Cereals are an ideal complement to grazed grass and grass silages for producing milk.
Over the past two weeks, this series has emphasised the value of storing and feeding cereals in dairy and beef systems to optimise performance and margin.
If you have any notion of buying and storing grain, you should purchase it sooner rather than later.
The most cost-effective way to get grain is directly from the grower so talk to local producers to secure your supply.
Another route, and possibly a cleaner route would be to approach local grain buyers/merchants to see if they are willing to source the cereal for you and charge you a handling fee for it.
Get advice before you decide whether to buy barley, wheat, rye, triticale, or oats.
Aim to purchase the highest quality available at the moisture content appropriate for the storage method you feel fits best into your farming system.
This advice must be based on how you intend to treat the grain, the volume you will feed and what type of animals you are feeding.
Some methods offer longer storage than others while there are also treatment methods that enhance the grain's feed value.
Feeding high levels of cereals for top-level performance
It is possible to feed a high proportion of a dairy cow's concentrate requirements in the form of locally sourced cereals, once managed and balanced correctly.
Cereals are an ideal complement to grazed grass and grass silages for producing milk. Cereals provide starch which, along with sugar, is the main driver of milk protein.
Many beef producers feed high levels of cereals to finishing cattle. It is critical that management in a finishing system like this is top-notch. Preventing digestive upset is the top priority in ad-lib diets.
In both systems, where cereals have been stored off the combine, it can be fed to all animals on the farm from young calves, weanlings, stores, finishers, dry cows, sucklers rearing calves, and milking cows.
This can be done with simple balancing often with just the addition of extra protein if required, in order to balance the base forage being fed to each group of stock.
Once you have the protein balanced, then all you need is some vitamins and minerals, these need to be appropriate for the group of animals being fed.
It doesn’t have to be complicated and don’t let anyone make it complicated for you.
Costing and feeding logistics for cereal options
The table shows the pros and cons of each cereal treatment and storage method currently being used on Irish livestock farms.
Each has its merit and all options should be considered based on animal requirements, performance requirements, available equipment and storage facilities.
Ready To Feed From Store
Total Cost of Grain and Treatment
As you can see, the costs of each method are not dissimilar. Note that the above costs are approximate and based on a best guess at present in the region of €350 per tonne of barley off the combine.
Obviously, this price will mean adjustments to the above table.
The costings take into account typical weight loss for each of the methods, due to handling and drying and also the moisture content required for each system.
Obviously, these costs will be different for each type of cereal. What is worth noting is that the ammonia-based alkaline grains, once treated, will have a crude protein content of 14-15% and the other methods of treatment will need to be brought up to this level to give a comparative value.
With Hipro Soya currently trading at €570-€580 per tonne, that will require an additional spend of approximately €25-€30 per tonne to achieve a 14-15% crude protein.
Other articles in this series exploring the practicalities of cereal crops for livestock keepers can be found here:
Read MoreBrian Reidy: Harvest options for an uncertain market
Read MoreBuying grain off the combine... what are your treatment options?
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