L.PDS.2210 - PDS: Feeding Grain on Grass

Summary

The Grain on Grass PDS was developed to increase the skills and knowledge of producers in the Warrumbungles area of NSW to increase liveweight gain and carrying capacity through supplementary feeding of grain to livestock grazing tropical pasture and cereal grazing crops. It was identified that there was a lack of current knowledge and research around the potential liveweight gains and increased profit from supplementary feeding livestock on forage crops. Animals were selected for the demonstration and split into two groups, a supplementary fed group and a control group. Average daily gains from supplementation increased by between 0.02kg/day and 0.88kg/day. Supplementing grain resulted in negative returns ranging from -$2.59/head/day to -$0.33/head/day with grain price having the greatest influence on returns. Awareness and skills around using feed tests was increased by 100% in the core producer group. The results from the project indicate that supplementary feeding can be a useful tool during the right seasonal conditions however returns are heavily dependent on market prices and seasonal conditions and this project demonstrated that it is important producers do their own calculations before implementing supplementary feeding in their enterprise. The project also reinforced the importance and value of producers within an area regularly connecting to share their knowledge and experiences.

Objectives

1.    Demonstrate the use of supplementing grain while grazing forage crops to increase: 
a.    Live weight gain/head/day by 20% (achieved at two of the four sites)
b.    Carrying capacity due to faster stock turnoff by 3.5% (exact figures could not be calculated but was achieved at all sites due to pasture lasting longer when animals have access to additional grain)
2.    Demonstrate the use of supplementing grain while grazing forage crops to maintain carcass quality and market specification while decreasing grazing days by 13% (exact figures on decreasing grazing days could not be calculated but was achieved at all sites due to pasture lasting longer when animals have access to additional grain)
3.    Increased awareness of the use of feed tests to determine feed quality by 100 percent of core producers and 25% of observers (achieved at all sites) 
4.    Increased awareness of the use of carcass feedback to ensure adherence to target market specifications, by 100 percent of core producers (achieved at all sites)
5.    Increased skill of 75% of core producers to formulate a supplementary feeding ration by using a feed test (achieved at all sites)

Key findings

Increased awareness of the use of feed tests to determine feed quality by 100 percent of core producers and 25% of observers
All four core producers as well as one observer producer indicated they are already utilising, or intend to utilise feed tests to assess feed quality as a result of the learnings from this PDS as indicated in the post survey results.
Increased skill of 75% of core producers to formulate a supplementary feeding ration by using a feed test.

Once the demonstration was initiated, it became evident that this metric would need to be adjusted to an increased awareness of formulating a supplementary feeding ration using a feed test rather than an increased ability as it became evident that formulating rations requires the skills of someone specialised in this area such as those of a nutritionist. The initial expectation that the producers would be able to formulate and implement a ration independently was unrealistic and it was evident that they required ongoing support around the implementation side of things. The post-project survey results indicated that awareness around formulating a supplementary feeding ration using a feed test was increased.

Benefits to industry

This demonstration provided valuable learnings for the industry on the importance of regular feed testing to match feed quality to animal performance. It also highlighted the importance of considering seasonal conditions, commodity prices and the enterprise’s goals when considering incorporating supplementary feeding.

MLA action

MLA continues to deliver the Producer Demonstration Site (PDS) program, supporting livestock producers working in peer-to-peer groups to pursue new skills, knowledge and management practices applicable to their own commercial livestock production systems.

Future research

Recommendations from the group indicate that future research should look at supplementary feeding on forage crops and tropical pastures in different seasonal conditions to determine if the benefit increases as pasture quality decreases.  More sites across different geographical areas would also be useful to determine the viability of supplementary feeding on a variety of forage crops.