Sorghum costs less to plant and requires less water to generate productive tonnages. For years, sorghum has been ignored as a dairy forage, because the starch filled berry was nearly impossible to process, limiting the energy available to the cow. To combat this issue a male sterile bmr dwarf variety was developed with no grain head as an opportunity to harvest a nutrient dense, resilient leafy forage.
Researcher Juan Pineiro, Associate Professor & Extension Dairy Specialist at Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Amarillo and his team substituted a portion of corn silage in the TMR with sorghum silage to determine the feasibility of this forage for dairy farms.
The team found an improvement in dry matter intake which resulted in a nearly 8lb increase in milk produced when substituting 25% of the corn silage with headless sorghum silage. To compensate for the decrease in dietary starch, Dr. Pineiro added ground corn into the ration to balance energy.
Additionally, Dr. Pineiro drew our attention to the recent advancements in berry processing for the non-sterile varieties.
“We were able to see 0-1% intact berries remaining with the recently patented processor,” he explained. This unlocks the starch available to the cow and should causes dairymen to consider planting once again.
He cautions hybrid selection, harvest timing and processing are all keys to making this affordable resilient forage to earn a spot in your ration. Sorghum should be given a second look, especially in water limiting – dairy dense regions. Listen-in to this episode for an update in sorghum advancements for your dairy.
Topics of discussion
2:05 Introduction of Dr. Juan Pineiro
2:48 What is male sterile sorghum
4:54 Sugar impact on fermentation profile of sorghum silage
5:50 Harvesting management for dwarf bmr sorghum
7:47 Substituting corn silage with sorghum silage
9:42 Increase of 6.6 lbs in dry matter intake
13:07 Increase of 8lbs of milk by substituting 25% corn silage with sorghum silage.
14:09 Cropping strategies
15:18 Financial and risk considerations on the forage system
16:05 Crop rotation or double crop options
17:36 Hybrid selection matters
19:13 Berry processing technology advancements
21:05 Principals of starch degradability
21:41 Results – shift in population, but same microbial efficiency
23:58 Best berry processing – headlage or whole plant
25:36 Increasing ensiling duration to increase starch digestibility
29:38 Timing of harvest - late soft dough to optimize the total tonnage, starch concentration and reduced leachate
30:41 Next research : 0, 3, 6, 9 month fermentation with 2 varieties of sorghum – yielded 80% starch digestibility
32:21 What’s the custom harvesters charging with this new berry processor
33:17 What do you want ‘boots on the ground’ dairymen to know about your project
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