Silage quality is extremely important on farms that operate a winter milking system, with extra concentrates required if silage is poor.
Spring milk production has become extremely common on Irish dairy farms, with the aim of maximising milk production from grazed grass.
But for many farms, winter milk production is still carried out and on some farms with heavier soils, winter milk production is often more suitable than spring milk.
The key to a successful winter milk production system is having a high-quality forage available for feeding cows.
Silage quality
Dairy cows that are milking during the housed period need to be offered high-quality silage in order to maximise production.
Most farms operating a winter milking system will feed their cows on a total mixed ration (TMR); to ensure that this is formulated correctly, you need to test your silage.
Overestimating the feeding value of your silage may cost you a significant amount of money due to reduced production.
Similarly, underestimating your silage feeding value may lead you to purchase meal that is not required.
When harvested at the correct time silage is a relatively low-cost, high quality feed for lactating dairy cows, but on many farms this year silage was not harvested at the correct time.
The wet weather experienced in most parts of the country in early May delayed the harvesting of first-cut silage on farms by a number of weeks. Although this meant an increase in yield, it may have been at the cost of quality.
DMD
The target for a winter/liquid milk production system should be to feed 74%+ dry matter digestibility (DMD) silage.
Typically, every five unit drop in DMD will need 1.0 – 1.5kg extra concentrates to compensate for the lower energy level.
Feeding cows poorer quality silage will require you to increase the amount of concentrates in the cows’ diet.
Although it may increase cost on the farm, it is better to discover this issue and develop a plan alongside your nutritionist to solve it.