| | In Alberta, barley is the crop used to make the majority of grain silage. When dealing with barley for silage, the optimum stage to cut is generally in the early- to soft-dough stage, and the ideal chop length for small grain silage is six to nine millimetres.
"What works well for barley, however, can be a dangerous brush to paint all annual grain silage crops with," says Allan Macaulay, provincial silage system specialist with Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Barrhead.
Producer debate continues about whether it is best to plan and aim for maximum dry matter yield or quality when cutting a crop for silage. However, it's always better to know what works best and then make the decision based on the situation at the time. Fall rye, winter triticale, spring triticale, barley, oats and even wheat can all be ensiled successfully along with many other crops.
Fall rye will be the first one up for cutting. This crop tends to be very stemy, so waiting for the soft dough stage may not give the highest quality or most palatable product, but will likely yield the most dry matter. It may be best to cut fall rye as soon after heading as possible, keeping the moisture content between 60 and 70 per cent.
"To increase intake by livestock, it may even be beneficial to cut it in the flag leaf stage," says Macaulay. "Unpublished 1993 research by Barbara Ann Stefanyshyn-Cote from the University of Saskatchewan, found that voluntary intake of fall rye in steers decreased with silage produced from flowering to mid milk, and that intake of barley at the mid-dough stage was much higher. To increase intake, producers might want to cut rye in the flag leaf stage. This will, of course, decrease dry matter yield."
Intake can be a problem if stemy crops that are too mature are put up. It's always a good idea to collect aggregate samples when putting up the crop, and to send a representative sample for feed analysis before formulating a ration. Analyzing for Acid Detergent Fibre (ADF) and Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF), and crude protein, and consulting a knowledgeable ruminant nutritionist at this point is advisable.
"Blending some of these over mature crops with more palatable feeds could be considered," says Macaulay. "To blend off, the storage package size must be decreased to control content. Decreasing chop length may help, too."
Winter triticale is similar to fall rye in quality with a little more leaf and a little less stem. Generally, it can be cut shortly after heading. The variety Pika is similar to fall rye, but the variety Bobcat has improved forage qualities.
"Neither fall rye or winter triticale make the ideal ration for lactating dairy cows," says Macaulay. "The advantages of these crops is that they are early maturing winter crops. They give good winter soil cover and spread out the silage harvest season. They can also provide grazing for livestock when high quality grazing may not be readily available. These crops can be taken for grain and can even make it possible to grow three crops in two years."
There is some evidence to indicate that spring triticale should be cut earlier to decrease fibre levels and increase palatability, digestibility and animal performance. Spring triticale should be cut right after flowering and well before the soft dough stage.
"In many Alberta locations, silage yield trials comparing spring triticale and barley showed that spring triticale gave barley a run for its money," says Macaulay. "It gave more yield than the best barley varieties on many occasions. Triticale is a good choice for wetter soils drier soils, and can be used to break the barley disease cycle. It is an excellent fit in the Alberta silage scene."
Some producers mix barley and triticale on highly fertile lands. Triticale has stronger straw and that minimizes some lodging concerns and helps keep the barley standing up, too.
Semi dwarf barleys the most nutritious adapted crop for silage production under Alberta's conditions. Regular two row and six row barleys are generally less suitable, and there is the rough awn factor in barley and triticale. This rough awn has been know to cause an increase in mouth lesions and result in performance losses.
Oats may also benefit from cutting in the earlier stages for the same reasons. There are many different varieties of oats. The forage varieties with the most leaf and fewer stems are the varieties that lend themselves to use for green feed and silage. Producers should keep in mind that some oat varieties have intake problems when the whole plant is fed for silage and green feed.
"Oats can also tolerate and thrive on soils where barley refuses to grow," comments Macaulay. "Oats are another crop that can be used successfully in crop rotation to break the barley disease cycle."
Annual crops for forage uses should not be seeding without some planning. From the outset, plan to use plant varieties that have been bred and proven effective for this use and plant types and varieties that are more palatable. Producers must also take soil conditions, growing conditions, climatic and soil into account when choosing annual forage crops. For instance, triticale can withstand drought and wet conditions better than barley. Have an overall game plan and be sure to pick the types of crops that are more tolerant or grow well in an area, and that will help break the disease cycles. In some cases, when there is no need for silage or forage, the producer will be able to take the crop for grain too. This consideration should also be incorporated.
Wheat is not commonly grown for silage in Alberta, but it too can make excellent silage. In some parts of the U.S., wheat is commonly grown as a silage crop. Some varieties are better than others.
"When taking a salvage crop for silage, make sure there has not been an herbicide, fungicide or insecticide used that prohibits the whole crop harvest for forage," says Macaulay. "It's up to the producer to read the labels and understand any cropping restrictions."
Further information and references on forage and silage crops can be found on-line:
Contact: Allan Macaulay (780) 674-8215 |
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