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Ruminants
Improvement of basic feed quality for optimized cattle feeding
In modern cattle farming, every detail counts: from the selection of fodder plants to the optimal harvest time and precise ration design. Increasing demands on animal health, efficiency and climate protection pose complex challenges for dairy, growing and fattening farms. At the same time, it is clear that the quality of the forage is decisive for the performance, profitability and environmental balance of a farm.
Targeted strategies – from a balanced ration to improved digestibility of the components used – can not only increase animal performance, but also optimize feed use and ensure profitability in the long term. KWS Seed2FEED provides practice-oriented concepts, scientifically validated recommendations and variety solutions that are directly tailored to the needs of animals and farms.
Challenges
Modern dairy and beef cattle farms are under increasing pressure to align three essential requirements: nutrient-efficient feeding, environmental sustainability and animal health.
Today, every liter of milk and every kilogram of beef produced must be assessed in the context of climate targets. Increasing efficiency in production through improved genetics, nutrition and management offers a good way to reduce emissions per product unit and thus contributes to more climate-resilient agricultural systems.
Our goal is to support farmers in producing top-quality silage and enhancing feed efficiency by integrating our advanced grain varieties—tailored to meet specific nutritional and agronomic needs.
Feeding strategies for maximum efficiency and animal health
Optimized feeding strategies are crucial to achieve peak milk production performance as well as high-quality milk composition. Daily yields of more than 40 kg of milk per cow require rations with a higher energy density, which are specially designed for increased metabolism. Precisely coordinated rations are also key in fattening in order to maximize daily weight gain and significantly improve feed conversion. On many farms, feed costs account for more than 50% of the total production costs – even minor quality losses in basic feed have a measurable effect on milk yield, growth rates, reproduction perfromance and medical expenditure in the livestock.
Increasing energy density through a higher proportion of concentrates is one way to meet the increased demands of the animals.
However, a much more sustainable and animal-healthy strategy is to improve the feed quality and digestibility of the basic ration, especially on farm produced feeds.
- Special corn silage varieties harvested at the optimal harvest date offer an excellent fiber digestibility in combination with a high starch content.
- Beets are characterized by outstanding palatability and high digestibility of organic matter.
- Rye, harvested as green rye or whole-crop silage, provides high protein densities and is well suited for feeding young stock and dairy cattle.
A balanced integration of these components into the basic ration can have a positive impact on animal health as well as on Income Over Feed Costs. In this strategy, concentrates serve exclusively to cover the demand during lactation peaks or to compensate for potential nutrient deficiencies in the basic ration.
KWS Seed2FEED solutions for cattle
The Seed2FEED team focuses on animal needs by developing feeding concepts and providing advice for optimized nutrition, with a special interest on farms homegrown feed.
In addition, the team continuously monitors technological developments and market movements. In terms of corn silage evaluation, KWS is clearly following a quality strategy. At the same time, KWS is actively working on new beet varieties as well as on solutions for efficient and sustainable beet cultivation and beet grazing systems – a concept that is already being successfully implemented in the UK, parts of South America and New Zealand, where farmers benefit from our technical support and experience.
High energy density and superior digestibility are key nutritional parameters that contribute directly to optimal milk composition, consistent weight gain, and stable reproductive performance.
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