Dairy Business Centre
March 2021 Newsletter 

In this months Newsletter: 

How to improve Silage Quality

When making silages there are many factors that are impacting the quality of the forages such as:

– Moisture
– Plant Respiration
– Microbial Activity During Storage

Poorer quality silages lead to reduced intake and digestibility, poor palatability, decreased nutrient content and overall poorer animal performance.

Poor quality is primarily derived from Yeasts and Moulds. These yeasts and moulds are naturally present in all crops. As soon as the crop is cut, the dynamic of microbe colonies change from defensive bacteria (helping the plant to grow) to degenerative organisms, that feed off the energy the plant emits as they begin to decompose. If forages are stacked/baled at a higher moisture level, colonies will continue to feed off the water soluble carbohydrates increasing mould growth and promoting heating. Once heated this process has started secondary fermentation (aka composting) has begun.

High quality crops allow for healthy stock, improved productivity and profitability, however producing optimal forage is a complex system of variables that are not always considered. Crop quality varies crop to crop, season to season. Maintain crop quality using Silo Guard.

Silo Guard is combination of Sulphur  compounds that are non-toxic, eliminating oxygen from the stack/bale reducing yeast and mould growth. With Silo Guard Dry Matter losses are reduced making more nutritious silage.

When oxygen is eliminated from the mould triangle, mould and bacterial proliferation is controlled, even at higher moisture levels. When Silo Guard is applied during the baling/stacking process, sulphur compounds gassify and eliminate oxygen on the surface of the plant and the space within the bale.

When compared to inoculants, Silo Guard starts working straight away. Inoculants need all the oxygen removed from the stack before they can work. However, the crop itself is full of wild type bacteria eliminating the need to use inoculants when making silages.

Silo Guard is simple to apply, easy to handle and can last up to 3 years in storage. There is no need to premix, cool store or worry about handling when using Silo Guard. Suitable for all forages, including Maize, Pasture and Whole Crop.

Want to see how Silo Guard works? Check out the video below!

Improve your silage quality with Silo Guard ! No bacteria. No acid. Silo Guard is an oxygen scavenger which eliminates oxygen from the stack/bale allowing for faster, healthier fermentation. Preventing dark colouration, moulds, moisture and yeasts which cause heating. Just like with the banana, Silo Guard is preserving the crop and preventing the herbage from spoiling.
Click here to see Silo Guard NZ Facebook Page

Product of the Month

Maximize Calf Pellets

High quality calf pellet maximizing the potential of the next generation

MAXIMIZE is high quality, concentrated feed pellet, designed to maximise skeletal growth and lean muscle mass development (no pot bellies!) while also providing minerals to strengthen the immune system and maintain the general health of your calves.

A high quality calf feed meeting calf requirements for calves born in the Autumn and Spring.

Get in touch with your local rep for more information!

South Island Field Days  Stay in the loop with pricing of commodity and DBC’s Specialty Products including Maximize Calf Pellets, Get Set Cow Lead Feed and Loose Lick Minerals! 

What’s Being Seen in the Field

  • Mating – Results are less than ideal for some despite submission rates being strong and animal health optimal. Check for milk urea trends along side environmental factors such as heat stress causing late abortions.
  • Winter is coming – Check feed budgets to ensure cows are able to be fully fed this winter. Less winters crops, such as fodder beet, have been planted in Canterbury region so far indicating feed could be shorter this winter.
  • Winter Minerals – Provide your stock with DBC Loose Lick minerals through the winter! A water proof, cost effective method of efficient mineral supplementation for your herd.
  • Calves and Heifers – Keep feeding quality nutrition to keep young stock growing. Calves and Heifers should be supplemented loose lick minerals to continue supporting their growth and development.

Max-T-Mins + Chromium

Trace minerals develop and maintain proper animal functionality such as bone and muscle development, immunity, nerve system function and repair, energy and metabolism pathways and hormone regulation.

Necessary for cattle function, trace minerals are typicaled cycled through the cow rapdily and need to be replenished/maintained daily.

Getting trace mineral supplementation right for each herd is difficult to acheive. DBC have a new and improved Max-T-Mins formula! Max-T-Mins has been seen to improve cow health and performance within 4 weeks!

Coupled with Organic Liquid Chromium to aid in glucose regulation giving cows more energy to improve production and performance!

Market Update 

The DBC arrow traffic light system is a good indication on the direction the market price is moving and when the time is right to buy.

The PKE price is slowly coming down due to the international pricing dropping. Pricing is still above the $300/T point.

The price of barley is still forecasted to be more than previous seasons. This years wheat harvest yields are average in comparison to last seasons harvest. Due to this trend it is hard to get a hold of forward pricing. Because the milk price is forecasted to increase, grain growers are more likely to hold onto their grain for longer and increase the price. It is recommended to start contracting grain for next season now to avoid the price increase.

Protein has increased over the past month. Soya continues to firm due to delays at port despite Brazil being on track to harvest their largest crop in history. The Soya market is likely to continue to put pressure on other protein sources such as Canola and DDGs. Canola pricing has jumped $50 as a reflection of increased Soya pricing and poor harvest.
DDG is the highest it has been since May 2014.

For more information on the market or to contract commodities please get in touch with your DBC rep about feed options we can provide to help you through these times.

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