FeedCast Special - Winter Feeding

Today’s FeedCast special is brought to you by James Hallett, KW South Sales Team Manager, Anna Sutcliffe,  KW Nutritionist and Anna Dinsdale, AB Vista Nutritionist. This episode addresses potential winter feeding issues and products you can use to take advantage of the strong milk and beef prices this year, despite the variable forage quality and uplift of 30% in feed prices over the last year.

This year we need to equip herds to deal with the poorer forages we have seen so far and ensure we get returns from it. To do this we must put ruminal health and efficiency first in order to maximise what we get from our feed.

Firstly, we look at products to unlock fibre before it even enters the rumen. Vista Pre-T is a treatment that increases the surface area in your forage, maize or whole crop. Addition of this product can generate an additional 0.8MJ of energy giving you more from less.

Forage analysis is highly variable this year with some grass silages containing very high levels of lactic acid, in this situation AcidBuf, a long acting rumen buffer, is very effective at preventing acidosis. AcidBuf is priced very favourable against alternative buffering agents currently and it provides a highly available source of Magnesium and Calcium increasing rumen productivity and ensuring you get the most from every mouthful.

Finally it is worth considering a yeast to maximise your rumen health. Live yeast can work in 3 ways, firstly they create a more favourable environment for the fibre digesting bacteria, secondly they compete against lactic acid producing bacteria and finally can act as a nutrient source for the fibre digestors. 

These products allow you to maximise your fibre digestion on farm, giving you the most energy for the herd and ensuring you get maximum ROI from every animal.

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Please note: The information provided during this podcast has been prepared for general informational purposes only and does not constitute advice. The information must not be relied upon for any purpose and no representation or warranty is given as to its accuracy, completeness or otherwise. Any reference to other organisations, businesses or products during the podcast are not endorsements or recommendations of AB Agri or its affiliated companies. The views of the presenter are personal and may not be the views of AB Agri. The contents of this podcast are the copyright of AB Agri.