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Energy-rich roughage for increasing milk production
Dairy cows in our country are real top athletes. Average production per cow has been on the rise for years and has increased by no less than 1.000 liters over the past twelve years. Life production per animal has also risen sharply. High-quality roughage is a must for this top performance!
The increasing milk production is a nice result of the craftsmanship of livestock farmers, but of course not an end in itself. A good feed balance if it is, it is the feed balance that determines how much money is earned. The way to a good feed balance is to milk as much as possible from roughage.
Roughage almost half cheaper
The added value of a dairy farm is the conversion of low-value products for people such as grass, maize and residual flows into high-quality milk. It also calculates hard on the cost side: roughage costs an average of € 4,88 per 100 liters of milk (source: Alfa), with concentrates that is on average almost double! These numbers are of course different per company, but milking as much as possible from own roughage always pays off.
More milking from maize
Maize for silage is a perfect feed for high-yielding dairy cattle. Corn is tasty and provides much-needed energy for healthy milk production. This energy comes mainly from starch, but also 25% to 33% from the residual plant. The amount of energy that the cow can extract from this residual plant depends on the digestibility of the cell wall.
There are significant differences in cell wall digestibility between maize varieties. Easily digestible breeds increase feed intake and feed value. American research shows that a 1% higher cell wall digestibility ensures 0,17% more feed intake and 0,25% more milk.
Tip: opt for maize varieties that excel in kVEM/hectare on the Recommended Variety List, such as the most commonly sown variety LG 31.205 in the Netherlands. These provide the highest nutritional value from starch and the residual plant per hectare, so you have to buy less feed! View all top varieties for the coming season
