Livestock Feedstuffs – quality and storage.

Nutritional Requirements

(headline guide)

(These are general target ranges — animals and systems vary)

	ME (MJ DE/Kg)	CP (%)
Dairy	11-12	14-18
Beef	10-12	11-16
Pig: Weaned	14.4-15	18-22
Pig: Grower	13.4-14.2	16-19
Pig: Finisher	13-14	14-16
Sow: Gestation	14	13-13.5
Ewe: Late Gestation	11.0-12.5	14-18
Ewe: Lactating	11.5-13	16-19
Lamb: Finishing	12-13	14.19

Always work with ration software, nutritionist, or feeding tables for exact formulation. On-farm forage analysis is crucial.

Quick reference cheat-sheet (copy for your pocket)

Grain moisture safe storage: aim ≤14–15% (check buyer). OSR moisture: aim low (often <9–10%) to avoid heating. Silage DM: target ~28–35% for clamp silage (varies). Bale silage higher. Hay DM: >85% before baling. Store principle: dry + cool + clean + sealed + monitor.

Record-keeping & legal/health notes
Keep records of deliveries, analysis results, treatments (e.g., preservatives), and pest control actions. Follow product labels and COSHH/health & safety when using preservatives, fumigants, or sprout inhibitors. For medicated feeds, follow withdrawal periods and legal storage/feeding records.

Livestock Feeds — Quality & Storage

Quick intro

Good feed = healthy animals = better performance = less stress.

This page gives the essentials: what to look for, how to assess it, and how to store things so they stay useful and saleable.

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Livestock feeds: requirements, assessment & storage

Types of on-farm feeds

• Fresh grazing (swards) — diverse grasses and clovers.
• Conserved forage: silage (pit/tower/bale), hay, haylage.
• Bedded straw (filler) — low nutrition but fibre.
• Bought-in concentrates: cereals, blends, compound rations, molasses-based feeds, proteins (soy, rape meal), minerals/vitamins.
• By-products: brewers’ grains, potato pulp — check variability and storage requirements.

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Forages — how to assess and store

Grass & sward management (grazing)

• Assess sward by: height, species composition (ryegrass, clover presence), bulk, and “cover” (kg DM/ha).
• Quality declines with maturity: younger leafy swards = higher metabolisable energy and protein. Aim grazing management to maintain leaf and high digestibility for animals you’re targeting.

Silage (pit, clamp, bale)

Key quality targets & principles

• Dry matter (DM): crucial. For pit silage, common DM target is 28–35% for good fermentation (varies with forage type). Bale silage (wrapped) usually higher DM (30–50%).
• Fermentation: rapid pH drop and low residual sugars are signs of a stable silage. Poorly fermented silage smells putrid, is slimy, and loses energy and protein.
• Packing & sealing: compact tightly, exclude air, seal quickly with good wrap/cover to promote anaerobic conditions.
• Assessing silage: smell (pleasantly acidic vs rotten), colour, texture, pH test (if possible), presence of mould or slime. Laboratory analysis gives: DM, pH, ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N), sugars, and energy/protein estimates.

Storage risks

• Aerobic spoilage on feed-out face; unstable silage self-heats and loses energy.
• Poor sealing → clostridial fermentation (butyric), high ammonia, low palatability.

Hay & haylage

• Hay: DM typically >85% — dry well before baling to avoid mould; store under cover.
• Haylage: intermediate DM (40–60%), wrapped/baled; needs good wrapping and storage away from rodents.

Assessment

• Visual (mould, colour), tactile (dampness), smell. Lab test for DM, ash, crude protein, NDF/ADF (fibre fractions).

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Bought-in concentrates and compound feeds — storage & handling

Principles

• Keep dry and cool: moisture is enemy #1 (caking, mould growth, mycotoxin development). Aim for store humidity low and good ventilation.
• Rodent & bird proof: proof bins, sealed sacks, good housekeeping.
• FIFO: use oldest stock first; label deliveries with date and batch number.
• Segregate medicated feeds: follow legal requirements for feeding medicated feeds and keep dedicated equipment if necessary.

Assess on delivery

• Inspect packaging and seals.
• Smell (musty? damp?).
• Check delivery note vs order — composition and batch/lot numbers.
• Sample for mycotoxin testing if cereal-based and risk factors present (wet season, damaged crop).

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Species-specific feed notes (practical)

• Dairy cows: need consistent energy and protein to support milk; poor silage → drop in yield. Provide effective fibre (rumen health) and supply minerals (Ca, P, Mg) for transition cows.
• Beef cattle: finishing rations need energy density for FCR; monitor condition score and adjust. For store cattle, good-quality forage + modest concentrates.
• Sheep: protein and energy increases in late pregnancy; quality forage or creep feed for lambs improves growth.
• Pigs: rely on dense concentrates; protein quality and amino acid balance (lysine) matter; avoid mycotoxins — pigs are sensitive.
• Poultry (if relevant): very sensitive to mycotoxins and storage hygiene; small tolerances for spoilage.

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Practical on-farm procedures & checklists

Silage/feed assessment quick test

• Look: colour evenity, visible mould, slime.
• Smell: pleasant acidic = OK; putrid/fishy = poor.
• Touch: warm spots or slime = spoilage.
• If suspicious: take sample for lab analysis (DM, pH, ammonia, energy, NDF).

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Problems to spot (and quick fixes)

• Mouldy silage: stop feeding to high-value stock; isolate and test; improve face management and consider feeding to dry cows if safe.
• Infested concentrates: dispose of heavily infested bags; report to supplier; improve proofing.

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Final tips (apprentice-level wisdom)

1. Ask the buyer for the spec — then meet it. Contracts beat guesswork.
2. Test before you feed. Lab analyses are cheap compared with a performance drop.
3. Small problems become big fast. Find hotspots, wet patches, and mould early.
4. Good record-keeping = evidence for assessments and easier troubleshooting.
5. When in doubt, sample + test + isolate. Don’t gamble with animal health or product quality.

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