Maize silage adds a new dimension to ‘fully fed’

The addition of maize silage to the ration is taking the concept of ‘fully fed’ to new levels on Macalister region dairy farm, Anderlea Dairy.

Ross Anderson, together with wife, Jenni Collings, and parents, Graeme and Chris Anderson, milk 500 crossbred cows in the Denison district south-east of Heyfield.

The fourth-generation enterprise comprises a 120 ha dairy platform, two 30 ha irrigated blocks and a 120 ha dry block, all located within six kilometres of each other.

In consultation with Warragul-based nutritionist, David Huggins, cows are fed 8 kg/day of processed wheat, canola mix and mineral pellets in addition to high yielding pastures and quality silage.

Average production stands at about 650 kg milk solids.

The Andersons put in their first 260 tonne stack of maize silage in March this year and are happy with how it’s going.

“We have always been focused on feeding our cows to their potential – but adding some maize silage has changed the game,” Ross says.

“It seems to be a great quality feed – and great quality feed means great production, health and fertility.

“It adds a cost as we are buying it in, but expect a return on investment”

“It has a completely different nutritional value, it’s easy to feed out and there’s less spoilage.

“We’re already planning to put in another pit for next year, possibly with a home-grown crop.”

The maize was grown, harvested and delivered by a neighbouring contractor.

The crop was treated with MAGNIVA Platinum forage inoculant during processing. It combines a patented strain-specific bacterium, Lactobacillus hilgardii CNCM I-4785, with the industry standard, Lactobacillus buchneri NCIMB 40788.

This unique combination provides fast-acting ‘front end’ fermentation with proven ‘back end’ aerobic stability, allowing silage to be opened earlier and last longer after opening.

It contains a number of special enzymes to assist with rapid fermentation.

The 20 x 40 m stack was covered with SiloStop oxygen barrier film to limit the growth of spoilage-causing yeasts and moulds.

Independent testing has confirmed these multi-layer polyethylene films are up to 100 times more effective than conventional plastic in preventing the entry of oxygen into silage.

The 45 micron film is protected by an outer layer of SilageKeeper UV cover, a dense polyethylene mesh that provides additional protection against sunlight and potential damage caused by animals and environment.

The two layers are sealed with SealKeeper gravel bags, which provide a re-useable and environmentally-friendly alternative to car tyres.

“Part of the reason we went into pit silage was to reduce wastage,” Ross says.

“We used to fill bins and bins with waste plastic and it’s just not sustainable.

“We didn’t even think about using tyres for the same reason.”

Ross says bulk silage saves time and reduces wastage.

“At one stage, we were feeding up to 2,000 bales a year in the paddock using a bale feeder,” he says.
“It was terribly inefficient.

“We were probably losing about 10% of our silage and wrecking our pastures, so we put in a feedpad two years ago.

“Initially, we were feeding bales directly in the trough but we were always getting bits of netting or wrap caught in the feed out wagon.”

“We moved to pit silage two years ago and this cut wastage by two-thirds.

“We learnt some tough lessons in the first year.

“We didn’t put our sites where they should have been, they weren’t as prepared as well as they should have been and we weren’t completely ready to cover the pits on the day they were cut.

“Last year, we put in a single, large stack on our dry block, where we can have a fair bit of pasture ready to be cut at the same time.”

Ross spent more than a decade working and travelling before returning to the family farm in 2006 at the age of 30.

“I said I’d come home and give mum and dad a hand and see how we go,” he says.

“At the time, they were milking about 380 pasture-fed cows on just the home property.

“The best way to know if you love dairying or not is to get skin in the game, so I became a sharefarmer with my parents six months later.

“I was interested in dairy farming as a kid but when I came back I realised I really didn’t know much about it.

“I attended every course I could and got really excited about pasture management and nutrition.

“We started feeding grain, primarily to feed another mouth – mine.

“We weren’t feeding that much – about 2 or 3 kg of triticale a day , and a bit of canola– but we could see what a difference it was making.”

In 2009, the family constructed a 50-bale, single-operator rotary dairy.

Cows are fed before milking at 3.30 am and 2 pm.

“Our philosophy has always been that the family should eat together, so milking early means we can get home for breakfast and tea,” he says.