Satellite Symposium 2: Silage
Description
Whole crop silage (WCS) from barley or wheat has many advantages as roughage feed. The possibility to use the same harvest machinery as in harvesting grass reduces investment costs. The farms which are specialised in grass production may have shortage of open field area for manure spreading, in which case WCS can be the answer. However, digestibility and protein content of WCS is usually lower than in grass silage, which is limiting the feed intake and performance of the dairy cows. Cultivation of grains with grain legumes increases digestibility and protein content of the stand (Lunnan, 1988). Feeding of bi-crop pea-wheat silages has increased forage intake and milk yield compared to grass silage (Salawu et al., 2002; Adesogan et al., 2004). In this experiment pea-barley bi-crop silage was studied since in Finland barley harvested for WCS is more digestible than wheat.
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Pea-Barley Bi-Crop Silage in Milk Production
Whole crop silage (WCS) from barley or wheat has many advantages as roughage feed. The possibility to use the same harvest machinery as in harvesting grass reduces investment costs. The farms which are specialised in grass production may have shortage of open field area for manure spreading, in which case WCS can be the answer. However, digestibility and protein content of WCS is usually lower than in grass silage, which is limiting the feed intake and performance of the dairy cows. Cultivation of grains with grain legumes increases digestibility and protein content of the stand (Lunnan, 1988). Feeding of bi-crop pea-wheat silages has increased forage intake and milk yield compared to grass silage (Salawu et al., 2002; Adesogan et al., 2004). In this experiment pea-barley bi-crop silage was studied since in Finland barley harvested for WCS is more digestible than wheat.
