Corn silage is the go-to homegrown forage for supplying digestible starch and fiber high-producing cows require. Often, however, shortcuts and oversights during the growing, harvest and storage processes can limit its resulting feed value.
Numerous studies have documented the importance of digestible starch to cow performance – results that can positively affect a dairy enterprise’s bottom line. University of Wisconsin research shows that improving total tract starch digestibility by just five points reduces supplemental corn grain feeding by 1.5 pounds – or 9 cents in feed costs – per cow per day. Those few pennies don’t seem like a lot, until you add them up. For 100 cows, it amounts to over $3,000 in feed savings in a year, plus reduced return in lost milk production.
Read the full article at https://www.progressivedairy.com/topics/feed-nutrition/three-mistakes-that-could-limit-digestible-starch
