Low-cost ‘brassica’ system meets heifer growth targets

Take Home Message: Out wintering replacement heifers on brasscias can reduce rearing costs by 72p/kg liveweight gain and achieve target gains.

Daily liveweight gains of between 0.7kg and 0.85kg, to ensure that heifers calve at two years old, can be achieved with out-wintering systems based on stubble turnips and haylage on a low-cost system. So says Simon Marsh, from Harper Adams University College, who has completed work to evaluate the performance of replacement dairy heifers either housed or out-wintered on forage brassicas (stubble turnips).

“Out-wintered heifers do not suffer a growth check when moved onto a grass sward in the spring,” he told delegates at this year’s British Society of Animal Science annual conference. “And there we recorded no welfare implications for the out-wintered heifers.resented to the British Society of Animal Science Annual Meeting, March 30 to April 1, 2009, Southport, UK

“Overall (winter and summer) variable costs per kg gain were reduced by 25% with out-wintering – 58p/kg compared to 77p/kg – with fixed and variable costs being reduced by 48% – just 0.78p/kg compared to 150p/kg.”

There is increased interest in out-wintering systems that have the potential to reduce costs and, therefore, increase farm profitability. “Out-wintering also offers the potential to increase herd size, within the constraints of Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) restrictions without the substantial capital costs associated with waste storage,” explained Mr Marsh.

His trials involved 28 in-calf Holstein heifers, weighing 478kg with a mean age of 21.8 months, which were either housed or out-wintered. The housed heifers were fed ad-lib grass silage (11.1 ME MJ/kg DM) and wholecrop (10.3ME MJ/kg DM). They were initially fed 1.5kg/concentrates/day. This was replaced with 100g of minerals after 48 days.

The out-wintered heifers on stubble turnips were initially offered ad-lib straw, but this was replaced with haylage (10.6 ME MJ/kg DM) after 48 days.

“And the initial negative DLWG’s for the out-wintered heifers necessitated the change from feeding straw to haylage. Significant compensatory growth was subsequently recorded,” said Mr Marsh. “The housed heifers recorded a marked growth check following turnout, which therefore resulted in there being no significant differences in overall DLWG from start to finish.”

Presented to the British Society of Animal Science Annual Meeting, March 30 to April 1, 2009, Southport, UK.Full details: Marsh SP, Billington P, Brizuela C, Kirby S: “Evaluation of the performance of in-calf dairy heifers either housed or out-wintered on forage brassicas (stubble turnips).”

Summary (pdf)    Presentation_009marsh (pdf)

To view proceedings of all summaries presented at the Annual Conference http://www.bsas.org.uk/Publications/Annual_Conference_Proceedings/   To view Powerpoint presentations http://www.bsas.org.uk/Members_Area/    For further information contact: BSAS on 0131 445 4508 or bsas@sac.ac.uk

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