RELATED:
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
FODDER quality could be akin to “cardboard” in some instances this season.
But on the flip side there is still plenty of high quality hay on the market too which has been made from failed winter crops. This is the message from people who are in the hay and fodder industry and also provide the scientific testing to determine important nutritional data.
NSW Department of Primary Industries Feed Quality Service (FQS) analytical chemist, Richard Meyer, said variable nutrition levels in current season canola hay and silage samples confirmed the importance of testing fodder.
He said from samples tested protein levels varied from 6.8 per cent to a 23.9 per cent. Metabolisable energy ranged from 8.2 to 10.6 megajoules per kilogram.
Meanwhile, he said canola nitrate levels should be tested to manage toxicity risks to animals with some samples having levels of more than 5000 milligrams per kilogram and care should be taken in feeding stock.
“There is a lot of fodder about this season, and a lot of hay has been made from failed crops,” he said.
It is the fodder made from these crops which has returned such variable results.
“If you are in a position where you have to buy hay in it should be tested,” he said.
Feed testing, in Wagga, has been available since 2005 and during that time a mix of buyers and sellers have used the service.
NSW DPI sheep production research officer, Edward Clayton, said producers with insufficient pasture or forage crops will need to fill feed gaps with fodder reserves this season.
“Failed cereal and canola crops can be a valuable resource in filling the gap,” Dr Clayton said.
Earlier in the season the Riverina was impacted by a run of frosts. At the time agronomists and farming groups included FarmLink provided information about possible outcomes.
Producers had to weigh up whether or not to cut the crops for hay.
As a result the Australian Fodder Industry Association (AFIA) estimated that there were large amounts of cereal hay and fodder made from failed crops about this season.