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Urea treated whole crop wheat for dairy cattle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2017

J.Hill  and
J.D. Leaver
J.Hill
Affiliation:
Wye College, University of London, Wye, Ashford, Kent. TN25 5AH
J.D. Leaver
Affiliation:
Wye College, University of London, Wye, Ashford, Kent. TN25 5AH
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Extract

Urea treated Whole Crop Wheat (WCW) provides a stable, alkaline high DM forage, which is a potential replacement for, or complement to grass silage. Harvesting at about 600 g DM/kg facilitates both optimum crop DM production and energy concentration within the crop. Urea treatment (40 kg/t DM) at harvest prevents fermentation during storage, and may increase the crop digestibility. The nitrogen status of the forage as ammonia is also increased. The aim of these experiments was to investigate the feeding value of WCW for dairy cattle, when offered as the sole basal feed.

A spring wheat crop (var. Axona) was cut at about 600 .g DM/kg (hard dough stage), chopped using a conventional forage harvester and stored in an outdoor clamp silo. Urea was added at 40 kg/t DM during harvesting. After rolling, the clamp was sheeted with polythene for 125 days until feed out.

Type
Ruminant Nutrition
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Production (1972) , Volume 1990 , March 1990 , pp. 113
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Production 1990

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