With harvesting underway, it’s the perfect time to have a think about how you’re going to use recently harvested stubbles efficiently.
Key Points
- Fresh stubbles with spilt grain are great for lifting condition on ewes to get them ready for joining
- Rain on standing dry feed can significantly reduce its nutritional value
- Although good feed, spilt grain can increase the risk of acidosis
- With an effective dry feed supplement animals eat more, get more from the feed and perform better
If you have sheep, you can use fresh stubbles to lift the condition of ewes before joining by grazing stubbles at their best and cleaning up the spilt grain. This also assist with breaking down the standing straw for future sowing activities.
However, you need to act quickly, as it may only take one rain event to leach soluble nitrogen and minerals out of dry standing feed and see its digestibility and nutritional value significantly decline.
Dr Meggison, Chief Nutritionist at AusFarm Nutrition Products (ANP) urges producers to utilise fresh stubbles while they’re at their best, especially if we’re looking to experience tougher grazing times throughout summer.
“It pains me to see fresh stubbles go to waste. The value of fresh stubbles containing spilt grain is huge at this time of the year, but I’d highly recommend grazing it before the rain hits it.”
“One rain event could be the difference between stock maintaining condition or losing condition on stubbles, and that extra bit of grain can get ewes in good nick for joining.”
Like anything farming related, there’s always a downside. The downside of grazing fresh stubbles in this case is the risk of high levels of spilt grain causing acidosis. Luckily ANP have an answer.
You can boost the value of stubbles and protect against acidosis by feeding StockMins-Stubble Starter – Buffered Dry Feed Supplement for Sheep, a buffered, high protein supplement specifically designed to boost the performance of sheep or lambs grazing recently harvested stubbles, where high levels of spilt grain may be present.
Where spilt grain levels are estimated to be less of a concern, StockMins-HiPro – Dry Feed Supplement for Sheep offers the perfect pairing, supplying 27% crude protein (9% urea) and optimum levels of essential minerals, vitamins and trace elements to support production and fertility.
The inclusion of protein in the form of urea in combination with minerals, vitamins and trace elements boosts the value of stubble grazing by improving in fibre digestibility, energy utilisation and animal immunity. In fact, low level supplementation with a rumen degradable source of protein, can increase the consumption of dry feed by up to 30%.
With an effective dry feed supplement, animals eat more, get more out of the feed and perform better.
Summer Supplement Smash
Purchase 40 x StockMins-Stubble Starter or StockMins-HiPro and receive 6 extra bags for free.
