Cutting OutPurchased Feeds:Producers nix alfalfa, add BMR corn silage and move toward Shredlage

摘要

Keeping purchased feed costs to a minimum while increasing milk production and improving their 2,00(k;ow Jersey herd's health. Darren and Greg Dias of Delta View Farms, Visalia, CA, are working to attain all three.Their first step was to take alfalfa completely out of their cows' rations. Four years ago, the brothers replaced the legume, which they were buying, with wheat hay they could grow economically.Last year, they starting growing brown midrib (BMR) corn silage and added it to their close-up and fresh cows' diets to improve digestibility and remove some grain.And this summer the brothers convinced their custom harvesterto buy a new type of processing unit that shreds silage corn to make it more digestible. They're hoping the new technology, called Shredlage, will allow them to grow less wheat hay and more of a higher-quality forage.