It looks like it’s going to be an early winter on a lot of farms as heavy rainfall leaves its mark on ground conditions. And, of course, with an early winter comes an earlier than expected need for winter feed. A couple of weeks ago most farmers would have said they had sufficient, if not ample, feeding for the winter. While this still may be the case, we can’t ignore the fact that housing two to four weeks earlier than expected will put a strain on reserves.

On top of that, there’s no telling how long the winter will last at the other end. Even if you think you are safe, I’d encourage every farmer to complete a fodder budget.

Measure how much silage you have in stock and then calculate how much you will need for the winter based on upcoming housing dates and expected turn-out dates next spring.

Learnings from 2018 suggest a buffer should definitely be factored in too.

After quantity, the quality of your winter feeding is next most important. We look at the benefits of silage sampling and how to read the results of a silage sample report. Unfortunately, many farmers are reluctant to go to the trouble of coring their silage pit or bales. I’d argue that there is little point in knowing the feeding value of your concentrates, if you don’t know the feeding value of the forage you feed them.

Speaking of concentrates, we put some common ration ingredients under the microscope, looking at their energy and protein contents and what that means for different types of stock. Getting down to the finer details of winter feed, Journal vet Tommy Heffernan explains the nuts and bolts of mineral supplementation and picks out some key macro and micro minerals.