Back to articles

Liquid feeding value an opportunity this winter

With a huge range of products offering great value for money, liquid feeds are rapidly becoming the ‘must buy’ option this winter. We talked to KW nutritionist Dr Richard Wynn to find out what liquid feeds have to offer, and how to make sure the right choices are made.

The use of liquid feeds within the dairy industry has been commonplace for many years, improving palatability to help drive intakes, binding feed ingredients together in TMR mixes and supplying valuable energy and protein. Liquid feed prices are also driven by a different set of factors to those that dictate the cost of most energy feeds.

It means that as rising corn and wheat markets have pushed the cost of most energy feeds higher, liquid feeds have become comparatively better and better value.

“Since the start of the year, the cost of energy-feeds has risen 15-25%,” states KW nutritionist Dr Richard Wynn. “But the molasses- and distillery syrup-based liquid feeds are the outstanding exception, with prices just 5-11% higher than last winter.

“Liquid feeds have traditionally been more expensive than cereals in terms of energy supply, but were still included in rations because of the extra value they provided in terms of sugars, increased palatability, reduced sorting and higher intakes. This year, the lower relative price means you can have these benefits without a cost penalty, and in some cases even with a feed cost saving.”

Table 1 compares the energy cost for wheat, barley and sugar beet feed with the best value liquid feeds for energy supply. What’s clear is that there are cost savings to be made, with liquid feeds like rouxminate containing a similar ratio of crude protein-to-energy as wheat, yet 8% better value in terms of energy cost.

Table 1 – Examples of best value liquid feeds for supplying energy

¹ Prices quoted correct at time of going to press, 29t bulk loads delivered on-farm within 50 miles of source, prices will vary with load sizes and distance from source.

² Ex-farm price including haulage and processing cost.

High protein liquid feeds are also giving traditional sources of protein a run for their money. According to Dr Wynn, the best value liquid feeds like wheat distillery syrup, for example, look to be costing between 5-6p/100g crude protein (CP) for the winter (November to April delivery) compared to just over 8p/100g CP for rapemeal (Table 2). That’s a saving of up to 38%!

Table 2 – Examples of best value liquid feeds for supplying crude protein (CP)

 ¹ Prices quoted correct at time of going to press, 29t bulk loads delivered on-farm within 50 miles of source, prices will vary with load sizes and distance from source.

“Care does need to be taken to ensure rations remain balanced, as liquid feeds don’t contain as much rumen-bypass protein as rapemeal or soyabean meal, for example. But if other feed ingredients are adjusted to take into account the different levels of rumen degradable protein, rumen-bypass protein and energy, there are substantial cost savings to be made,” he adds.

Table 3 compares a typical winter ration for cows producing 40 litres/day with one using a bioethanol wheat distillery syrup, and the result is in a cost saving of 17p/cow/day. It’s a saving that could be worth more than £1,000/month for a 200 cow herd.

Table 3 – Example dairy ration using bioethanol wheat distillery syrup (M+40 litres/cow/day)

¹ Rumen-protected soyabean meal.

² Fed as KW Complete 4.

³ Cost saving calculated using average prices correct at time of going to press, 29t bulk loads for Nov-Apr delivery on-farm, within 50 miles of source. Prices will vary with load sizes and distance from source.

“Every dairy producer should be seriously considering using a liquid feed this winter,” continues Dr Wynn. “There’s very little good news on the feed markets at the moment, so the opportunity to include liquid feeds into the ration at a great price compared to most other feeds is definitely something to shout about!

“So even if you don’t already have a liquid feed storage tank, or have a tank that needs upgrading, now’s the time to invest in a new one. And if you can, aim for a capacity that allows you to take full 29t bulk loads to maximise those savings.”

For many, though, one of the biggest challenges comes when trying to decide which liquid feed to choose. Simple cost per unit of energy or protein calculations don’t account for differences in sugar content or palatability, for example.

There’s also the yeast extracts in liquid feeds derived from the brewing and distillery industries that have been shown to stimulate rumen microbial growth and improve fermentation efficiency.

“Before looking at the specific types of liquid feed, it’s important to be clear exactly what you want that feed to do,” Dr Wynn continues. “You also need to take into account the dry matter content, which can be as high as 75% and as low as 24%. Not only does this have a big impact on the ‘true’ cost, but it can also have a substantial influence on the overall dry matter of the ration.

“Just remember, liquid feeds generally have a higher dry matter content than most moist feeds, so don’t be put off by the idea of adding too much ‘liquid’ to the ration.”

The main decision is then whether to focus on supplying additional sugars and simple carbohydrates, providing an alternative or extra source of protein, or increasing palatability.

“Additional sugars are usually required where grass silage sugar content is low, or feeds like soya hulls are being used to supply digestible fibre rather than molassed sugar beet pulp,” states Dr Wynn. “High performance dairy rations typically require a minimum of 7% rapidly available sugars and simple carbohydrates in the diet, so if extra sugars are required, choose one of the 50-65% sugar content liquid feeds like British beet molasses, cane molasses, rouxminate or one of the molasses-based blends.

“The need for additional protein is most likely where large amounts of low protein maize and whole-crop cereal silages are being fed. In some cases, later-cut grass silages may be lower in crude protein too.”

In these situations, choosing a high protein liquid feed should be the priority, as there’s the opportunity already mentioned to reduce overall protein feed costs compared to feeding additional rapemeal, for example. Liquid feed protein levels can be as high as 65%, whilst there are also now specific blends designed to match the protein content of balanced TMRs (around 18% CP on a DM basis) to minimise the need for ration reformulation.

“This year’s silages are also turning out to have quite variable fermentation characteristics, so many rations will benefit from additional palatability to encourage feeding and minimise sorting,” Dr Wynn states. “Although all liquid feeds will generally improve the ‘taste’ of the ration and help to drive intakes, a number are either inherently more ‘tasty’, such as British beet molasses and the various distillery syrups, or like caramol and bananamaster which contain flavour-enhancing additives.

“Finally, there’s regional availability that needs to be taken into account,” he concludes. “Rouxminate, for example, is less likely to be available in Scotland due to higher transport costs from its point of origin in central England, with wheat distillery syrup from the bioethanol plants in the north of England less popular in the south for the same reason.”

Find where to buy

Click on the map to go through to find your local merchant.