PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO RUMEN CONDITIONS TO GET THE MOST OUT OF FORAGE THIS WINTER

15 September 2016With many of the year’s grass silages higher in fibre and lower in energy than in 2015, maintaining ration energy levels and maximising milk from forage could be a challenge this winter, warns Dr Derek McIlmoyle, AB Vista’s Technical Director for GB and Ireland. “The rumen will need to be working at its very best if cows are to fully utilise the fibre in forages once housed on full winter rations,” he explains. “The milk production potential of these forages is already lower, so it’ll be important to avoid overloading the rumen with too much starch trying to make up the