Can you increase output from your forage acres?

摘要

While home-grown forages are generally regarded as the cheapest source of feedstuffs, it is perhaps worth checking how they stack up against each other and whether you are making the most of available land. Producers who already do costings will inevitably have worked out their herd's margin over purchased feed, but what of the other inputs? "The trouble is home-grown forage doesn't come with a price tag or barcode, so it tends to be taken for granted as free of charge. On top of that, the industry has very little published data for comparison purposes," claims Bryn Davies of independent consultants Advanced Ruminant Nutrition (ARN). "However, escalating variable costs -fertiliser up 200% on the year and fuel up 60% - have pushed home-grown forage costs up by 30% to 40% during that period, making it an input you can no longer afford to ignore.