If you’re looking for variety, you won’t be disappointed when you look at this year’s winter forages – that’s unless you’re a farmer or nutritionist looking to get the most feed value out of them and balance the ration.
There’s a mixture of grass silages out there – some far from ideal. Couple with this high protein prices and the challenges are clear; we need to maximise the milk-production potential of home-grown forages and avoid ‘plugging the gaps’ with bought-in protein.
Cargill’s upgraded rumen buffer, Equaliser, comes at a good time.
More than three years of dedicated research on more in-depth rumen function and longer-lasting buffer action of ingredients, has led to a buffer that provides a ‘perfect marriage’ in the rumen and meets its needs more precisely than has ever been possible before.
Clues in the feed and dung
To begin with, it’s vital farmers and their advisers know what they’re dealing with – what’s going in and what’s coming out.
Routine and regular silage analysis is vital, and so is manure sifting with a dedicated manure sieve.
Sifting a sample of manure regularly will check that fibre digestion is not compromised and also check that valuable starch energy is not being lost ‘out the back end’.
If there’s lots of fibre in the manure, and particularly larger particles in the top part of the sieve that ‘traps’ the courser material, then you know that a lot of the fibre isn’t getting digested. This is ‘waste’ feed.
Manure sifting will also tell you if starch in maize silage and cereals is being wasted. If starch is not being digested thoroughly enough in the rumen it will pass into the small intestine.
When excessive starch reaches the small intestine it ferments, causing irritation and hind-gut acidosis, and mucin casts are formed.
These can be seen in manure, providing a proper manure sift is used. They are like small lumps of clay and can be covered in a net of fibre.
It is possible to keep the diet on track cost-effectively and maximise its efficiency. But the rumen microbes will benefit from some ‘pampering’. This relies on making the right choice of rumen buffer.
Precision buffering winter forages
Rumen buffers are typically rated for their strength and power, but Cargill has highlighted that a buffer with more precise actions, which works more consistently and for longer, can be more effective.
The upgraded Equaliser better matches rumen requirements throughout digestion, rather than just during the initial hour or two after eating. An extensively-researched line-up of ingredients now used in the buffer are effective at the stages when the cow needs them most.
It is the first time this depth of testing has been used to develop more precise rumen buffers for use on-farm, which match the rumen’s exact requirements.
Two specialised Equaliser buffers will be of value this winter. Equaliser Fibre + is ideal for maximising the value from the fibre portion of the ration, either of very digestible or lower quality fibre.
Equaliser Starch + is designed for maize silage-based diets, or where a lot of starch is being fed. This promotes starch utilisation in the rumen, and it can also bolster the function of the small intestine and counter the risk of acid conditions post rumen.
Acid rollercoaster
Prior to the first feed of the day, the rumen is fully buffered with a pH well above 6. But when new feed enters the rumen, the silage acids cause a surge in acid levels.
Shortly afterwards, fermentation of sugars and readily fermentable carbohydrates peaks, which drives down the pH in the top of the rumen. This continues for a few hours as fresh and older feed mix and creates another wave of acidic conditions and ‘hot zones’ in the rumen.
If the rumen worked like a cement mixer and the acids were spread to the side of the rumen and made contact with the rumen wall, which has a lot more buffering potential, then a more ideal rumen environment would result.
But it doesn’t, so we need to rely on a good buffer in the feed to help the rumen when it’s most needed.
Cargill has used its improved understanding of rumen action and advanced technology to test the buffering abilities of a large number of ingredients to formulate the latest Equaliser rumen buffer.
It is the first time this depth of testing has been used to develop more precise rumen buffers for use on farm. It has enabled Cargill to match the rumen’s exact requirements.
This ‘core’ Equaliser buffer is used in the company’s range, which includes Equaliser Fibre+, developed for diets with high fibre silages, and Equaliser Starch+, for including in diets with high starch forages or grains.
For more information on Equaliser, click here.
