Storage Conditions
Leave as average unless there is good evidence to alter
Poor:
- Permeable floor (e.g. soil)
- Stack not air-tight due to either poor consolidation or poorly covered
- No inoculants used
- silo not used (for concentrates)
- grains have high percentage of fines
- expired product (for concentrates)
Average:
- Bunker with concrete floor
- Well consolidated stack, air tight
- Covered
- No inoculants used, OR
- Harvested when grass is too dry
- no sides (for maize and cereal silage)
Excellent:
- Bunker with concrete floor
- Well consolidated stack, air tight
- Covered
- Inoculants used
- Grass harvested at optimum DM
- cereal silage harvested at optimum DM
- Dry storage/under cover (for palm kernel)
- palm kernel sweepings can be recovered
Utilisation in paddock
Supplement utilisation is the proportion feed that is given to the animal that is eaten or ingested.
If utilisation is unknown use average, unless on a feed pad where the default is very good
Poor:
- Fed out in wet conditions
- High wastage loading wagon
- Poor quality affecting palatability
Average:
- Fed out in dry to moderately wet weather conditions
- Loading and stack management average
- Silage average quality (10.0-10.5 MJME/kg DM)
- evidence of maize on ground in paddock
- If feeding palme kernel, bins over
Excellent:
- Fed out in dry weather conditions
- No wastage when loading wagon, silage not run over
- Tight face
- Silage good quality (>10.5 MJME/kg DM)
Utilisation in bins:
Poor:
- Fed out day in advance or in wet conditions
- Bins not emptied at each feed leading to spoiling of feed
- Poor quality, not as palatable (<10.0 MJME/kg DM)
- Poor stack management and loading of silage into bins
Very good:
- Fed out in dry weather conditions
- Loading directly into bin
- No evidence of spilt silage around stack
- Excellent stack management