Producing a high-quality basic ration is a main objective of every grassland farm. Ruminants are fussy about their forage. The quality of the basic ration they are given, in other words its energy content, digestibility, odour and taste, determines whether your animals consume large amounts of it.
What they like most is basic ration that is clean and tasty. The amount of concentrates used can be reduced. This cuts forage costs while at the same time improving animal health. The bottom line is that you benefit from clean, high quality forage with more profit for your farm business.
The way that the knives chop the material precisely and uniformly and the forage is transferred gently from the pick-up to the load chamber also contributes to the good forage quality.
Crude ash is a parameter of forage contamination. It influences forage quality and consequently the health of the animals.
With grass silage, a 1% decrease in crude ash/kg DM translates into an increase in energy concentration in the forage of approx. 0.1 MJ NEL/kg DM.
The tines on the BOSS JUNIOR are controlled so that they gather the forage and collect it cleanly and tidily. This configuration prevents the tines from scraping the ground, conserving the sward accordingly and reducing the crude ash content. Additionally, the side-mounted jockey wheels enable the pick-up to adapt to the terrain, so that the optimum guidance height is constantly maintained.
For an optimised yield, the health of the animals must be guaranteed. Healthy livestock reward you with higher fertility, a longer useful life and higher milk and meat yields.
A uniform chopping length and lower crude ash content are extremely important for livestock health and yield.
Thanks to the individual knife protection system on the BOSS JUNIOR, the forage is protected against foreign objects. This technology stops potentially hazardous objects from being broken up and entering the forage, ultimately protecting the animals from injuring their digestive tract.
“There are many reasons why high crude ash content prevents cost effective milk production. Best basic ration is required if cows are to remain healthy, fertile and produce a lot of milk. The basic ration should contain as little earth and sand as possible. These contaminants, shown as “crude ash” in feed composition analysis, cause undesirable side effects. The function of the reticulum-rumen system is reduced. Organisms that affect the ensiling process, such as clostridium, can be brought in. The yield ability, health and fertility of dairy cows suffers as a result.”
Dr. Michael Neumayer Veterinarian Neukirchen am Großvenediger | Austria