A rising commodity market, BREXIT uncertainty and a low beef/milk price has made it all the more important to maximise the use of home-grown produce this summer.

Cereals are still well priced if you are the buyer and so making the most out of this resource could be key to many producers’ bottom line.
The rumen is an impressive digestive system which tolerates highly acidic forages and conditions, however to maximise its potential we need to control pH and provide a constant supply of energy and protein.

Rolled cereals are common globally, but as we try to utilise more home grown cereals so we need to look at cost effective feeding. A common side effect of poorly balanced rolled cereals diets are damaged livers and acidosis. It is important to note that the liver is a highly valued part of the cow and it is important to avoid slaughter house penalties.

Globally alkali treatment of cereals is common in other countries in taking advantage of controlling pH.  No new thinking here and surely it is more beneficial to explore opportunities to prevent the problem in the first place, and remove expensive buffering agents, crimping additives and yeasts which only firefight the problem afterwards.

Taking more control of your feed supply means that we can reduce haulage costs, storage issues, third party margin and risk.

If this sounds of interest to you, please contact Wesley at wesleyhabershon@fcgagric.com or your local FCG Office.