Most feeds arrive on farm in a Bulk blown lorry and are fed in the parlour. Farmers feeding straight feeds however buy Artic lorry loads @ 28 tons at a time and these are tipped is straight stores.
27 years ago Research at the then Experimental Husbandry Farm on Exmoor, Liscombe, noted that straights like Barley and Sugarbeet as well as Straw can be include in grass silage and only 4% of Dry Matter is lost on fermentation. This experiment was on Direct Cut silages where feeds were used to absorb silage juices.
My customers have taken this to another extreme, encouraged by results obtained by Andrew Stevens at Lechlade, Who was and is a top profitable producer in his costings group. As reported in Kay Carslaw Self feed Handbook (revised edition September 2010) Reporting on 50 years of Self- feeding with David Stevens and others:
“In 1999, a generation later, Andrew Stevens then put the icing on (or rather, in) the self-feed cake by redeveloping the old brewers grains sandwich system as self-feed Rapemeal (2.5kg mixed with the maize), and self-feed Rolled Wheat (1.5kg mixed with the grass). Wouldn’t Willy Hamill have enjoyed that?”
Whenever my customers can source cost effective feeds at the time of ensiling this is done.
Below a combined clamp of grass and maize, for a 300 cow herd. Wheat feed included in the Grass Silage and Rapeseed in with the Maize, eliminating the need for a straights store, and reducing handling of products during the winter, as well as buying relevant feeds in 28 t artic loads and at time when they are cost effective:
