The use of maize for livestock feeding in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The area of grain maize grown in Britain is insignificant at about 1 000 ha and, in fact, has declined slightly over recent years; there is unlikely to be much of an increase in this area in the foreseeable future. Conversely, the area grown for silage has increased by 700% since 1971 and is now around 27 000 ha. The area suitable for growing maize silage includes the south and east of England, much of the midlands and sheltered sites in Wales and the south west. Two thirds of the maize area is in the south east and east of England. The yield of energy per ha is 107% higher than for barley grain and there are approximately 1 million ha of barley in the south east and south west of England that could potentially be replaced by maize silage. The average yield in Britain is about 10 t dry matter (DM) per ha (at a DM content of 24%). The average farm area grown for maize silage is about 10 ha. A high proportion of the crop is harvested by contractors and the most popular varieties are LGll, Dekalb 202 and Caldera 535. Most of the maize silage produced so far has been given to dairy cows, although the recent trend is for more to be given to beef cattle. Because of the small farm areas of maize, in many cases the maize silage has been fed in combination with other feeds. Even in mixed rations maize silage has significantly reduced the cost of feed per kg of gain compared with more traditional feeds. Maize silage can be fitted into a whole range of beef systems in Britain. Much of the beef in Britain is produced from grass/cereal systems with cattle slaughtered between 18 months and 2 years of age, and the average concentrate requirement over the animal's life is about 0.9 tonnes, much of which is in the form of barley which could be replaced by maize silage. Maize silage could be given in the winter in combination with grass silage or hay. Development work is required in this field to consider the implications of reducing the requirement for grass conservation on the overall grazing management system for beef cattle. The most exciting prospects are, however, where maize silage is used as the main feed for indoor systems of beef production. The two most likely applications in Britain are a feedlot system starting with the reared dairy-bred calf (i.e. a replacement for barley beef) and the winter finishing of suckled calves and stores (i.e. a replacement for traditional feeding based on hay, straw and concentrates).