December 22, 2008

Customised high-cereal blends help cut costs

Many livestock producers in the UK are keen to reduce feed costs this winter by using low-cost cereals. But for farms without mixer wagons, the question is how to achieve this without making feed systems complicated and risk digestive upsets.

KW Alternative Feeds technical manager Michael Marsden said that one way is to use a high-cereal customised blend to replace traditional compounds or as an extra midday feed.

Not only are blends a straightforward, convenient and safe way to increase cereal usage, but they also tend to be much better value than the equivalent compound.

Marsden said that the key to incorporating more cereals into winter rations whether for dairy or beef is to make sure they are properly balanced with extra protein, plus some digestible fibre to help buffer the rumen.

Specific blend formulations can be created that work well with in-parlour or out-of-parlour feeders, or for trough feeding livestock that's housed or grazing.

Marsden added that other than cost savings, there is less capital tied up in stocks of cereals and less storage area required.

KW Alternative Feeds is UK's largest supplier of Alternative Feeds such as Vitagold, the high protein distillery product from Girvan in South-West Scotland and C*Traffordgold, the balanced energy and protein feed from the moist wheat milling industry in Manchester, England. They supply hundreds of thousands of tonnes of moist, dry and blended feeds to livestock producers the length and breadth of the UK and Ireland as well as to other countries.