With the evenings closing in and a slight chill in the air, livestock farmers thoughts will inevitably begin to wonder towards silage analysis, fodder budging and feeding strategies for the winter period ahead.
It has been a challenging year for grass growth; a late spring, accompanied by summer soil moisture deficits, has left some farmers wondering if their forage stocks will be sufficient for the housing period ahead.
Completing a fodder budget will answer all questions, and allow farmers make competent decisions on the best feeding strategy for their individual situation.
Budgeting for a 150-day housing period is best practice, thus, allowing for the possibility of an early housing or late turn-out date.
Feeding strategies should be tailored towards the stock carried on farm. Dry cows, youngstock and fattening animals all have different energy and protein requirements. Diets should be tweaked to represent the specific nutritional demands of each of these animal classes.
Dry cows diets and molasses examples
The dry period, not only allows cows to correct their body condition score (BCS) ahead of calving, but it also allows time for the regeneration of mammary tissue.
Its duration can vary, and is dependent on the BCS of individual cows at the end of the lactation period. As a rule of thumb, an eight-week dry period should be sufficient prior to the next lactation.
Cows should be grouped according to their BCS, therefore, allowing for ease of feeding and condition score monitoring. A BCS of 3.0-3.25 and 2.5-3.0 should be the aim for dairy and beef cows respectively.
Diets consisting of grass/maize silage, straw and a high protein, molasses-based liquid feed should allow for cows to hit their target BCS at calving.
Examples of dry cow diets are detailed below.
Ingredients Dry Cow Diet A Dry Cow Diet B Dry Cow Diet C Standard Cane Molasses 0.7kg/DM 0.7 kg/DM – Feeding Barley Straw 7.5kg/DM 3.0 kg/DM 5.4 kg/DM Grass Silage 74% DMD 0.5kg/DM 5.3 kg/DM – Maize Silage 25% Starch – – 1.2 kg/DM Eco Maize Molasses – – 1.9 kg/DM Maize Distillers – 1.3 kg/DM – Rapeseed Meal 2.0kg/DM – – Crude Protein Requirement 11-12% 11-12% 11-12% Crude Protein Supplied 11% 12.7% 11.7% Energy Requirement 6.4 UFL kg/DM 8.2 UFL kg/DM 4.8 UFL kg/DM Energy Supplied 6.5 UFL 8.1 UFL kg/DM 4.9 UFL kg/DM
Diet A: 600kg dry cow seven months in-calf maintenance diet.
Diet B: 550kg cow seven months in-calf gaining 0.5kg/day.
Diet C: 650kg seven months in-calf loosing 0.5 kg/day.
Youngstock
Youngstock are the future income of both dairy and beef enterprises. Therefore, prioritising their nutritional demands during the housing period makes financial sense.
Diets should be formulated to maintain thrive in order to exploit compensatory growth the following grazing season.
For weanlings and store cattle, the aim should be for an average daily gain (ADG) of 0.4-0.6kg and 0.5-0.7kg respectively. Available forage quality will dictate the requirement for compound feeds and straights.
Overfeeding of purchased inputs should be avoided, as this can negatively impact compensatory growth the following spring. Diets should be formulated to provide a crude protein level (CP) of 13-14% and an energy value of 0.85-0.9 UFL, examples of which are detailed below.
Ingredients Store Cattle Diet 450kg plus Weanling Diet 300kg plus Rolled Barley 2.8kg/DM 0.4kg/DM Maize Distillers 1.3kg/DM – Nutri Thrive Molasses 0.5kg/DM 0.3kg/DM Rapeseed Meal – 0.4kg/DM Grass Silage 74% DMD 4.0kg/DM 4.5kg/DM Crude Protein Requirement 13-14% 13-14% Crude Protein Supplied 14.2% 14.6% Energy Requirement 0.9-0.95 UFV kg/DM 0.85-0.9 UFL kg/DM Energy Supplied 0.91 UFV 0.9 UFL
Finishing diets
Finishing diets should be kept simple. In general, a 3-to-4-way mix containing energy, protein and a fibre source with added minerals should be sufficient.
Diets should be formulated on an energy basis as opposed to protein levels. The target should be to formulate to a base UFV value of 0.9 and a crude protein content of 12-13%.
Knowledge of forage quality is again important and will allow for diets to be tweaked with regards to nutritional requirements. When purchasing straights, choosing only high-quality ingredients will return the best liveweight gains (LWG).
Barley is normally the go-to energy source with wheat, maize and molasses also great options. Protein sources include soyabean meal, rapeseed and maize gluten, with maize distillers also of value due to its high energy content.
The main digestible fibre feeds available are soya hulls and beet pulp.
If feeding ad-lib, an introductory period of 3-4 weeks should be undertaken before maximum dry matter intakes (DMI) are achieved. Additional roughage, in the form of feeding straw, should be considered with a minimum level of 10% roughage maintained in diets to help prevent any digestive upsets.
An adequate supply of clean fresh water, feeding space and ventilation will allow for more comfortable surroundings and aid in preventing any negative impact on animal thrive.
Ingredients Finishing Bull Diet 650kg plus Finishing Steer Diet 600kg plus Rolled Barley 5.8kg/DM 5.6kg/DM Standard Cane Molasses 0.5kg/DM – Nutri Thrive Molasses – 0.7kg/DM Rapeseed Meal 0.9kg/DM – Maize Distillers – 1.8kg/DM Grass Silage 72% DMD 4.2kg/DM 3.8kg/DM Feeding Barley Straw 1.0lg/DM 0.5kg/DM Crude Protein Requirement 12-13% 11-12% Crude Protein Supplied 12.5% 13.2% Energy Requirement 0.9-1.0 UFV kg/DM 0.9-1.0 UFV kg/DM Energy Supplied 0.94 UFV kg/DM 0.94 UFV kg/DM
Molasses
The positive benefits of including molasses to all the above diets are numerous. Increasing the overall TMR’s palatability, improving animal dry matter intakes and helping to uniformly carry minerals throughout the feed are the obvious benefits.
Additionally, adding molasses blends will help reduce any TMR sorting issues while also increasing the overall nutrient density and protein content of the diet.
In addition, molasses will improve the rumen’s eco-system while also increasing energy parturition within the animal. Moreover, its versatility and palatability enable poorer quality forages to be both utilised and extended, thus, preventing any unnecessary forage waste.
For more information on the benefits of molasses and the most-suited mix for your farm, click here.
