Planning for Winter Feeding

Introduction

Although weather conditions improved considerably during August, the difficult conditions during May, June and July have left an on-going legacy on many farms. Most silage is of lower quality and quantity than the normal year, particularly in wetland areas.

Farmers should now estimate any expected shortfall in their feed supply for the coming winter and plan to overcome the deficit. This may be done either through the purchase of hay, straw, maximising grass use this autumn and next spring, sourcing supplements or selling off surplus animals.

This leaflet outlines the main problem areas and how they might be overcome. For more detailed advice on the best options for your farm, contact your Teagasc adviser or local Teagasc Office.

Assessing your winter fodder situation

On average there was a delay of about three weeks in making silage this year and in some of the wetter areas it was very difficult to make silage. Farmers facing a fodder shortage should plan ahead to make sure that they have enough feed for the winter.

Early indications are that average grass silage digestibility is five to ten per cent lower than last year and bear in mind that stock may have to be housed earlier this year.

Use Table 1 to estimate your winter feed requirement.

Table 1: Estimation of total feed required

Stock Type

No. of Animals

Silage
Tonnes/Month

No. of Winter
Months

Total
Tonnes

Dairy Cows (Dry)

 

1.3-1.4

 

 

Dairy Cows (Milking)

 

1.5

 

 

Dairy In Calf Heifer

 

1.0

 

 

Suckler Cow

 

1.4

 

 

Finishing Animal

 

1.2

 

 

Store (500 kg)

 

1.3

 

 

Weanling

 

0.8

 

 

Ewe

 

0.17

 

 

Other

 

 

 

 

(A) Total Tonnes Required =

Roundbale Silage Requirement per month

 

No. of Bales/Month

Suckler Cow

2

Finishing Animal

1.7

Store (500kg)

1.9

Weanling

1.1

Ewe

0.2

Present fodder supply

Silage Pits Length x Breadth x Av. Height /50 =
1 ______ x ______ x _______ /50 =

2 ______ x ______ x ________ /50 =

3 ______ x ______ x ________ /50 =

Total Tonnes

Roundbale silage (600 kg/bale):
No of bales_________________ x 0.6 =

 

              (B) Total Silage =

Divide pit dimensions by 45 if precision chop and 50 if single chop silage

Other Fodder Number

Total Tonnes

Roundbales Hay 4'x 4' (240 kg) _______ x 0.24 =

 

Roundbales Hay 5'x 4' (360 kg) _______ x 0.36 =

 

Small Square Bales 4'x 4' (20 kg) _______ x 0.02 =

 

Multiply Total by 2

 

X2 = ____ Silage Equivalent (C)

Roundbales Straw 4'x 4' (120 kg) _______ x 0.12 =

 

Roundbales Straw 5'x 4' (240 kg) _______ x 0.24 =

 

Small Square Bales 4'x 4' (12.5 kg) _______ x 0.12 =

 

Multiply Total by 2

 

x2 = ____ Silage Equivalent (D)

(E) Total Feed = (B) + (C) + (D) = _____________ Tonnes

Deficit / Surplus = (A) - (E) = _____________ Tonnes

Winter feeding on cattle farms

On farms where there is a deficit in forage supply, the following recommendations will help to reduce forage demand:

  • Meal feed cattle that can be finished off grass, i.e. 18-20 month heifers and forward stores - feed between 2.0 and 5.0 kg/day depending on grass supply.
  • Scan cows and cull empty cows that are in good condition.
  • Purchase concentrate to make up any forage deficit. It will be better value than using poor quality silage.

Meal feeding

Much of the silage analysed to-date on drystock farms is showing poor to average DMD values of 60-65%. This will have implications for feeding during the winter.

  • Recommended meal feeding levels for 1.0 kg/day gain in finishing cattle and 0.6 kg/day gain in weanlings, with varying silage quality are shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Recommended meal level with varying silage quality

 

Silage DMD

 

60

65

70

75

Weanling (gain 0.6 kg/day)

2.5 kg

2.0 kg

1.2 kg

0.5 kg

Finisher (gain 1 kg/day)

8.5 kg

7.0 kg

5.5 kg

4.0 kg

* Feed 14% C.P. ration for finishing cattle and 16% C.P. for weanlings

  • Store cattle being wintered with a view to finishing off grass next summer will require 2-3 kg/day of meal with poor quality silage.
  • Silages of around 60-65% DMD will be adequate to maintain dry spring calving suckler cows.
  • Autumn calvers will require a minimum of 3.0 kg meal/day until after they have been rebred.

Liverfluke

After the wet year we have had, liverfluke will be a problem and suckler cows and cattle should be dosed this autumn. Timing of the dose is critical to get good results.

Products that will kill fluke from the early immature stage onwards can be given two weeks after housing. Products only effective on mature fluke should not be given until 5-6 weeks after housing.

Cow management and nutrition

While sufficient quantities of silage have been made on most farms in the drier areas, there are problems on wetter farms and silage digestibility is between five and ten per cent lower than last year.

Recommendations

  • Estimate the amount of grass silage on your farm and prepare a feed budget for the winter
  • If short of silage consider
    • Selling store cattle or cull cows
    • Planning for later housing and earlier turnout to grass
    • The use of alternative forages to extend the quantity of silage needed for the winter period

Cow condition

Cows in good condition prior to the start of the breeding season are more fertile than those in poor condition. The poorer quality silage available this year means that cows are less likely to fatten during the dry period.

Recommendations

  • Dry off thin cows and heifers before the main herd to give them a longer dry period and more time to gain body condition prior to calving.
  • Consider meal feeding thin cows and heifers during the dry period to ensure that they reach the optimum pre-calving condition score.

Recommended supplementation rates (kg/head/day) for dry cows with differing condition scores on poor quality grass silage (DMD <68%) are shown in Table 3.

Table 3: Recommended meal feeding levels (kg/day) to dry cows with differing condition scores on poor quality grass silage.

Body condition score

<2.5
Very thin

2.5
Thin

2.75
Fair

>3.0
Good

Concentrate supplementation

3

2

1

0

Roadways

A good roadway system is necessary for access to pasture when grazing conditions are difficult.

Recommendations

  • On wet or intensively stocked farms, ensure that the roadway system leaves all land within 70-100 metres of cow tracks or standard roadways.
  • Repair existing roadways that are in need of improvement. Roadways lower than field level should be raised above it.
  • If you are planning to construct extra roadways seek professional advice on their location well in advance.

Post-calving feeding

The recommended concentrate input for 6,000 litre (1,300 gallon) spring calving cows in early lactation on grass silages of varying quality is shown in Table 4.

Table 4: Post calving meal feeding levels (kg /day) for spring calving cows in early lactation.

Silage DMD (%)

75%

70%

65%

60%

Supplement (kg/cow/day)

6

7

8

9
  • An additional 1kg/cow/day of concentrate is recommended for silages with a dry matter content of less than 15%.
  • An additional 0.5-1kg/cow/day of concentrate is recommended for poorly preserved silages (ammonia content greater than 15%).

Managing your ewe flock this autumn

Following the wet summer, there is a:

  1. Risk of ewes going to the ram in poorer condition than normal, and
  2. Of winter feed quality being lower than average due to later harvesting dates

Ewe condition at mating

The condition score of ewes during the mating season is crucial. Teagasc trials show that ewes mated at a condition score of 2.5 gave litter sizes of only 1.3 whereas those mated at a condition score of 3.5 produced litter sizes of 1.61. Six weeks of good grass will increase condition by one score.

This condition must be maintained through the mating period. Separate out thin ewes immediately and place on good grass. If necessary, consider feeding some meal to ewes below target. If ewes are not in the correct condition at mating then there is little chance that they will gain condition in mid or late pregnancy

Winter feeding

Ensure that any silage fed to sheep is free of dirt, soil, etc. otherwise the possibility of listeriosis is high. Then match the meal feeding level to the quality of the silage - Table 5. Increase the concentrate levels if ewes are less than body scores of 2.5

Table 5: Concentrate levels (kg/day) for twin bearing ewes in good condition - silage (20% DM) fed ad lib

Silage quality

 

Weeks pre-lambing

Protein %

 

 

10-9

8-7

6-5

4-3

2-1

 

 

Concentrate (C)

-

-

0.1

0.4

0.6

15

70% DMD

Silage (S)

5.5

5.5

5.5

5.5

5.0

 

 

C

-

0.1

0.4

0.6

0.7

15

65-70%

S

5.5

5.0

4.5

4.5

4.0

 

 

C

-

0.1

0.4

0.6

0.8

16

60-65%

S

5.5

5.0

4.5

4.5

4.0

 

 

C

0.1

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

16

55-60%

S

4.5

4.0

3.5

3.5

3.0

 

Straw

Where silage is scarce or unsuitable for feeding to sheep then the feeding of straw is an option. Straw is however very low in digestibility and so meal needs to be introduced earlier and at a higher level - Table 6.

Table 6: Concentrate levels (kg/day) - Straw ad lib.

Straw
Quality

 

Weeks pre-lambing

10-9 8-7 6-5 4-3 2-1

Protein
%

40 DMD

Conc.
Straw

0.34
1.0

0.57
0.9

0.80
0.8

1.02
0.8

1.25
0.7

18

Feed twice as much straw as ewes will consume, ewes can then eat selectively and use the remainder for bedding. Meal feeding space is crucial. Shy feeders, lame ewes, etc should be penned separately. Mineral supplements should be high in phosphorus where straw is being fed.

Dealing with cash flow problems

Cash flow has been severely squeezed on many farms due to the combination of lower farm output and prices along with higher costs than normal for the spring/summer period. As a result cash surpluses that would normally occur around now on farms are very low or non-existent.

Warning signs?

The primary warning sign is an increase in the bank overdraft.

Every farm business operates an overdraft. On dairy farms, the grazing season would normally be a low cost period used to bring the overdraft down to a manageable level. That has not happened this year and as a result many overdrafts are creeping up. This is worrying especially in the case of winter/liquid milk herds now heading into a high cost period for the winter. The prospect of increased concentrate feed bills to supplement poor quality silage will exacerbate the situation.

Where farms have been expanding over the last number of years there may also be a number of loan repayments contributing to the cash flow problems.

What can be done?

  • Do not ignore the problem- in most cases it will not simply pass when the weather improves. Take action now and seek advice.
  • Work out a simple budget for the next few months setting out expected farm income and expenditure for the months ahead. Factor in essential family spending and put a figure on the resultant cash surplus/ deficit that results.
  • Prioritise farm spending for the next year. Postpone any expenditure that isn't absolutely essential. It may be necessary to put your farm expansion plan on hold for the short term and consolidate what you have already in place.
  • List out everything that you owe including farm/ personal loans, merchant credit and all other short-term borrowings. Find out the relevant interest rate for each debt type and list in order of importance for repayment. If you have a mortgage it should be close to the top of this list if you do not want your home put at risk.
  • Inform your creditors that you are in difficulty. Have your homework done before meeting them and bring your cash budget for the next few months with you. It may also be a good idea when dealing with the banks to bring your most recent set of accounts with you.

Some of the possible options to explore with lenders would include:

  • Restructuring existing farm loans into a single loan over a suitable term. This should preferably be a variable rate loan with the flexibility to repay it earlier if the circumstances allow.
  • Taking a loan repayment break (moratorium). This can be either a suspension of the total repayment for a period or just the capital portion of the repayment.

With merchant credit it should be possible to negotiate a deal whereby no interest is charged on outstanding accounts provided a realistic repayment plan is put in place.

Whoever you are dealing with it is important to negotiate the best deal possible in terms of the interest rate and repayment schedule.

Dealing with slurry spreading problems

The spreading of all slurry will be a challenge on many livestock farms this autumn. Poor field conditions after cutting of silage prevented slurry from being spread and tanks are still full or almost full on many farms. In addition, many farmers have had to house animals for periods during the summer and this has increased the volumes of slurry to be spread.

Every effort must be made to get slurry spread before the housing period, although poor ground conditions are continuing to hamper farmers, fields should be walked before slurry application to identify problem areas. It is better to travel downhill when spreading and consider opening new field entrances to minimise traffic problems. Plan routes carefully.

  • Farmers with slurry spreading equipment should avail of every opportunity that arises to spread slurry both on silage and on grazing ground.
  • Farmers without slurry spreading equipment will have to avail of contractors to empty tanks. To minimise damage to land, it is best to employ a contractor who has a slurry tanker with large tyres operating at low air pressure. Another option is get slurry spread using the Umbilical System where minimal machinery is used.
  • Apply slurry at up to 19,000 - 23,000 litres per hectare (1,500-2,000 gallons per acre) on grazing land and up to a maximum 33,000 litres per hectare (3,000 gallons per acre) on silage ground after cutting.
  • Give consideration to spreading slurry on grazing ground this year as many silage fields are damaged and compacted by machinery. Try to have fields well grazed out before applying slurry. Lower the application rate if paddocks are not well grazed.
  • On farms where there are extreme difficulties in spreading slurry, consider exporting the slurry off the farm.

Despite the difficulties farmers must adhere to the Code of Good Practice when spreading slurry and those farmers in REPS must adhere to the up to date Department guidelines.