Dairy farmer sees more and more benefit in fodder beets

Dairy farmers are gradually growing more and more fodder beets. In the Boerenbusiness Roughage Tour participants Joost van Nostrum and Bert Wissels also grow fodder beets. Why is this root crop becoming more and more popular?

According to preliminary figures from Statistics Netherlands, approximately 2.683 hectares of fodder beet will be grown in the Netherlands this year, 11% more than in the 2021 cultivation year. By way of illustration: 11 years earlier, in 2010, this was only 342 hectares. In short, the enthusiasm for fodder beets among dairy farmers is growing year-on-year.

If only the feed value is considered, fodder beets achieve the highest KWEM and DVE yield per hectare. This is in both wet and dry years. This high yield makes it an extremely suitable product for cultivation, especially for intensive dairy farms.

Benefits for milk and cows
Feeding fodder beets also benefits the cow and the milk. For example, the cows like to take in fodder beets, which increases the feed intake. Levels in the milk also show an increase, in general the cows stay in better condition as a result. The low phosphate content in the fodder beets is also beneficial for a good phosphate balance. This must be taken into account in dry years, when the mineralization in the soil is not in order. As a result, the phosphate in the total ration can become too low.

The disadvantage is also that diseases can occur in the crop. Yellowing disease is a problem with fodder beets. Once a plot is well diseased, there is a risk that the quality and yield can deteriorate considerably. A small part of Joost van Nostrum's plot suffers from this disease, but luckily this was discovered in time, so that it could be easily combated. The fodder beets also look good and a production of 130 tons per hectare is expected.

Other feeding method
Feeding fodder beets does require a different feeding method. The best thing is to shred it, so that it can be fed into a mixer wagon or auger container in front of the feed fence. But it can also be fed whole. The storage method can be done in a trench silo, but you can also choose to store it in the ground on land (as long as it does not freeze).

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