| | Canola silage and canola salvage in the full bloom and early pod stage, and even into the more advanced stages, can be used as a forage source for cattle. Canola forage is acceptably palatable to cattle and the nutritional quality is good.
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"Canola does make a good feed and there is a fair amount of experience and history in using canola crop on a salvage basis, especially when there are various stages of canola growth or the crop didn't develop as it should have," says Ken Ziegler, beef and forage specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. "Many producers are finding that they are not going to have a great yield from a canola perspective and, given that feed prices are going to be higher than the long-term average this year, converting those crops into winterfeed makes sense. Producers can have confidence that canola has excellent potential as a crop for winterfeed and beef cows can do quite well on."
When it comes to harvesting canola as a forage or silage crop, treat it similar to cereal crops when cutting, chopping and packing. The one difference is that canola, with its hollow stems, takes about an extra day to dry down to the 60 to 65 per cent moisture content level. Putting canola up wet will result in seepage, poor fermentation and unwanted microbes in the silage.
Try to harvest the canola in an optimal stage, from full flower to early pod. Cutting at this stage provides the highest yield. Delaying harvest longer will result in leaf loss and reduced quality.
"As canola is predominantly stem and leaf, care should be taken to minimize leaf loss," says Ziegler. "Canola is very similar to alfalfa as it is important to get the stem to dry down so it can be stored, but without losing leaf. It is recommended to crimp, but not to the point where leaves and pods are being broken off. Do give it enough of a crimp to break the stems. If at all possible, bale it right after, without raking the crop."
The harvest window will depend on the stage of the crop. Being harvested before the crop goes into full pod stage will make good feed for the winter.
"One problem that producers should be aware of is that canola tends to accumulate sulphur," says Barry Yaremcio, beef and forage specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. "If you are in an area where there is high sulphur content in the water, there will be sulphur in the silage and the total sulphur could exceed 0.4 per cent. At this point, rumen bacteria that produce B vitamins will be destroyed and the cattle could have problems with polioencephalomalacia (PEM). It is very important that a feed sample be sent for analysis on all silage to establish quality and content.
"To prevent these problems, canola greenfeed or silage are typically fed at 50 per cent of total dry matter intake on a daily basis, with the remainder of the ration being other feeds such as straw, hay and grains."
Contact:
Ken Ziegler
310-FARM (3276)
Barry Yaremcio
310-FARM (3276) |
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