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Fodder For The Future

The need for fodder reserves has been highlighted by the recent drought in many parts of Australia.

By Department of Primary Industries - 10th December 2003 - Back to News

Many in the fodder industry believe there is a need for substantial expansion of fodder reserves. These reserves would be used to protect the well-being of some of Australia’s key livestock industries in times of hardship.

One essential element in managing drought risk is adequate physical reserves of fodder located throughout the areas in which it is normally used. The factor that most limits the level of fodder reserves is the capacity of storage facilities such as hay sheds and silage bunkers.

Inadequate storage can result in rapid deterioration in the quality of stored fodder deteriorate quickly for example when rain falls on uncovered haystacks.

It is now clear that in many districts fodder production will boom this year due to better climatic conditions. Producers will be faced with the decision whether to store, sell or feed out the fodder produced and need to carefully consider the factors that influence this decision.

Some have noted that due to the increased production this year, testing for quality will not be as important as during a fodder shortage. Interestingly the same argument was made last year during the drought but for the opposite reason!

However it is increasingly clear that whatever the season objective testing of fodder quality is an essential part of any decision about the end use of the product.

Quality testing can be used to determine if the fodder is best fed on farm, stored or sold.

For example if the fodder is of borderline quality initially, storage for any length of time may result in a poor quality product thus making storage an uneconomical option. This is especially relevant when storage facilities are limited.

Knowing the quality may also mean that selling the fodder brings a greater return. Storage of good quality fodder could result in a valuable resource when fodder is in short supply bringing a better price at that time.

FEEDTEST can assist by providing information on fodder quality. With this knowledge, management decisions can be made that best utilise the fodder produced.

FEED TEST kits are available from DPI offices.

The fodder competition to be held during the Green Triangle Beef Expo in Hamilton in February 2004 provides the opportunity to have your fodder and grain tested at a reduced price.

Please contact FEEDTEST for further information or entry forms on 1300 655 474 (toll free).

FRUIT FLY

The fruit fly season is with us again. Those who live east of the Nicholson River are in a declared fruit fly area. However last summer there was an outbreak of fruit fly in East Bairnsdale, which if fruit fly free.

As a response to this outbreak an eradication program was conducted and no further flies have been detected to date. In order to protect the horticultural industry it remains important to control fruit fly within East Gippsland and to avoid transportation of fruit from the permanently declared fruit fly area into fruit fly free zones.

The declared fruit fly area starts at the Nicholson River, and continues to the New South Wales border. Fruit grown in the declared area should not be moved out of the area, unless certified by an Interstate Certification Assurance Agreement between the business and the Department of Primary Industries (DPI).

Queensland fruit fly is the most common pest found within the fruit-growing region of East Gippsland, which encompasses Mallacoota to Nicholson, and can affect pome fruit (apples, pears, quinces, Asian pears, loquats), stone fruit, citrus and fruiting vegetables such as tomatoes and capsicums.

There are four stages in the life cycle of a fruit fly - eggs, larvae (maggot), pupa and adult fly. The larvae are cream in colour, have no legs and will jump if placed on a smooth surface. As the larvae eat, they work their way in towards the centre of the fruit, although the outside may appear unblemished. The larvae pupate in the soil and emerge as adult flies.

If you detect fruit fly, the most effective way to destroy the larvae is by either boiling, burning or placing the fruit in a sealed black plastic bag and leaving it out in the sun for a few days before disposing in the garbage. This will assist by breaking the life cycle of the flies, by reducing the number of larvae entering the soil to pupate.

Chemical controls are also effective. There are a number of chemicals registered for use on fruit fly. They can be purchased from chemical resellers, nurseries and hardware stores. Always read the label and adhere to with holding periods.

If you live west of the Nicholson River and think you may have fruit fly in your backyard, please contact Lavinia Zirnsak, Regional Plant Standards Officer at the DPI Calvert Street office in Bairnsdale on, 5152 0600.

NO SHORT CUTS WITH WRAPPING SILAGE BALES!

"No argument, you must have 4 layers of plastic on individually wrapped round or square bales of silage and those sealed using a continuously in-line wrapper!" says Frank Mickan, Victorian TopFodder Silage coordinator, DPI, Ellinbank. Too often farmers are conned into not putting on the necessary 4 layers in the interest of saving money, or machines are not set up to provide the correct amount of overlapping, or the pre-stretcher is geared wrongly or not serviced regularly enough.

To top it off, even if all the equipment and plastic film side was up to scratch, bale operators who produce cone or concave shaped bales make it impossible to correctly wrap the bale without a lot of extra grief (and expense!). Sometimes badly shaped bales are caused by the rake operator forming very irregular or "lumpy" windrows for the baler.

Research has established that individually wrapped bales must have at least 4 layers of film over the entire bale surface to provide a reasonably air-free environment for the baled silage. These days the film is applied in a 2 + 2 fashion with a 50% overlap, ie, each layer overlaps the one under it by at least 50% and is applied 2 layers at a time. For 1.2 m x 1.2 m bales (4' x 4') this requires about 16 revolutions of the wrapper using 750 mm wide plastic. The film is passed through a pre-stretcher set to stretch the film about 55% before being applied to the bale. Be aware there is now a film available that is already part stretched requiring different gearing for most current pre-stretchers.

HINT: Mark 100 mm on the unstretched roll of plastic before it passes through the pre-stretcher. Once applied to the bale, this length should now be about 150 mm if correctly stretched by 50%.

Recent research has shown varying results as to whether it may be worthwhile applying 6 layers versus the normal 4 layers. Table 1 - Irish research shows the effects on silage quality where 2, 4 or 6 layers of black film were applied.

Table 1. Effect of number of layers of stretchwrap film on silage quality

Source: Teagasc, Grange Research Centre

The area and depth of mould were substantially reduced in this experiment by applying 4 layers of film, and very little to be gained by applying 6 layers. The effect on silage quality, as indicated by the pH, digestibility, lactic acid and ammonia-N figures, showed reduced losses by applying 4 vs 2 layers and not much gain again with the extra 2 layers. However by Australian standards for bales of high quality rye grass/white clover sealed with 4 layers, the amount and depth of mould would appear very high.

If the plastic is applied correctly to tight bales soon after baling and the film is not holed, or repaired immediately if holed, there should be negligible mould growth in Australian conditions. This may not apply to late cut crops or cereal crops both of which may trap large amounts of air due to their stemmy nature, not to mention the possibility of stems puncturing the film

Six layers are definitely a positive where you are confident of carrying a certain number of bales over to the next season as 12 months is usually the longevity of stretchwrap plastic, although many bales do carry over successfully for two years.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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