Irish grain and straw in focus for fodder stretching

At this year’s Teagasc stand at the National Ploughing Championships, there is a focus on Irish when looking ahead to stretching fodder this winter.

A demo on the stand shows a number of options for dairy farmers to feed dry cows in the winter time.

Ideally, grass silage would be the order of the day, but given the shortage of grass silage, Teagasc says 11kg of 68DMD silage is the ideal diet, but given the poor grass growth during this year’s drought that may not be possible on all farms.

An alternative option is to feed 5kg of 68 DMD silage, along with 3.5kg of barley straw, 2kg of rolled barley and 0.5kg of soybean meal. This diet does include some imported soya to increase protein content, but there is a focus on Irish grass, straw and grain.

Another option is to feed 5kg of 68 DMD silage, 4.5kg of hay, 1kg of barley and 0.5kg of soybean meal. You can see the full breakdown of protein, energy and fibre in the images in this article.

Teagasc has also published a guide to different feedstuffs, with their energy, protein and fibre contents, along with a comment. It includes many ingredients from cereals to fodder beet, maize and potatoes, and the majority of imported products listed last in the information leaflet.