Dairy farms have to contend with too low urea in the grass silage as a result of a shortage of crude protein in the grass. Reports to this effect are coming from various corners of the country. Much hope was placed on the autumn cut to make up for the shortfall of the summer cuts, but the level in this cut also seems too low for the time of year.
Among the participants of the Boerenbusiness Roughage tour a number of samples were taken to see what the contents of the fresh grass are. In Guttecoven (LB) on Silvain Kusters' farm, the RE content was 151 and the sugar content 148 with a dry matter percentage of 18%. Kusters indicates that he wants to mow this week and then use sheep to keep the grass short.
Slightly further north, in the Gelderse Hengelo on the farm of Bert Wissels, the crude protein content is higher at 187. On the other hand, the sugar content is lower (133), the VEM comes down to 959. Wissels has already mowed a part and is plan to mow the rest when the weather permits. In the west of the country on the farm of Frank and Dirk Rooker, the crude protein content is 216 higher than in the rest, partly because a high proportion of clover is in his mixture. On the other hand, there is a sugar content of 123, which is the lowest measured in the group. Frank Rooker indicates that he plans to harvest his sixth cut this week. He aims for a dry matter percentage of approximately 40%. "The sixth cut comes on top of the fourth and fifth, which are actually just a little too wet."
Jan Henk Waterink hopes to be able to mow his fifth cut at his farm this week. He may expect to mow again in November if conditions remain good. In one section, a flock of sheep walks from the fifth cut to keep the grass short here for the winter. His fresh grass sample had a dry matter percentage of 15% with 167 RE, 163 sugar and 958 VEM.
| Grass analyzes week 39 | DS | RE | Sugar | WHO |
| bills | 17 | 187 | 133 | 959 |
| Kusters | 18 | 151 | 148 | 940 |
| waterink | 15 | 167 | 163 | 958 |
| rookers | 17 | 216 | 123 | 972 |
Suitable as meadow grass
According to Agrifirm's grass monitor, the low crude protein content may be due to strong grass growth in recent weeks, which has caused dilution. It is also possible that due to the fairly dry period of the past few weeks, the mineralization has deteriorated, so that less nitrogen is released for the plant.
For rations with a lot of fresh grass, the quality of the year is favourable. With this average amount of crude protein, there is hardly any excess of protein in the ration. In addition, the sugar content is higher for the time of year. This ensures a more favorable protein/energy ratio. The utilization of protein at rumen level is therefore higher, resulting in a lower urea content.
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