Information On Why Grow Maize as A Supplement
In New Zealand, maize is grown for either grain or silage. While maize grain crops are produced solely for as a grain content, maize silage is harvested as a dairy feed. Today, there is an increasing demand for maize silage and the largest end user of this product is the dairy industry.
Given that soils and climate in New Zealand sometimes make it challenging for farming, growing of maize has become vital. There are times in the year when the supply of quality grass for milk production is unreliable. Although pasture is used as a major component of the dairy herd’s diet, maize supplement has proved to be significant for silage.
Below are 5 reasons why maize is grown in New Zealand as a supplement;
Provides High-Quality Feeds
Maize silage is a reliable high-quality feed that can be produced at a lower cost. Therefore, it can be grown by organic dairy farmers to fill the gaps that are created by variable grass productions. There is no other crop in New Zealand that can be harvested consistently delivers an equivalent quantity of dry matter at such a reduced cost.
It’s a Safe Feed
Given that most New Zealand farmers of dairy animals love the health and well being of their herds, they would want to offer nice feeding irrespective of how good pasture is available. It is for this reason that great quantities of supplements are needed. Besides, the gradually absorbed fibre in the green plant parts balances more quickly with assimilated starch within the grains.
Ecologically Viable
Due to the increased concentration on the influence of dairy structures on the surroundings, maize silage is important in diluting the great quantities of can protein in pasture-based foods to lower the quantity of urinal nitrogen and the risks of nitrogen leach.
Unique feed
Farmers use maize crop as a distinctive feed due to its elevated energy fodder that could be kept and consumed when it is required. There is no alternative supplement that delivers comparable farm system benefits, with the right flexibility. As such, you can use it in reducing nutrient loadings on effluent paddocks and to maximize the dairy farming returns.
Reliable
Maize is a consistently performing crop well across diverse climatic conditions and environments. To the dairy farmers, it adds value to their feeds thus helping to mitigate the climate risk. Therefore, it is used to fill genuine feed deficits for economic responses.
In conclusion, maize captures more nutrients than grass pasture thus making it ideal for dairy shed effluent. Thus, it’s efficiency is twice that of pasture. It contains a nitrogen usage efficiency that is thrice more than that of pasture. In terms of water usage, its efficiency is twice as compared to that of pasture.
