Nutritive Value of Whole Crop Silage Made From Seven Cereal Cultivars

Seven cultivars of barley, oats and wheat were harvested at the mid-dough stage and stored in polyethylene-covered experimental silos of 700-kg capacity. Four steers weighing about 200 kg were fed each type of silage in order to determine voluntary intake and digestibility of energy and protein. The silages averaged 36.6% dry matter and 12.5% crude protein, with the wheat and barley silages containing significantly more protein than oat silage (P < 0.05). Digestibility of energy averaged 65.4%. The wheat and barley cultivars tended to contain higher digestible energy levels than oat cultivars. Digestibility of crude protein averaged 68.5% with no significant differences. Voluntary intake of dry matter (DMg/Wkg.75) was higher (P < 0.05) in oats than barley or most wheat cultivars. Intake of Glenlea wheat equalled Fraser oats and the unlicenced 1863–4 oat cultivar.