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Save on your feed costs with MKS
As a result of the terrible war in Ukraine, the market for animal feed raw materials is in turmoil. This has repercussions on the prices for concentrates. These have increased enormously in a short period of time, putting further pressure on the feed balance.
By harvesting your maize this year as Maize Cob Silage (MKS) it is possible to save considerably on feed costs and thus improve the feed balance. Many livestock farmers already opted for growing and feeding MKS last year.
Higher nutritional value
With a special MKS jaw for a conventional maize chopper, only the cob, i.e. including the spindle and bract, is harvested and the rest of the plant remains on the field as 'maize straw'. By only harvesting the spadix, an energy-rich and very tasty feed is harvested. At 600-650 grams, the starch value of an average MKS silage is more than 200-250 gr/kg dry weight higher than an average silage maize silage. As a result, maize changes from roughage to concentrate. Fewer kilograms of product are needed to feed the same amount of energy to a cow. Depending on the ration, 3 to 6 kilos are fed per cow per day. By supplying the maize in the form of MKS in a more concentrated form, there is still room in the cow's rumen for feeding more of the expensive protein-rich grass. In this way, the protein from grass or Fast Spring Rye is optimally utilized. The ration increases in protein and also becomes more concentrated in starch. This results in a higher milk yield or a saving on feed costs with a minimum milk production that remains the same!
Lower feed costs
If, for example, on a farm with a hundred dairy cows and 50 hectares of land, the choice is made to purchase MKS as a replacement for conventional concentrates, the feed balance improves. In a calculation, made in Farmdesk, the feed balance for this company increases by as much as €14.500 compared to the current situation. Concentrate feed is replaced by purchased MKS, supplemented with soya (soya44), thus saving on feed costs. The advantage of purchasing or growing and feeding MKS yourself will be even greater this year when the costs of concentrates and fertilizers rise further. Right now it is therefore interesting to choose MKS, together with grass (silage), Fast Spring Rye and Feedbeet, as important components of the ration.
It is important that mature maize varieties (based on the grain) are sown in good time, of which the residual plant remains healthy until the harvest of the MKS. KWS maize varieties that are very suitable for this include Exelon (FAO 170), Guilio (FAO 200), Curacao (FAO 210), Megusto (FAO 220), Corazon (FAO 235), Genialis (FAO 230) and Camillo ( FAO 250).
Corn straw perfect source of nutrition for the soil
In contrast to the past when the maize straw was labeled as 'waste', this gives the organic matter balance a huge boost precisely after harvesting maize as MKS with a supply of more than 1.000 kilos of Effective Organic Matter (EOS) per hectare. This supply corresponds to the quantity that is also supplied with 35 cubic meters of cattle slurry. The residual straw, together with the organic matter supply via the manure, provides added value to soil fertility that should not be underestimated. That is also a reason to harvest your maize this year as MKS.
The storage needs more attention due to the higher dry matter percentage of MKS compared to silage maize. MKS must be well covered, possibly with the addition of an silage agent to prevent overheating, mold formation and thus loss of nutritional value. In order to have a sufficient feeding speed of at least 1,5 meters per week, the silage should not be made too high and not too wide.
More information about growing and feeding MKS can be found at our website.
