Winter feed crops are critical at Craigmore

While the winter in many areas has been late coming, many farmers will now be starting to feed their stored winter crops.

Some key messages come through at this field day in South Canterbury on feeding of these winter crops. An adjustment period for the rumen to adapt to the new feed is critical if problems of acidosis are to be avoided.

Accurate measurements of the total production of the crop complete with its dry matter yield are important if efficent feeding and growth rate targets are to be met. Wasteage figures should also be factored in as outdoor feeding in the winter and sometimes heavily influence animal uptake.

Lucrative contracts are often signed for stock eating winter grazing, and harvest date targets ensure top money is earned. $9.50/kg CWT for yearling deer is being offered and $8/kg for lambs ,so good planning and management is vital if good profits are to be achieved.

The importance of fibre in the diet was also stressed, and in Canterbury a ready supply of crop residues are avaliable as well as the traditional hay and baleage.

Winter feed crops are critical for reaching spring production targets for Central Canterbury livestock farmers reports the Timaru Herald. Their establishment and management was the focus of a Beef + Lamb South Canterbury Monitor Farm field day at Craigmore Station.The 4000ha property runs 6000 romney sheep, breeding cows and rears the replacements and breeding hinds for venison production. Craigmore also receives 10 per cent of its income through pheasant shooting. Craigmore's fodder beet, kale and italian ryegrass crops are fed to their livestock over winter to meet production targets.

The station's 10.4ha crop of brigadier fodder beet has an expected yield of 18 to 24 tonnes per hectare and is used to meet the 150 grams per day production targets for the station's elk-crossed mixed sex weaner deer for the spring market."The more we strike into that good spring market, the better. They are 72kg coming on here and we have to put 30kg on them," Andrew Fraser says.The weaners are currently getting baleage fed out and will be fed silage and barley over winter, he says.

Deer were a good match for fodder beet because they were self-regulated eaters. Unlike cattle, they did not gorge themselves and this limited the risk of acidosis, an illness caused by an excessive intake of feeds rich in starch and carbohydrates. Allowing two weeks for the rumen to adjust to a new diet helped prevent this illness, retired Lincoln University plant scientist Warwick Scott told farmers at the field day.

He urged the importance of knowing accurately how much dry matter yield the crop had. Erratic plant spacing in fodder beet crops could skew crop yield estimates. Similar feed principles should be used on brassica crops such as kale, he said. "Start your animals on it slowly and feed that fibre. You have got to slow down that passage to the rumen." Craigmore has 19.4ha of sovereign and gruner kale used for wintering bulls.

Their 26.7ha of rape and 22.7ha of italian ryegrass crops were fed to their 2000 inlamb hoggets. For sheep grazing on that crop 80-grams-a-day weight gain was targeted.Although low yielding, the big advantage using italian ryegrass was its re-growth after grazing. That occurred as long as the crop was back-fenced.

The key driver for stock doing well on winter feed crops was knowing the total kilograms of dry matter feed available."Dry matter consumed is 99 per cent of the focus of nutrition."Crop utilisation also impacted on that feed availably. No farmer would ever use 100 per cent of their crop and they needed to factor crop wastage into their feed budget, she said.Most of the nutritional and health challenges among livestock occurred during their first two to three weeks on a winter crop. To minimise that the crop should provide a low proportion of the animals' diet during that initial period, she said.

As a general rule, fibre was required as a supplement for livestock on winter feed crops. Cattle and deer required at least 30 per cent of their diet to be fibre when eating high quality winter forage crops, while lambs needed 10 per cent, she said.