Pick the right variety to match your rations

摘要

Maize variety selection is invariably a trade off between yield and quality. Nutritionist Tim Davies from Kite Consulting looks at the impact of variety choice and the economics of including maize in dairy diets. Maize silage is an excellent feed asit is very palatable, has a high energy value, compliments other forages like grass silage and lifts total forage intake which in turn increases milk yield and milk protein. Most farmers and advisers assume that maize silage is fairly consistent in its analysis. However this is not the case as its nutritive value depends on the choice of variety, the geography of the farm, the growing season and the cob content of the crop. At the start of the winter, Kite collated the laboratory results from over 100 maize silage samples taken from across the country (Table 1).