----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Kriegl" <tskriegl@wisc.edu>
To: <graze-l@witt.ac.nz>
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 6:27 AM
Subject: Re: hay costs
>
> Dave,
>
> Could you clarify the percent of dry matter you are assuming in the
> yields below?
>
38 tons/A corn silage using Jung's Highly Digestible Silage varieties, at
65% moisture.
Now, there's a fair amount of moisture there, but hey, pasture intake can be
80% moisture in the plant cells. Cows drink approx. one bath tub full of
water each day so they're getting water as they eat.
Moisture makes feed palatable. Corn silage (fiber and energy) is a cool
feed, easy to digest in the rumen. Compare that with dry hay, which is
more difficult in rumen digestion, which creates more heat in the rumen than
CS, so dry matter intake in a hot month like August would be reduced if
feeding dry hay and much better by comparison with CS. Dr. David Combs has
a great study of intake by both confinement cows and grazing cows. In
either case, cows stop eating before achieving rumen fill.
Figuring out how to achieve more feed intake in a grazing system poses
challenges. And of course, you want to have a good return on any investment
if getting those cattle to eat more..........profit over feeding costs.
Dave G.
