With hay in abundance, straw just starting to be baled up and grain prices on a downward spiral, many farmers are considering buying hay or straw and feeding a straight ingredient such as soya hulls, citrus, barley and wheat grain to fill up a winter feed gap.

Last year I visited a number of farmers who were short of silage and instead of buying very expensive silage of questionable quality, they decided to buy straw and meal instead.

I called to one farmer last winter and he had soya hulls tipped up in a high roofed shed and was feeding in-calf heifers and weanlings straw ad lib and 3kg to 4kg of soya hulls per day instead of silage. He found there was very little waste, no special ensiling conditions and keeping vermin away was not an issue.

Most farmers said they found buying straw much better value for money as you could see straight away the quality.

Much depends on what you are looking for; most spring calving dairy farmers need a dry cow feed and then a growing diet for weanlings and heifers. It’s a balancing act on all the factors such as wastage at feed-out, ease of management, ease of feed-out, price, quality and availability. For many, the best option will be good quality straw and meal.

The meal can be a nut, coarse ration or straight. If feeding younger animals, then you need higher protein and an 18% protein nut; supplementing the diet with 0.5kg of soyabean meal per head can increase overall protein in the diet.