The Dry Matter Intake and Digestibility of Winter Wheat Harvested as Whole Crop Silage

Abstract

Ftsut,n, L. J. rNo LEssano, J. R. lgjj. Thc dry mattcr inrake an<t digestibility of winter wheat harvested as whole crop silage. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 57: 255-261.wheat was harvested for silage at the milk, the soft dou-eh and the firm dough srages of maturity and fcd to lactating cows in a comparison with corn silage harvcsted at 30% dry mattcr. Thc protein content of the four silages ranged from 7 to 8.3%. The crude fiber content of the corn silage (22%) was Iower than that of the three wheat silages ranging from 27.1% at the firm dough slage ro 34.5c/c at thc milk srage.Silage dry matter intakc was highest for the firm dough whcat silage and Iowest for the corn silage. However, there was no significant difference in milk yield ol milk composltlon among the four sila-ues. Thc higher intake of the firm dough silage compaled to corn silage was compens:rted firr by the tendency of higher digestibility of thc corn silagc.

Wheat silage partially replacing oaten hay exhibited greater feed efficiency and fibre digestion despite low feed intake by feedlot lambs

“…We speculate that high concentrate content and wheat silage proportion resulted in great CP and low ADF content, and further led to high ADG. However, in the study of Fisher and Lessard (1977) , cows fed wheat silage instead of corn silage lost live weight compared to the initial, whilst milk yield and composition were not altered. Unlike lambs, cows partitioned dietary energy toward lactation, thus sacrificing the energy for maintenance and growth.…”

“…Some studies noted that the nutritive value, silage quality, and feeding effect would vary depending on the different maturity stages of wheat silage. For instance, wheat crops harvested at the milk stage owned high fermentation quality, while those harvested at the dough stage had high forage value ( Fisher and Lessard, 1977 ; Randby et al., 2019 ; Xie et al., 2012 ). It was reported that wheat silage at the dough stage had a comparatively higher DM content than corn silage ( Turan, 2020 ).…”