Alkalage reduces the possible challenges of a high starch diet and provides added protein…

This year’s prolonged winter has turned plans for future forage supplies inside out and upside down. However, for those with cereal or maize crops in the ground, alkasystems technology can complement the herd’s final feed source.

Cereals and maize crops are weeks behind their usual growth stages in some parts of the country, consequently there’s going to be a higher demand for purchased starch on many dairy units, says Dugdale Nutrition veterinary technical manager, Dr Debby Brown.

“Fermented wholecrop or maize silages which analyse around the pH3.7 mark are acidic and can increase the risk of sub-acute ruminal acidosis (SARA), which can lead to rumen disorders that will  exacerbate the herd’s health challenges and in turn have knock on effects to overall performance, including yield and fertility,” she says.

“The key is to supply the correct nutrients to balance effective rumen degradable protein and fermentable metabolisable energy in order to maintain a good rumen microbial population for optimum feed conversion.

“Introducing alkasystems technology which was developed after extensive research over three decades ago resulting in its foundation Home n’ Dry, a one-step application in pelleted format, offers producers with the opportunity to treat any fully ripe cereal crop to produce Alkalage and achieve a threefold benefit.”

After the fully mature cereal crop is treated with the pellets during clamping and then sheeted, ammonia is released by enzyme action. A further reaction occurs leaving behind alkaline ammonium salts, in the form of mainly ammonium bicarbonate which buffers the wholecrop to at least pH8.5 and provides a nitrogen source that subsequently increases the crop’s protein content to an average 14%.

The ammonia also reacts with lignin in the wholecrop plant cell walls and enhances its digestibility.

Furthermore, the high starch in the clamped mature wholecrop helps drive the rumen microflora’s performance, which in turn, when fed in a TMR, improves the digestion of silages. It also balances the nitrogen in the grass silage crops and supports herd fertility.

Debby continues: “Since Alkalage is made by harvesting a fully mature cereal crop, its dry matter is maximised consequently extra forage per acre is achieved compared to traditional fermented wholecrop. Filling clamps with a high dry matter, digestible forage with a higher protein and starch content can only be beneficial after this year’s delayed season and the shortage of forages already seen this spring.

“Alkalage can also be successfully fed alongside maize silage, reducing the possible challenges from a high starch diet, providing some of the extra protein and a more rumen digestible starch required to drive the rumen microflora and ensure the best use of maize silage is achieved. Using a balance of the two crops has the potential to spread out the forages across the year, as well as provide a more stable diet for the herd.

“Maize silage and Alkalage are usually stable crops and of a reasonably consistent nutrient value which helps diet balance with changing grass-based forages throughout the year. The Alkalage pH helps balance the acidic pH of grass silages and some maize silages, ensuring the fibre digesting bacteria in the rumen have the environment required to optimise their performance.”