Reducing The Cost of Beef Production by Increasing Silage Intake.

Abstract

Grass silage must support the predictable, consistent and profitable production of quality animal produce within environmentally sustainable farming systems. This can be quite a challenge for a crop that is so strongly influenced by the prevailing variable weather conditions, and the many interactions of the latter with farm management practices. Research and scientific progress must therefore continue to provide improved technologies if grass silage is to fulfil the above requirements. Yield, quality (including effects on intake, feed conversion efficiency, growth, meat quality, etc.), conservation losses, inputs and eligibility for EU financial supports determine the cost of providing cattle with silage, and this can have a major impact on the cost of producing milk or beef. Consequently, there has been an emphasis in the research reported here to add new information to the existing framework of knowledge on these