Lecture 11 Conserving Whole Crop Cereals Flashcards
What is Whole crop cereal (WCC) silage?
silage is made from
winter or spring sown wheat or barley – also
oats or triticale
Whats cereal frown for in terms of silage?
What do you harvest it at? how many kg/DM?
What Dm are you harvesting it at?
Cereal is grown for high yielding grain
harvested between 350 - >600 g/kg DM
60% DM
Is WCS high or low labour?
Higher than Maize
Increasing interest versus GS for Whole Crop Silage:
- Modest yields of harvested dry matter (DM)
achieved in a single cut with grass - Variability in digestibility and ensilability
- Intake and animal performance response
- Effluent production
- Predictability of their feeding value relative to
what is commonly achieved with grass silage - Harvest date
Whole crop Silage:
€/t utilisable DM 2023
€/t utilisable DM 2024
181
141
Grass silage 2 cuts:
T/DM
N/Ha excl slurry
N/Ha with slurry
Grass silage – 12-14 T DM/ha (2 cuts)
– 250kg N/ha excl slurry)
– 200 kg N/ha with slurry
Whole Crop Wheat (Winter/Spring)-
T/DM/Ha Winter
T/DM/Ha Spring
Whole Crop Wheat (Winter/Spring)-
– Winter- 14-16 T DM/ha (200kg N/ha)
– Spring- 10-12 T DM/ha (150-170kg N/ha)
Whole Crop Triticale (Winter/Spring)-
T/DM/Ha Winter
T/DM/Ha Spring
Whole Crop Triticale (Winter/Spring)
– Winter-11-13 T DM/ha (160 kg N/ha)
– Spring- 9-11 T DM/ha (130-150kg N/ha)
Maize Silage T/DM/Ha
Maize Silage-15-16 T DM/ha
Whats the common application rate of slurry?
3000 gallons/acre is a common application rate
Cattle slurry
N Supplied
P Supplied
K Supplied
– (18 units x 1.25)= 22.5 kg N/ha
- ( 15 units x 1.25) = 18.75 kg P/ha
- (90 units x 1.25 )= 112 kg K/ha
Nutritient Value Slurry N P K
Slide 6
Slide 7
For cereal crops whats the P and K requirements?
Potentially 50% of P
reqs
Potentially 100% of K reqs
For a high yielding crop , what are the 4 inputs you need to include?
– Pesticide
– Herbicide
– Fungicide
– Fertiliser inputs
Do crops like heavy clay soils?
Where can cereal crops be grown in ireland?
What is less important than for grain crops?
Wholecrop cereals can grow in areas normally considered marginal for grain production?
- Crops can be difficult to establish on very heavy
clay soils - Can be grown on most soils in lowland areas of
Ireland. - Weather during ripening is less important than
for grain crops - Wholecrop cereals, particularly Triticale, may be
grown in areas normally considered marginal for
grain production
What is the objective for crop management?
What is vital to ensure?
maximise wholecrop yield and
grain content
- A high grain content is vital to ensure an adequate
energy level is achieved
What reduces the feeding value and may affect the ensiling processes
What should your advisor do?
Keep the crop clean
* Weed and disease infestations reduce the feeding value
and may affect the ensiling process.
- Tillage crop adviser to walk the crops and
ensure that spray applications are optimised –
especially if your arable experience is limited
Conventional Grain Method:
Harvested at a DM and what % moisture?
What does the harvester separate grain from?
Grain is > than…
Straw and Chaff is > than..
- Harvested > 820 g/kg DM (18% Moisture)
- Harvester separates grain from the straw and
chaff - Grain > silo
- Straw and chaff > compact bales
List the 2 high moisture grains: and DM %
Crimped grain (60-70% DM)
Urea treated grain (65 – 72% DM)
Urea treated grain (65 – 72% DM)
Whats it treated with?
Treated with urea product sealed under conventional silage plastic sheeting
Crimped grain (60-70% DM)
What is crimping?
Whats used to inhibit mould growth?
What happens to the grain?
➢Crimping = acidification and rolling
➢OAs applied to inhibit mould growth and
facilitate preservation
➢Grain is rolled/ crimped @ storage or feedout
Fermented Whole Crop Cereal (WCC) Silage
When should harbesting take place? What DM%
Whats the crop nutritive value (what should it be?) what DM%
Crops cut with high stubble will have,,,
Crops cut with low stubble will have,,,
What is the length of a short chop ? What will it help reduce?
- Harvesting should not take place until after the cereal grain
has progressed beyond the milky-ripe growth stage – until it
has at least reached the soft-cheddar consistency >35% DM - The crop nutritive value is effectively constant from the
“soft-cheddar” stage until the cereal grain has reached the
hard-cheddar consistency (55% DM) – this is a window of
almost 3 weeks. - Crops cut with high stubble will have lower yields but higher
feeding value - Crops cut with low stubble will have higher yields but lower
feeding value. - A short chop length (c. 2.5cm) will help reduce aerobic
deterioration.
Digestibility of whole crop plant components
Harvested 11/10 @ what DM%?
Harvested 5/8 @ what DM%?
Slide 15
29%
50%
Whats the trend for forages at feed?
Trend: head-cut cereals had DM intakes, carcass gain and FCE values nearer that of
maize than conventional whole crop
Ad-lib concentrates superior performance above all other treatments
Fermented Whole Crop Cereal (FWCC)
–Whats the DM% Ensiling?
What will high DM limit?
What does whole crop need to be?
Should you use more than one sheet for the pit?
What does a narrow pit ensure?
Results from grance indicate what?
Ensiling (35-55% DM)
- High DM will limit effluent discharge.
- Whole crop needs to be well-compacted and
weighed down - Double sheet the pit to prevent aerobic fermentation
- A narrow pit is preferable to reduce aerobic
deterioration - Results from Grange indicate losses during feed-out
are no greater than with grass silage
When Ensiling % is Tat 55-65% Dm?
Whats it treated with?
How much urea kg/t and what is crucial about this?
What is home ‘N’ dry additive based on?
What dosnt ferment ?
What can microbial urease present on ?
- Treated with a urea/ urea based additive
– Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) – hazardous chemical
– Ammonia (NH3) – difficult to apply evenly - Urea @ 20 kg/t – even distribution critical
– Liquid form - Home ‘N’ Dry additive is based on urea and urease
enzyme. - WCC ensiled in this manner does not ferment, so in-
storage losses i.e. heating moulds, are negligible.
Microbial urease present on the plant can convert urea to ammonia
at this level of moisture
Processed Whole Crop Cereal (PWCC) Silage >65% DM
What is processed whole crop cereal silage?
When is the crop cut and with what?
What are the harvesting windows?
When can harvesting be carried out ?
What will a level of moisture at harvest time reduce?
- Processed whole crop cereal silage (e.g. alkalage) is produced
from cereal crops that are harvested at ≥ 60% DM or < 35%
grain moisture - grain fill is complete - The crop is cut with a self-propelled silage harvester with a
grain processor specifically installed to process / crack the
grain - Harvest windows are typically 30 days
- Harvesting can be carried out in damp or dewy conditions
without significantly reducing crop DM - A level of moisture at harvest time will reduce the loss of high
value flour and chaff particularly in high dry matter crops.
Grass silage
DM
NDF
ADF
Slide 20
DM 174
NDF 674
ADF 421
FWCW
DM
NDF
ADF
Slide 20
DM 404
NDF 443
ADF 264
UPWCW
DM
NDF
ADF
CP
Slide 20
DM - 716
NDF - 443
ADF - 229
CP - 168
Whats the conservation efficiency of:
GS
FWCW
UPWCW
GS - 0.75
FWCW - 0.96
UPWCW - 0.96
