that grazed grass costs around £97/tonne of dry matter (DM). We can look to increase utilisation through the way we supplement. The case for supplementation at grass depends on the specific farm situation; • Purchasing DM onto the farm to maintain a higher stocking rate
To maximise the output of grazed grass and reduce nutrient loss out of the rumen, rumen outflow rates will be increased on more degradable NDF grass, this is when we see the cows having loose faeces, nutrients have passed through the rumen too quickly and the potential for better performance has been lost.
• Increase DM intake on higher yielding cows • Supplying nutrients to match performance
Figure 2 is a feeding programme best suited to maximise output and capture of the nutrients of grazed grass.
Amino Match Grazing Programme
The programme is designed to match the nutrient requirements to optimize the performance of grazed grass as the quality of the pasture changes through the grazing season. Figure 3 shows where the compounds fit and when best to utilise. During the shoulders of the grazing season, when also feeding silage, Extra Balanced 16 would be the preferred feeding option.
AminoMatch
A tailored feeding programme designed to achieve optimum
Whatever the reason and/or yield aspiration and cow type, it is critical to only bring in feed or nutrients which will have a positive influence on performance and not just to fill the DM gap because of a higher stocking rate.
performance and efficiency
AMINOMATCH
As can be seen in Figure 1, crude protein (CP) is very high in grazed grass all your round, always being above 20% CP, meaning there is always a sufficient supply of rumen degradable protein available. As a result, there is no need to supplement with more CP, because as we do we are just adding cost, increasing the rate of nitrogen excreted and running a higher risk of pollution though ammonia emissions and nitrate run off. Grazing cows are very inefficient at converting the rumen degradable protein into metabolisable protein the cow can absorb in the small intestine. To become more efficient and environmentally proactive we can look to reduce CP intakes whilst increasing carbohydrates through starch when supplementing, this will increase rumen nitrogen efficiency and boost production.
Grass Booster MP
Designed to optimise the use of the most digestible spring and autumn grass to maximise intakes, increase nitrogen efficiency and nutrient capture within the rumen.
Work done at Cornell University and Teagasc in Ireland by Professor Mike Van Amburgh and Mike Dineen (Figure 2) shows how the degradability of NDF changes through the season, with early season spring grass being very degradable, with grass disappearing rapidly within the rumen and broken down and absorbed. As the season goes on, as can be seen by autumn grass this is degraded slower in rumen, although www.wynnstaydairy.uk
• Ideally suited to complement high quality pasture second and third round grass rotations - can be fed throughout grazing season • Inclusion of NIS (Nutritionally Improved Straw), to increase the amount of slow pool NDF, and complement 8
very digestible grass
12% and 14% Crude Protein.
• Inclusion of Protected Soya to increase metabolisable protein and complementing high protein grass
• High starch, low protein feed, formulated to be fed at a lower feed rate (2-4kg) to cows at pasture.
• High starch to utilise and capture more of the protein within grass to increase production
• Ideally suited to complement mid-summer and autumn pasture – after second and third round grass rotations can be fed throughout grazing season
• Mineralised to prevent grass staggers and deficiencies along with elevated levels of chelated zinc and copper to fully support milk production at low feed rates
• High starch to utilise and capture more of the protein within grass to increase production
Grass Booster 12 or 14
• Greater utilisation and increased rumen nitrogen efficiency
Designed to balance the use of grazed grass throughout the grazing season, that is high in rumen degradable protein and low in fibre. Designed to increase rumen nitrogen efficiency, improve rumen health and increase production. Available in
• Mineralised to prevent grass staggers and deficiencies along with elevated levels of chelated zinc and copper to fully support milk production at low feed rates
Figure 1- Crude Protein within Grazed grass through the grazing season - (Grass Watch, Trouw Nutrition) 1.00
Spring
0.90
Autumn
UNDFom (%uNDFom)
0.80 0.70 Spring kd = 9.5%/h
0.60 0.50
Autumn uNDFom = 15.5%
Autumn kd = 7.8%/h
0.40 Spring uNDFom = 9.8%
0.30 0.20 0.10 0.00
0
12
24
36
48
60
72
84
96
104 120 132 Time (%)
144
156
164
180
192
204 216
228
240
AMINOMATCH
Figure 2 - NDF Degradability in grazed grass - (Van Amburgh and Dineen)
Figure 3
Iwan Vaughan Head of Dairy Technical Services m: 07990 578548
e: iwan.vaughan@wynnstay.co.uk
@maesmochnant 9
WYNNSTAY DAIRY NEWSLETTER
QUALITY FORAGE STARTS WITH SELECTING THE RIGHT MIXTURE A key factor in producing quality forage is a carefully planned reseeding programme revolving around the core principle that you should aim to reseed 15% of the farm each year. Customer Testimonials
It is estimated that reseeding costs £250/ acre, making it a major investment, which requires attention to detail throughout the process. The starting point to this is selecting the right grass seed mixture which will suit your end requirements.
David Holroyd,
West Yorkshire, Dairy and beef farmer
If the aim is to produce good quality silage, selecting a mix with a high tetraploid content is important. Tetraploid grasses have high cutting yields with fast regrowth which allows for multiple cuts per year.
“We use Fast Grass as a break crop following winter wheat, sowing just under 40 acres each year. The mix establishes very quickly, and in autumn 2018 we were able to drill and take a cut all before the end of the year, producing quality baled and clamp silage. The mix also coped very well with the dry soil conditions following the summer drought. Producing excellent forage for both our dairy and beef herds, Fast Grass is a mixture we’ll continue to use.”
Unlike diploid grasses which contain two sets of chromosomes, tetraploid varieties consist of four sets of chromosomes which means they are naturally higher in water-soluble carbohydrates, which helps during the fermentation process within the clamp or bale. You should also consider how long you require the ley to last. If you’re looking for a short-term ley to act as a catch crop or provide additional forage, opt for Italian ryegrass mixtures such as Wynnstay’s Tower. The mixture establishes rapidly and can provide up to four-five cuts of high-quality silage a year.
Richard Fryer,
Northwich, Dairy farmer
“We direct drilled 20 acres of Fast Grass at a rate of 13kg/acre on 30th July to provide additional forage, following the 2018 drought. We were staggered at how quickly the grass grew into a silage crop and were able to mow the field in the middle of October. It produced 80 round bales of bulky silage, with a great protein content of 18.1% CP, which was as good as our first cut silage. We’re looking to either zero graze or take a further cut from the ley in April before drilling maize, so it’s acted as a great forage booster and will really help in this difficult year.”
Quick growing and high yielding hybrid mixes, such as Wynnstay’s Fortress, are a good consideration for leys lasting three to four years, as they provide quick regrowth for both grazing and silage-making. For medium and long-term dual-purpose mixes, I recommend Wynnstay’s Sovereign, Herald and Imperial due to their makeup of both Diploids and Tetraploids. For cutting, Wynnstay’s Royal is suitable as it consists of high tetraploid content and a small number of diploids, providing high silage yields with long-term ground cover.
Joe Cliffe,
Once the grass mixture has been selected, the following tips will help in ensuring good establishment
Cheshire, Dairy farmer
“Silage forms a big part of our dairy ration, so we reseed every five years to maintain quality. We drilled 20 acres of Fortress on 15th September and it’s performed exceptionally well. Our original plan was to graze sheep on the field over the winter, but the ley has grown so quickly it’s ahead of the stock and so we’re instead looking to take an early first cut in March. This will greatly improve our forage stocks. Fortress will be used again this year when we reseed later in the spring.”
• Destroy the old sward using a product containing glyphosate
QUALITY FORAGE
• Take a soil sample to analyse pH, P and K indices, so that deficiencies can be notified, and a bespoke fertiliser plan can be implemented. • To create the ‘perfect’ seedbed conditions for establishment, plough, cultivate and roll the seedbed prior to drilling, and apply seedbed fertiliser as required. • Finally, make sure the seedbed is fine and firm ready for drilling. Once drilled roll again to achieve maximum seed to soil contact. Attention needs to be made to ensure soil temperatures and moisture are adequate for a successful establishment and growth.
For advice on the best mixture to suit your needs speak to your Wynnstay Arable & Forage Specialist or call the Seed Team on 01939 210777.
Adam Simper Grass and Root Seed Product Manager m: 07808 901179
e: adam.simper@wynnstay.co.uk www.wynnstaydairy.uk
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CORNELL UNIVERSITY VISIT In October Iwan Vaughan, Julie Wright and Mark Price made their first secondments over Cornell University, NY in the first part of the cowficNcy Project- a European wide initiative, where research institutions partner with commercial companies worldwide, with an aim to reduce nitrogen emissions within dairy agriculture. We also visited a range of farms, with students from Cornell University and with nutritionists working in the field. We visited many dairy farms that were consistently producing over 40L per cow, with exceptional cow health. We visited a heifer rearer with over 4000 head on farm and a farm with 21 robots, that have seen labour and feed costs fall with the expansion under a robotic system. Economies of scale, precision, automation and specialisation is making these businesses more competitive in an industry that is currently on average selling milk at lower than the cost of production. We also saw some new entrants and expanding businesses that are using business structures to their advantage to make the most of their assets in the hard times that the US dairy industry is going through.
Apart from the obvious environmental advantages, Wynnstay are interested in the potential cost savings and improvements in efficiency that can be realised at farm level. The main part of the visit revolved around the Cornell Nutrition Conference. This conference brought together some of the most up to date research in ruminant nutrition, together with industry leading nutritionists. Presentations ranged from the interaction between physically effective and ungradable NDF and their effect on intake, through to improving nitrogen efficiency at farm level and wider industry issues such as more food chain integration. Whilst over there, we met with researchers looking more specifically at how we can make the grazing cow’s rumen more efficient and visited research facilities where trial are being run with supplementary amino acids, bringing crude protein to as low as 14.5%, along with amino acid supplementation in the pre weaned calf.
We each will return to Cornell over the next 18 months to carry out more specific research into how we can better utilize nitrogen through improving rumen nitrogen efficiency for our customers.
We had the opportunity to visit a new feed mill that was making mineralised blends with extremely low production costs per tonne, with a lot of automation and precision. It was supplied by rail and could transfer from rail cart to lorry for local distribution of commodities. They could fill a 30T wagon in 3 minutes from the rail carts
Julie Wright - Nutritionist Iwan Vaughan - Head of Dairy Technical Services Mark Price - Dairy Specialist
Iwan Vaughan Head of Dairy Technical Services m: 07990 578548
e: iwan.vaughan@wynnstay.co.uk
@maesmochnant 11
WYNNSTAY DAIRY NEWSLETTER
COWFICIENCY UPDATE
From left to right
AMINO ACIDS IN THE TRANSITION PERIOD An amino acid is the building block of protein and needed for many vital processes like the synthesis of hormones, neurotransmitters, and cell structures. There are twenty that are required, with ten of those called essential, because the cow cannot produce them herself. Each essential amino acid must be supplied by the diet, with two, lysine and methionine being classed as first limiting. The cow also requires the non-essential amino acids but can produce them to match her needs. The cow takes individual amino acids and combines them in chains with specific sequences to make protein in different forms to match her requirements for milk, foetal growth, tissue and muscle. She does not need crude protein, which as nitrogen, on average 30% is utilised as milk or tissue. Consequently, up to 70% of the nitrogen is excreted in urine and faeces- wasted. Efficiency of nitrogen utilisation can be increased along with animal performance by balancing the amino acid supply.
This autumn on a 400-cow herd in West Wales the TMR diet was balanced with a supplement for a lysine and methionine ratio of 2.8:1 with protected lysine and methionine being fed. Milk yield increased by 2.5L, per cow, with milk proteins increasing by an average of .2% to 3.6% with an increase in conception rate of 5% to 49%.
The positive effects of balancing the supply of the ten essential amino acids are significant, positively influencing; • Maintenance • Lactation • Growth • Reproduction • Milk Solids
AMINO ACID BALANCING
The two first limiting amino acids are, lysine and methionine. It is necessary that these two make up a certain portion of the dietary protein content. In doing so they will increase the efficiency and utilisation of the other eight essential amino acids. The first requirement for balancing a ration for amino acids is to provide enough rumen degradable protein (RDP) to maximise microbial protein synthesis in the rumen. Energy supply, fermentable carbohydrates and digestible fibre, will drive “protein yield” and optimum rumen efficiency for amino acid production. The second requirement is to balance for rumen undegradable protein (DUP), including protected lysine and methionine to optimize metabolizable protein production, which is “True Protein”, and absorbed in the small intestine as amino acids. The supply of both lysine and methionine for balancing the requirement must be in a protected form so they are not degraded in the rumen by microbial bacteria and pass into the small intestine.
What are the effects on cow performance when balancing for amino acids?
Balancing diets for amino acid requirements will become more prevalent as we go forward, giving the farmer healthier cows, better performance, with increased efficiency- a win, win for both farmer and cow.
Toledo et al. (2017) reports that when balancing transition diets for lysine and methionine at a ratio of 2.8:1 pregnancy losses were reduced by 13.6% over the control, with protected methionine being top dressed. Additionally, Batistel et al. (2017) improved calf birth weight by 3kg over the control when diets were supplemented with protected methionine. Equally, Zhou et al. (2016) fed a diet balanced with protected lysine and methionine at a ratio of 2.9:1 against control with no protected amino acids balanced at a ratio of 3.5:1, to lactation cows. Those cows fed the protected lysine and methionine diet produced an average of 4kg more milk than the control, with a milk protein percent increase of .18% over the control. www.wynnstaydairy.uk
Ken March Dairy Technical Specialist m: 07454 015610
e: ken.march@wynnstay.co.uk
12
FEEDING CALVES – BEYOND THE MILK When we think of feeding calves, the first thing that comes to mind is often milk. As Calf Specialists, we have often focused on the pre-weaned calf. The milk feeding stage is of great importance, and sets the calf up for life. However, the weaning and post weaning phase also requires attention. Post Weaning
The first 60-70 days of life are a golden opportunity to exploit the genetic potential of your calves. The weaning period and the days following are also an opportunity that we need to make the most of.
Calves like consistency and routine. Do not change too many things at once. For the few days before and after weaning, do not: rehouse, regroup, change feed, vaccinate, dehorn or castrate.
Weaning
Intake of starter pre -weaning helps promote growth and development of the rumen in calves. However, we would be mistaken to assume, that once weaned the calf is now a fully functioning ruminant. Rather it will be 4-6 months of age before the calf is a full ruminant. By paying close attention to the diet of the post weaned heifer, the rumen will continue to develop – maximising the growth potential of the heifers.
Calves begin life as a simple stomached animal – essentially a monogastric. They will however spend the majority of their lives as a ruminant. A successful weaning period is heavily dependant on your calves being functioning ruminants. Water is directly linked to starter intake so provide fresh clean water from birth to encourage starter intake. Also provide good quality (ideally chopped) straw.
Although we want to take advantage of high feed-conversion rates, this freshly weaned calf is not the ideal time to be introducing a high forage diet. Heifers need to be continuously growing at a minimum of 0.8kgs/day to reach bulling weight goal. Forages should be gradually introduced between 4-6 months for the calf to be able to utilise efficiently.
The question is often asked when should I wean my calves. The most important factor to consider here is not the age or weight of the animal, but rather the volume of starter being consumed. By weaning (and essentially removing the nutrient dense liquid that has been providing nutrients for maintenance and growth) we need to be sure that enough starter is being consumed, and the rumen developed to such an extent to allow the calf to continue to grow. If the calf has not been consuming starter for a long enough period to allow adequate rumen development, the calf will not grow, and may lose body weight after weaning, until such time as the rumen is well enough developed. This is often referred to as a weaning check.
Feed Timeline
0-12 weeks
Considerations for weaning: • Has the calf doubled birth weight?
High quality Milk replacer
(min 900g/ day)
• Has milk feeding been gradually reduced (Over a 2-3-week period)? • Is the calf eating enough starter (2kgs) for 3-4 consecutive days?
12 weeks +
• Is the calf healthy?
Heifer 600 nuts
Start n wean Nuts Introduced day 3. 2kgs at weaning. Straw with gradual introduction to forage from 16 weeks
Chopped straw
Fresh clean ad-lib water
Fresh, clean, ad-lib water
FEEDING CALVES
For more information on weaning and post-weaning contact your Wynnstay Calf & Youngstock Specialist.
Eimear Diamond Calf & Youngstock Manager
m: 07881 379008 e: eimear.diamond@wynnstay.co.uk
@diamondcalf1
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WYNNSTAY DAIRY NEWSLETTER
MANAGING SPRING BORN HEIFERS AT GRASS Our advice on how you get your spring born heifers to grow, and keep growing! With the spring calving season upon us it is important to think ahead to the imminent grazing season and how to get the calves born this spring (Feb-April) to grow well and efficiently. Rearing spring-calved heifers to calve at around two years of age from grazed grass is a specific challenge.
between 2500-2800 kg/DM/Ha when the calves go onto the paddock in a rotational grazing system. It is also recommended that the calves are not limited behind a wire or pushed too hard to meet residual in the first few months and should be moved at least every other day, therefore set stocking is not recommended. Measure grass covers as they enter and exit paddocks to accurately monitor intakes, alongside starter feed fed. It is also important to know and regularly review the dry matter (DM) content. DM can vary depending on weather and time of year so make sure you know the value of the grass.
In order to achieve a calving at the desired 22-24 months a calf must average 0.8kg-1kg per day DLWG. To achieve this, they must consume at least 3% of their bodyweight in dry matter a day. Spring calves born to grazing type crossbreds or small, hardy breeds can be turned out when they are between 6-8 weeks old depending on the weather whilst the calves are still on milk. This is important because it avoids excess stress around the time of weaning and give the calves chance to adapt to grazing whist on milk. Calves should still be receiving concentrates around this time as they aren’t fully eating enough grass and are not able to effectively utilise it yet. They should have access to water and shelter and additional feed should be provided if weather is poor.
Table 1 Heifer growth rates, DMI and energy requirements:
Managing the grass-quality and quantity For calves that are turned out in late March-early April, it is important that they aren’t limited when it comes to access to quality grass and should be priorities when considering the rest of the cows on the grazing platform. Grazing cover should be
Heifer weight
Dry matter intake kg/ DM (DMI) *
Energy requirements MJ ME *
Grass DMI x 12ME (excellent grass)
Grass DMI x 11ME (average grass)
Grass DMI x 10ME (poor grass)
100
2.5
31.8
30
28
25
200
4.2
44.4
50
46
42
300
5.7
67.8
68
62
57
450
9
84.9
108
99
90
* National Research Council, 2001. Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle. 7th rev. ed. Washington, D.C. National Academy Press.
MANAGING SPRING BORN HEIFERS
The weaning process should be done very slowly and carefully to minimise stress and any sort of check. The rate of weaning will largely depend on the weather and amount of grass they are eating. To determine how well the calves are transitioning they should be weighed and monitored regularly- changing group and rationing to support poorer calves. Once the calves are weaned, they can then be put into more of a block grazing system and given three days break at a time. By August/ September the calves can then work the residual to 1800kg/ DM/Ha then follow up with in calf heifers.
In order to achieve a calving at the desired 22-24 months a calf must average 0.8kg1kg per day DLWG The importance of concentrates Concentrates should be provided until the calves can eat enough high-quality grass to sustain growth. The calves should be changed from their starter feed (Start N wean) to a rearer feed when the calves are around 12-14 weeks old. Grazed grass generally has a high crude protein content so there is no need to supplement with high protein concentrates. Low protein, high-fibre concentrates are available and have been specifically designed to help complement a heifer’s diet www.wynnstaydairy.uk
14
whilst at grass, such as Heifer Grazer. Calves can be fed on a purely grass diet only if quality of grass and conditions can be guaranteed. The energy that a heifer requires to achieve target growth rates will depend on liveweight. It is therefore important to determine whether dry matter intakes from grass will be sufficient to supply heifers with the required levels of energy to sustain daily liveweight growth rate. Concentrate feed should be used to balance any predicted shortfall in energy requirements and to maintain optimum growth rates.
Field and health management In young calves a decent field shelter (good tall hedges) should be provided for them to escape very extreme conditions and continue to monitor growth and adjust feeding as necessary. Short term losses in growth will take a long time to recover from. Fresh clean water is also of upmost importance to encourage DM intake and balance the body systems. To maintain good pasture management, good electric fencing and access routes are vital to stop calves breaking out and disrupting the grazing plan. Do not forget to discuss with your vet or health advisor a suitable vaccination and health programme, also not forgetting to supplement with vitamins and minerals as required.
To conclude • Heifers in their first grazing season should be the priority and fed high quality grass in front of the cows • Use concentrates when necessary • Monitor growth regularly
Jess Charlton
• Measure grass quality
Calf & Youngstock Specialist Shropshire, Cheshire, Staffordshire
• Ensure adequate vitamins and minerals
m: 07990 584740 e: jess.charlton@wynnstay.co.uk
• Don’t forget about a health plan
MANAGING SPRING BORN HEIFERS
@charltoncalf1
For more information on calf or youngstock management contact a member of our Calf & Youngstock Team, for contact details please visit
www.wynnstayagriculture.co.uk/calf_and_youngstock_team 15
WYNNSTAY DAIRY NEWSLETTER
USING MULTICUT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE For the last few years, the industry has been advising grass silage producers to cut little and often to maximise the energy and protein yield form their silage ground. Cutting every 4 weeks from the last week of April has seen to be the holy grail of silage making, creating many small cuts of ‘rocket fuel’ silage, high in metabolisable energy (ME) and crude protein (CP), low in NDF and as much or even more yield than the traditional three cut method across the season. With more opportunities to apply slurry, a shorter harvesting operation and more consistency in the final product, it seems a win-win for the farmer, nutritionist and certainly for the contractor. Often this is not the case. Of course, there is no denying a higher ME and CP from pretty much all cuts and there is no yield penalty across the whole season, but this is where the gains can end. First off, there is a larger contractors bill to pay, which is not always offset by increased milk from forage. The extra ME can often come with higher oil levels that nutritionally, do not bring much to the table and can often create a butterfat slump. The increase in CP can be mainly ammonia, so having little nutritional value. This increase in ammonia can be a result of the crop having less time to use the slurry or nitrogen applied post cutting which in turn, is detrimental to fermentation. Another thorn in the side of multi-cut fermentation can be that fact that these light cuts can go from too wet to very dry in a matter of hours, so dry matter (DM) can vary a lot. If it is on the damp side, we see a lot of clamp slipping cause excessive heating and waste, along with some very high lactic silages, due to the high sugar levels in the grass.
many of the benefits of feeding high quality forage.
NDF
Finally, it is important to consider that the role of forage is not just to provide as much ME and CP as possible, in fact forage is just that – a forage, a fibre source. Fibre or NDF is often the biggest variable in a dairy ration, so let’s try and make silage with consistent NDF levels, as we can easily balance other nutritional parameters. Why do we so often make so such high quality ‘multi-cut’ grass silage and balance it nicely with 1kg of chopped hay? Often because there is not enough NDF supplied. In most cases by extending the cutting interval by a week for first and second cut and then reverting to shorter cutting intervals, we would get more consistent NDF levels across cuts. Multi cut techniques have a place and a lot can be gained by reducing cutting intervals, as mentioned earlier, but only if well managed. There are a few points that first need to be considered to reap the rewards• Ensure that you have enough forage to account for higher grass silage intakes • Consider using forage wagons to reduce the cost of production, especially in late season • Consider delaying first cut by a week and lengthening second cut a 5-week interval, then reverting to a 4-week interval to get more consistent NDF levels and maximise yield of first and second cut
HAS THE MULTI-CUT BUBBLE BURST?
Consistency
Consistency is key to high performing herds, whatever the system. Cows love consistency, rumens love consistency and consistency is important for farm businesses. In principal, multi-cut should help consistency, but it can impede it. Cows eat more ‘multi cut’ silage, due to lower NDF reducing the fill effect of silage which means you burn through each cut very fast, resulting in more diet changes. As much as we try, each cut does vary and often needs a diet change, whether its due to DM, fermentation characteristics or the unavoidable seasonal variation in grass silage. Moreover, in some cases, due to higher intakes, bought in or poorer quality silage is needed to fill the gap, negating
• Layer each cut in the clamp, so all are fed evenly at the same time, reducing ration changes at feed out • Ensure crops are wilted enough. Better to be too dry than too wet on lush silages • Use an additive on all cuts to reduce the risk of poor fermentation • Be sure of your nitrate levels before cutting -test where necessary • Minimise slurry applications after June because of the risk of contamination and elevated nitrogen levels in the summer and autumn. Make sure low volumes are applied using a shoe or dribble bar We are often dictated so much by the weather and have to cut silage when we can, throwing all good plans out of the window, but having a plan at least, to maximise your grass silage production will stand you in good stead to increase milk from forage and overall farm utilisation.
Mark Price Dairy Technical Specialist m: 07876 824314
e: mark.price@wynnstay.co.uk
@m_priceo www.wynnstaydairy.uk
16
GRAZING MANAGEMENT – THE KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL GRAZING SEASON In the dairy industry where margins are often tight, making the most out of home-grown forages is key. Grazed grass is the cheapest feed on the farm yet often it is not utilized to its full potential. Providing good grassland management is carried out it can have a positive impact on profitability, more milk from forage = improved margins. Careful planning of your grazing platform early in the season before cows are even out is crucial for a successful grazing season. Set up a rotation and grass wedge from the beginning, but the length of rotation will all depend on grass growth rate. As the season goes on there can be a large variation in growth rates as seen in Table 1. Therefore, regularly monitor grass growth and adjusting the rotation length accordingly is important. Having a flexible approach is key to a successful rotation, with the heaviest covers grazed first.
utilisation. By measuring pastures and assessing the grass supply for the next few weeks will allow any shortfall/excess to be addressed quickly. If there is a surplus of grass, the supply must be reduced. This can be done by either decreasing the total grazing area or rotation length by cutting a paddock for big bale silage, increasing the stock numbers on a grazing area e.g. introduce the dry stock onto pasture following milking cows. If a shortage has been identified, then increase the grass supply by either increasing the rotation length by buffer feeding or introducing silage ground into the rotation or decreasing the number of stock by housing dry cows etc. Table 1
Table 2
Typical Daily Grass Growth Rates (kg DM/ha/day)
Even though the optimum cover for grazing is 2800-3000kg DM, at the beginning of the season turn cows out when the cover is around 2,300kg dry matter. Grazing lower covers here compared to the rest of year allows cows to be off the pastures quicker which will reduce poaching. Poaching will lead to a reduced DM yield throughout the season, graze the dryer pastures first which are less susceptible. Aim to finish the first rotation by the third week of April. Grazing intervals will vary during the season. In April/May due to the rate of grass growth the interval will be the shortest and a higher stocking rate (Table 2) can be used to keep up with grass growth. Make sure residuals are grazed down to the right height from the onset on season, residuals influence sward density, grass nutrient quality, DM yields and regrowth in the subsequent rotations. Target residuals at 5-6cm (16001700kg/DM/ha). Grazing below 4cm will diminish the plant reserves so regrowth will be slower. To rectify pastures which haven’t been grazed low enough consider premowing in the next rotation or following with far off dry cow/ heifers, providing a high stocking rate for a short period of time before leaving the paddock to re grow for the milking herd.
Stocking Rates
January
3-5
March
3
February
5-10
April/May
6
March
10-15
June
5.5
April
20-50
July
5
May
60-100
August
3.5
June
50-80
September
2.5
July
50-70
August
50-60
September
25-45
October
15-25
November
10
December
5
In conclusion to have a successful grazing season grass monitoring is vital, by doing this it will enables several management decisions to be made. It allows excesses/ shortages to be planned for and better grass utilisation by grazing at correct covers and residuals.
During May- August when grass growth is at its maximum fields above 3300kg DM consider cutting for silage then putting them back into the grazing rotation. If the pastures are left too long/ grazed too late the tillers will continue to produce new leaves, however there will be no increase in grass mass due to the bottom tillers produced first will die off. If this occurs the dead material will build up in the base of sward which has very little feed value, decreasing grass
Rachel Gardner Dairy Technical Specialist South Wales m: 07810 444834
e: rachel.gardner@wynnstay.co.uk
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WYNNSTAY DAIRY NEWSLETTER
GRAZING MANAGEMENT
To start with cows will need to be trained to graze. Turn cows out for around 2-3 hours a day for around 2 weeks before full turn out this allows for the rumen adaption and will help to set up a grass wedge as they will be eating a small amount around 5kg dry matter (DM) a day. As cows have their two largest meals at sunset and sunrise turn cows into new area post afternoon milking, the grass will be higher in sugars and have a higher dry matter therefore intakes will be greater.
DO YOUR SUMS BEFORE BUYING THE FEED YOU NEED We are coming out of one of the toughest winters in terms of forage stocks in recent memory and although the grass is not blowing in the wind quite yet, there is light at the end of the tunnel. It is time to be planning forage stocks. There are many options when it comes to bolstering your feed stocks for the future, but some are far more costly than others when all is considered. We are entering a time where it is going to be harder and harder to run dairy farms with high stocking rates, due to ammonia legislations and proposed phosphorus regulations. This, combined with ever more competition for land form AD plants, other dairy businesses and non-agricultural land use, means that dairies and other livestock enterprises have to be as efficient with cropping, land use and feed supplies than ever. There is an obvious hang over from the current period of unprecedented levels of forage, that will lead to some very inflated prices for forage crops or substitutes. Below are some key points to consider if you are in the market for more food.
It is always hard to cost in the value of protein or energy accurately when comparing feeds, but an educated attempt is better than nothing.
DO YOUR SUMS BEFORE BUYING THE FEED YOU NEED
Know what you need
Make more from your land
Here is an example of how to calculate demand, based on a 235 acre (95Ha) farm with only dairy cows, milking 200 cows selling 8500L per cow per year, looking at what currently happens • A dairy cow will use around 12kgDM of feed for every 1kg of milk solids per year. Below is an example how to calculate how much feed you need • For 200 cows, you will need 1028 tonnes of dry matter • Assume the farm grazes 35Ha and grows 9TDM/Ha This supplies 325tDM
The range in crop yields are phenomenal when actually measured. The biggest variation is often in grassland, where there can be a spread of 6t/DM to 13t/DMHa grown and utilised on the best farms. There are many ways to improve on farm yield, of which we have covered in other articles (see our website) but here are some key points to maximise farm utilisation • Use rotational grazing of the right type of cow • Grow the right crops for your farm and herd • Test and properly manage your soil using trained agronomists • Reseed, reduce compaction and manage grass as a crop • Manage slurry as a fertiliser not a waste product • Reduce waste or ‘Shrink’ of silage • Double crop/use catch crops to ensure fields are always productive • Embrace technology to help measure yield and accurately apply nutrients
• 10Ha of maize yielding 13T/ha as fed (16t/acre fresh weight after losses at 33% DM) Supplies 130tDM • The remaining 50ha (124acres) produces on average 11TDM/ha (13.4t/fresh/acre) Supplies 550T • The farm is in deficit by 23T Usually, this would not be much of an issue, as rollover stocks or forage/forage replacers can fill the gap. But with poor yields last year and brewers grains costing £200/tDM and forages bought out of clamps costing £150/tDM, these sums come under a lot of scrutiny. Increasing forage production where possible would be the first step
Buy wisely
After getting the most from your farmed area, you may still be better off buying in extra feed, whether that is clamp silage, moist feeds, more concentrates or standing crops. Whichever you do, be sure to do your maths before any purchases, to avoid being caught out. It is always hard to cost in the value of protein or energy accurately when comparing feeds, but an educated attempt is better than nothing. Below is an example of comparing two options, where there is deficit of 150 tonnes of Dry Matter.
www.wynnstaydairy.uk
18
Option 1
Option 2
15ha (37acres) standing crop of maize
More concentrates
Cost £580/acre
Wheatfeed - £150/t
Harvesting
£60/acre
86% DM
Total cost
£23,680
Total tonnes
175t
Total cost
£26,250
Cost/t DM fed
£174.42
Yield
38t/Ha(15t/ac)
Dry matter
33%
Total DM
188t
Shrink
20%
DM to feed
150t
Cost/t DM fed
£157.87
Typical wheatfeed analysis on a dry matter basis
Typical maize analysis on a dry matter basis ME
11.2Mj/kg
Protein
7%
NDF
38%
Starch
30%
Cost per unit of ME (Mj/t)
£14.10
Cost per unit of protein (t)
£22.57
Cost per unit of starch (t)
£5.26
ME
11.3Mj/kg
Protein
19%
NDF
35%
Starch
24%
Cost per unit of ME (Mj/t)
£15.40
Cost per unit of protein (t)
£9.16
Cost per unit of starch (t)
£7.25
Making the most from your farmed area and being thorough with any feed purchasing calculations will stand your dairy business in good stead for the future
As you can see from this comparison, there is little difference in the cost of these two options when fully calculated, with the maize option being cheaper for ME and starch, but would mean more expense needed to balance the protein, which works out substantially cheaper in the Wheatfeed option. There are other factors, such as slurry management and the affect on the rest of the ration – especially NDF pools, slurry management and storage logistics, but it certainly highlights the need to do through calculations when deciding what extra feed to buy. With uncertainty around feed prices, due to the volatility of currency, along with a falling milk price, feeding decisions will be put under ever increasing scrutiny over the coming months. Making the most from your farmed area and being thorough with any feed purchasing calculations will stand your dairy business in good stead for the future
Mark Price Dairy Technical Specialist m: 07876 824314
e: mark.price@wynnstay.co.uk
@m_priceo 19
WYNNSTAY DAIRY NEWSLETTER
FORAGE UTILISATION PER HA When we talk farm costings, farm efficiency and performance monitoring, we need to talk about figures that are relevant to everyone and lead to tangible information, leading to informed decisions. We believe forage utilisation per ha (FUH) is the best figure to do this
Milk from forage In terms of measuring on farm efficiency, milk from forage is one of the most widely used measurements, as all things being equal, if your milk from forage goes up year on year, profit goes up. This is because it means either your concentrate usage has reduced without a reduction in output, or milk production has increased without extra concentrate inputs. Both scenarios generally lead to an increased bottom line. Farming isn’t that simple though - things very rarely stay equal. Dairy farms are often going through growth phases, so if a farm increases his farmed area on the same milk output, their milk from forage may increase, but they will incur costs for this in farming extra land. The inverse of this, a farm may increase stocking rate on the same area, seeing a significant increase in profitability by feeding heavier, but milk from forage per cow will fall significantly. Similarly, if a lot of bought in silage is fed, at a cost of £150/tDM- which is common place at the moment- milk from forage will increase, but the more cost-effective decision may have been to buy extra concentrates and generate more milk sales. For this reason, milk from forage can be considered outdated for modern farming practices.
Sustainability It is important -now more than ever- that dairy farms get the most out of their farmed land; both from an environmental and economic point of view and we need to use a metric that captures this, without being skewed by marginal litres or business growth. The premise stays the same- get the most milk from your farmed land as possible, through increasing yield and forage quality, or improving herd management such as fertility and reducing lameness.
To generate the FUH figure, we calculate the energy required to generate the milk produced over the year, accounting for seasonal and nutritional fluctuations. From this, we subtract the energy purchased over the year through feeds and divide the remaining figure by the farmed area allocated to dairy (considering youngstock and any other livestock). Any purchased forage is not considered, as this is a purchased feed just like a blend or compound feed, so should not be discounted from any overall farm efficiency calculation.
FORAGE UTILISATION PER HA
Forage utilisation We believe that the metric of FUH encompasses this perfectly. The figure describes how much milk is being generated from each hectare (Ha) of your farmed area, irrelevant of any other changes happening on the farm. If you decide to increase feed rate to gain marginal litres or put on an extra 100 cows on the same area, the amount of milk produced from each Ha of land should remain constant. If you decide to rent an extra block of land, then FUH will only maintain if that land is managed well enough. Crucially, FUH is equally valuable for grazing systems as it is for housed systems and anything in between. This is important as both systems are operating in the same marketplace for inputs, assets and sales. It also helps to shed light on what crops will generate the most milk for your farm. In summary, adoption of FUH will help farms identify opportunities for increasing profitability through sustainable land use, and crop production whatever else is happening within the farm business.
Mark Price Dairy Technical Specialist m: 07876 824314
e: mark.price@wynnstay.co.uk
@m_priceo www.wynnstaydairy.uk
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MAIZE: HOW TO ENSURE A SUCCESSFUL CROP Maize is a high value cropping choice for dairy and beef producers with its high starch and fermentable energy content. However, it can be relatively costly to grow so it pays to consider all the elements required for a successful crop, ahead of planting. If you are growing maize this year careful planning is the key to ensure the best possible return on investment. While producers often consider variety choice to be the biggest decision of the planning process, there are other more important contributing factors which determine crop success.
CROP PACKAGING
1 FIELD SELECTION:
The starting point is field selection. Producers should take into consideration what fertiliser or slurry will be applied for the crop and how successful maize has been on individual fields in the past . Keeping records of slurry or manure applications, will allow accurate soil nutrient management plans to be drawn up. Crop requirements for N, P and K should be taken into consideration and the nutrients supplied by applications of muck and slurry should be balanced by the correct quantities of fertiliser out of the bag. Not only will applying optimal levels of nutrients promote crop performance, it avoids unnecessary applications, offering financial savings.
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2. SOIL ANALYSIS:
Soil pH is also a critical factor and should always be reviewed prior to planting a new crop. The aim should be to get soil pH as close to 6.5 as possible - otherwise it can limit the availability of N, P and K to the crop and the full benefit of fertiliser applications won’t be realised. If levels are below the optimum, an application of Calcifert will provide a rapid response to lift pH and will benefit this year’s crop, compared to the conventional use of ground lime which often takes at least 12 months to have an impact.
3. WEED CONTROL:
Along with nutrient management, plans for growing maize should take into consideration the weed pressures experienced last season. Reflecting on weed problems enables the forward planning of an effective weed control strategy to mitigate any impact to this year’s crop. Pendimethalin applied pre-emergence, can provide a costeffective broad spectrum weed control on a wide range of soil types but it’s not effective on all weeds. If Cranesbill is an issue, for example, then it would be more appropriate to use Wing P. The crop then needs to be inspected once it’s through and post-emergence herbicides applied to tidy-up if required. It pays to plan weed control ahead and order the appropriate pre-emergence chemical with the seed, so it’s ready to be applied as soon as the crop is drilled.
Wynnstay’s Maize Specialists can provide advice and support covering all aspects of maize crop production from site selection and sowing depth, to weed control and crop nutrition.
While the weather does play a critical role in maize performance, there are plenty of things within the growers control that can help ensure a successful crop. Giving prior consideration to all inputs is key and will help to ensure an effective management plan to enable the crop to achieve its full potential.
For more information please call 01939 210555.
Dr Simon Pope
Crop Protection Manager m: 07990 578545
e: simon.pope@wynnstay.co.uk
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WYNNSTAY DAIRY NEWSLETTER
MAIZE
For more information or for a competitive quote contact your nearest store, call 0808 168 7998 or visit www.wynnstayagriculture.co.uk
INVESTING IN YOUR SOIL AND GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT WILL AID CROP QUALITY AND YIELD We are facing unprecedented times, and farming along with other industries are having to ensure their businesses are as well positioned as they can be to manage the impact our withdrawal from the EU in whatever form that might be, will have. The engine room and lifeblood of any farm is the soil, an element that has the potential to impact greatly on farm profitability. Knowing the fertility of your soils is key in determining the most efficient and cost-effective choices that should be made when using both fertilisers and manures. In most cases, essential nutrients for plant growth come from the soil and are delivered by the root system. However, most soils don’t contain the right amounts of all the nutrients needed with different types of plants having very different nutrient requirements.
The question is,
“How can you make sure your plants have access to everything they need for maximum performance?”
pH and fertiliser efficiency Solid acidity
INVESTING IN YOUR SOIL
One approach that many growers employ is to fertilise with all possible nutrients on a regular basis. Taking this route however, can waste fertiliser and more importantly money, in addition environmental compliance can be compromised as a result of ground pollution and surface water with excess nutrients. Yet this is exactly what you are exposing yourself to when applying fertiliser without testing your soils first. The chart highlights the effects on nutrient efficiency if your fields go unchecked and the PH is not at its optimum level, the net effect, money wasted on fertiliser, loss of crop production and quality.
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% Nitrogen Phosphate Potash Fertiliser wasted
Extremely acid pH 4.5
30%
23%
33%
71.34%
Very strong acid pH 5.0
53%
34%
52%
53.67%
Strong acid pH 5.5
77%
48%
77%
32.69%
Medium acid pH 6.0
89%
52%
100%
19.67%
Neutral pH 7.0
100%
100%
100%
0%
the net effect, money wasted on fertiliser, loss of crop production and quality.
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We would advocate that at least 25% of the farm holding be tested each year, with any fields that are known to have thrown up problems be tested on a more regular basis. In doing so a clear picture with up to date information will be obtained, allowing for more accurate nutrient application rates to be employed. What needs to be remembered is that each individual nutrient has a role to play in plant production, they should not be considered in isolation as it is only when the correct mix of nutrients are applied that it can grow optimally.
Arable
The three key building blocks are Nitrogen for yield and protein, Phosphate which is key to root development and something most livestock units are rich in from manures and Potash which controls the movement and storage of solutions in the plant and essential for normal drought resistance which has a direct impact on overall nutrition take up, photosynthesis and therefore plant growth. In addition to these elements, Sulphur is more important than ever given that atmospheric deposits are now running at the lowest historic levels. Closely linked to yield and quality, it is proven that Sulphur will improve both. We are in an era where precision farming is a hot topic, the aim being to assess and manage variations in the field accurately of which all aspects, soil, weather, vegetation and water can vary markedly. In my opinion, by recognising one of the best assets your farm has, the soil, improving its health is an effective strategy that will enhance nutrient take up, forage production in both yield and quality at the same time benefitting animal health, and something that can be maximised cost effectively. Wynnstay’s team of specialists use their extensive technical knowledge to develop bespoke fertiliser programmes to each customer’s requirements. We understand the importance of analysing individual conditions and by understanding the strengths and weakness of the soil, we can increase the efficiency of the fertiliser therefore improving plant growth. Our aim is to maximise the return on your investment.
arable@wynnstay.co.uk
Paul Crump Arable Trade Manager
t: 01939 211264 m: 07469 859673 e: paul.crump@wynnstay.co.uk
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WYNNSTAY DAIRY NEWSLETTER
INVESTING IN YOUR SOIL
Please get in contact with your local Wynnstay Specialist for further information on soil nutrition
Contact us: Sales Desk
t: 0808 168 7998 dairy@wynnstay.co.uk To find your local store visit
www.wynnstayagriculture.co.uk Wynnstay Feeds Team Llansantffraid Office: 01691 828512 Carmarthen Office: 01267 231341 Rhosfawr Office: 01766 819066
Wynnstay Arable Team Seed: 01939 210777 Fertiliser: 01939 211266 Crop Protection: 01939 210555 GrainLink: 01939 210500
For technical advice, product information or to request a quote visit
www.wynnstayagriculture.co.uk
For the latest dairy news and information, or if you are interested in receiving our Dairy Newsletter by e-mail please visit
www.wynnstaydairy.uk
Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the details supplied in this publication are correct as of March 2019, Wynnstay cannot be held responsible for any inaccurate information. Information contained within this publication should be used as a guide only. Please seek specialist advice before purchasing. Photography and product images used within this publication have been used as a guide only.
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