Rick
They have little to no cheap by-product opportunities available like we have
here in the states. My current NZ consultant John Perrin, who is the
business manager for several new conversions has said that he wouldn't even
consider maize silage if they had access to the kinds of bargain feeds we
have access to. When you are feeding grass only and weather problems create
shortages, the cows need to be fed something.
Brad Cowan
Astoria Oregon
> From: "Rick Williams" <mrfarm@mwt.net>
> Reply-To: graze-l@witt.ac.nz
> Date: Thu, 21 Apr 2005 08:47:51 -0500
> To: <graze-l@witt.ac.nz>
> Subject: RE: [Graze-l] Mr. Corn Silage
>
> After all these years you would think that there would be some very solid
> cost/payback values associated with "balancing" pasture with other feeds
> when involved in dairy production.
>
> Even though there is some protein waste when on pasture, some have claimed
> that it is such a small number that it does not enter that much into the
> economic equation.
>
> If it did, then wouldn't we have some very precise data to show what
> "balances" the sward value and how much benefit and payback there is?
>
> Based upon what Ian has said though, it does look as if even NZ benefits at
> least marginally from some of this balancing, or else they would not use
> corn silage at all. Was it not that many years ago that any use of corn
> silage in NZ would have been considered heresy?
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Rick Williams
> Misty Ridge Farm
> contract dairy heifer grazing and direct marketed beef and produce
> Viroqua, WI
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: graze-l-admin@witt.ac.nz [mailto:graze-l-admin@witt.ac.nz]On
> Behalf Of Shorty
> Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2005 5:06 AM
> To: graze-l@witt.ac.nz
> Subject: Re: [Graze-l] Mr. Corn Silage
>
>
> Dave
> If you reread what I said. It is being used as a feed balancer.
>
> regards
> Ian Buckingham
> New Zealand
>
> Gneisers wrote:
>> Yes many (over 50%) of NZ
>>
>>> dairy farms are now using maize (corn) silage and some palm leaf kernel,
>>> but there are conflicting figures being thrown round on the economics of
>>> all these in the NZ system.
>>> I do believe they have a place in the NZ grass based system, but more as
>>> a feed balancer then as a feed.
>>>
>>> regards
>>> Ian Buckingham
>>>
>>
>> What Kiwi farmers don't get is that corn silage is a perfect marriage to
>> pasture intake. Pasture is high in protein roughly 26% which is well
> above
>> what the cow needs. She must then divert energy (which could be used to
>> produce milk) to excrete that excessive protein. By supplementing pasture
>> intake with a small amount of corn silage (preferably the new modern corn
>> silage varieties, Jungs Highly Digestible Silage is the one we use),
>> energy and fiber are introduced into the rumen to dillute that high
>> protein, increase the rumen bugs, so cows more efficiently utilize that
>> pasture intake.
>>
>> Corn silage is a companion to pasture intake, rather than some drought
>> insurance fill the gap feeding strategy.
>>
>> Dave G.
>> WisCOWsin
>>
>>
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