Brought to you by Limagrain
Discover hidden capital in forage farming
Getting a lot of feed value from your own land results in a lower cost price. That is why livestock farmers who focus on their cost price per liter of milk are more resistant to periods with a lower milk price. With the points of attention below, money will not remain unnoticed, but the hidden capital in your roughage cultivation will become visible.
1. kVEM yield determines efficiency
The VEM yield (kVEM/ha) is the most important characteristic of the maize variety that you are growing in the 2020 season. It is not the tons of dry matter, but the total kVEM yield that determines the yield of your cultivation. The kVEM/ha is the total of dry matter yield, starch and digestibility of the residual plant.
2. You can only fill a rumen once
A cow's rumen can only be filled once. All feed ingredients that he cannot digest is ballast in the rumen. This produces no energy and therefore no milk: there is a profit to be made here. Read more>
3. High VEM/kg ds with high cell wall digestibility
Maize with a lot of starch and a high cell wall digestibility yields a high VEM/kg DM. Combined with an easily digestible residual plant that provides a lot of extra VEM, the difference is created between a maize silage with 970 VEM or 1.020 VEM.
That extra VEM from good cell wall digestibility is also apparent from the more than 800 silage analyzes that we receive annually in the VEM competition, as you can see in the image. Tip: Participate in the VEM competition and receive free winter socks!
4. Insight into nutritional value = more milk
Optimal use of the roughage that you grow determines how much you can milk. Therefore, provide insight into the nutritional value of the roughage during the year and make adjustments where necessary. That way you are sure not to miss out on any money.
5. Harvest ripe corn at the right time
Keep a close eye on the maturation of the maize and harvest with fully ripe kernels and a total dry matter percentage of around 36%. A lot of nutritional value is lost in years with a slow maturation. It is therefore very beneficial to opt for very early and early maize varieties.
My advice: a smart choice of maize varieties is the first step to more profit from your forage cultivation. Therefore, monitor your roughage cultivation carefully and try to limit loss of nutritional value. I am happy to help you with this, contact us for tailor-made advice!
