Tama Assist Maximising Feed Value During the Milk Price Crisis
Due to the milk price crisis, the current milk market is one of the most difficult that UK dairy farming has ever experienced. While milk production costs soar, farmers are getting less per litre for their milk.
To survive the crisis, farmers must maximise the returns they get from their herd. One strategy that can help is improving feed quality.
Among the challenges farmers are facing is an increase in the cost of basic supplies. “Red diesel” costs have nearly doubled, and the cost of bought-in feed has also steadily increased.
At the same time, milk prices have tumbled, with farmers receiving far less than the cost of production for their milk. Some milk processors are paying nearly 15p under the cost of production per litre.
No single strategy can completely offset the difficulties dairy farmers are facing. But if you’re caught up in the milk price crisis, there are ways to improve dairy farm profitability. One of the most impactful is producing high quality feed on-site.
High quality feed means more milk from your herd. For example, the more digestible and nutritious your silage is, the higher your milk production.
Nutritious home grown feed means less spent on supplements and concentrates. The better your home grown feed quality, the less you have to buy in to get the same milk production. However, consider the use of silage inoculants to enhance fermentation and silage quality. Three of the most important nutritional factors are digestibility (D-value), protein, and metabolisable energy (ME).
As a general guideline for silage:
- D-value should be above 70% (the higher the better)
- Crude protein should be around 16-20%
- ME should be 11–12 MJ/kg dry matter(DM)
For more details on those values, how to achieve them, and the benefits, consult the AHDB guide to forage analysis, and read our guide to silage quality.
There are practical steps you can take to improve silage quality. Cut grass or crops at the right time. For grass silage, cutting before heading (when it produces seed heads) ensures higher ME and better digestibility.
Wilt your grass quickly (within 24 hours to retain sugars for fermentation), and wrap bales as soon as possible. The sooner you wrap silage bales, the higher the nutrient quality you lock in and the faster anaerobic fermentation starts. This preserves nutrients and prevents spoilage.
Use a high quality silage bale wrap. Good silage stretch wrap goes a long way towards keeping oxygen out and preventing damage that can cost you valuable feed.
Besides focusing on high quality feed, many farmers are selling locally to make up for the shortfall in milk prices. That may mean selling to nearby stores or opening a farm shop to supplement income. AHDB’s in-depth guide provides additional ways to cut costs and boost income around the farm.
For further advice on how to maximise forage quality, TAMA Assist is here to help. Our friendly team can answer your baling and bale wrap questions, and help you get the best value out of every bale.