One of the problems experienced in silage making is keeping tract of
the diversity of forages available. Low sugar and high dry matter
forages like alfalfa have always proved problematic – until now. A new
specific silage inoculant has been shown to improve fermentation and
aerobic stability in alfalfa.
When John Bax looks at a cow, he sees a container for micro-organisms. Limin
Kung has 30 years' experience in using microbes to improve silage quality,
whilst Charlie Sniffen believes putting all this information into an effective
model will help us improve ruminant nutrition. These experts met recently in
Montreal to discuss how bugs will shape the future.
When is a by-product not a by-product? When
it's a co-product. Turning food industry waste into nutritious, cost-effective
and safe feed for livestock can be achieved by careful fermentation processes.
This requires expert knowledge and ingredient-specific inoculants.
Vitamin A appears to be a critical aspect
of feeding forage to ruminants. There are a number of factors to be taken into
account to ensure that ruminants can best utilise such a valuable resource from
forage.
A group of Dutch dairy farmers have investigated the efficacy of an old
fashioned procedure to better preserve freshly mowed grass to be used in winter
times.
Silage is- and will remain for a long time– a major part of the ruminant's
ration. Considering all the new constraints concerning animal nutrition today,
we can imagine that both farmers and the authorities will begin to pay more
attention to silage quality. Feed producers have to lead the way because selling
their premium feeds on top of premium silage will yield better
results.
Professor Jamie Newbold and Dr Neil McEwan from the
Institute of Rural Sciences at the University of Wales, along with colleagues at
the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Science, been awarded
£189,360 (around €
288,000) to
develop plant and herbal extracts for use in silage inoculants.
The number of cattle on feed in Nebraska has grown
over the past 18 months and, when it comes to total cattle on feed, Nebraska has
moved ahead of Kansas and into second place behind Texas.
Leftover corn residue makes an excellent feed supplement for beef cows,
according to Dan Faulkner from the University of Illinois, speaking at a beef
field day at the U of I Dixon Springs Agricultural Center.