Producers may keep a close watch on energy, protein and fibre in their forage analysis. But what about minerals? Dr Donald Lawson from Kelvin Cave partners, Premier Nutrition, explains why it’s particularly important to check the mineral status of any new forage.

As milk prices continue downwards, farmers are scrutinising costs of production, with many focussed on the cost of feed. Jonathan Hill, principal consultant with Promar International, explains the value of making more milk from high-quality forage.

When the race is on to beat spiraling bought-in feed costs and stay ahead of the field in producing your own home-grown forage, it pays to back some sure-fire winners!

Through our company’s involvement in the Nitrogen Climate Smart (NCS) Project, Kelvin Cave works with many industry partners in the drive to increase the national acreage of home-grown proteins.

Good farming practice and the right choice of additive have turned potentially difficult silage cuts into good quality forage for a high yielding herd.

Last autumn, Kelvin Cave brought MultiMax to the market, at a time when silages were being made in challenging conditions. This additive – based on sodium nitrite and sodium formate – prevents clostridial fermentations in low dry matter, potentially soil-contaminated, grass silage.

As the drive to reduce single-use plastic continues apace, farmers are increasingly seeking alternatives to wrapping their baled forage.
Growing numbers are turning to high moisture hay, which can be now treated with the modern preservative, BaleSafe, at the time of baling.

In this edition, we report on some on-farm trials he subsequently carried out at his North Lingy Moor Farm near Richmond. In these trials – undertaken as part of the Nitrogen Climate Smart (NCS) Project – he used wholecrop beans as part of a total mixed ration and fed it to calves from about four months of age.