Get more from forage this winter with revolutionary forage pre-treatment

Published Thursday, 17th December 2015
Get more from forage this winter with revolutionary forage pre treatment

Despite good silage-making weather in some regions of the UK and Ireland last summer, many clamps still contain large volumes of low feed value silage made under less than favourable conditions.

The novel forage pre-treatment that increases silage digestibility, D-value and ME content is therefore likely to be of considerable benefit to many livestock farmers this winter through proven gains in milk yield and beef production.

Easily applied as a dilute liquid added to the mixer wagon prior to feeding out, VistaPre-T kick-starts the process of forage breakdown, roughening the surface of the fibre. This increases the surface area for attachment, which in turn increases the rate of microbial colonisation once in the rumen. The result is an increase in silage D-value of up to 13 percentage points, plus a potential 11% gain in feed efficiency, depending on initial forage quality of the silage. 

Trials in the United States have confirmed daily yield responses in early lactation dairy cows of up to 2 litres/cow, whilst liveweight gain increases of 100-250g/day have been seen in growing beef cattle. Dairy young-stock, sheep and goats will also benefit from the improved energy supply. 

“Although VistaPre-T is effective on a wide variety of forages, greatest effect is seen in those with lower D-values,” explains Dr Nicola Walker, AB Vista’s Ruminant Product Development Manager. “It means that as well as boosting the digestibility and ME content of low quality forages, VistaPre-T is also highly effective in smoothing out the potentially high-levels of variation in silage quality typically found within, and between, clamps. 

“Latest data show that ME levels can vary by 10% or more within the clamp, even where silage quality is good. By lifting the energy content of those samples with lower values, VistaPre-T lessens the variation and subsequent disruption to daily nutrient supply, thereby increasing feeding consistency and reducing the negative impact on performance.” 

For more information, contact AB Vista on +44(0)1672 517 650 or info@abvista.com.

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