Testimonials
Year-round maize silage feeding benefits cows
Brian, who milks 800 cows on 380 ha in the Waikato, runs the family farm originally established by his paternal grandparents. Brian’s parents Phil and Jackie bought the farm from Phil’s mother and set about expanding it bit by bit.
Today, the property is divided into a 220 ha milking platform, and two 80 ha support blocks in nearby Huntly and Ohinewai. The support blocks are used to grow the bulk of their 70 ha maize silage crop, as well as feed their replacement heifers and grow beef to finish.
Brian says his family has grown maize on farm for around 35 years.
“Dad’s motto was keep the cows fed,” he says. “Feed the stock was drummed into me and growing maize on farm was the cheapest and most efficient way to achieve that”.
Of the 70 ha of maize the Rogers’ grow annually, 30 ha is VP611 – an imposing, productive VPMAXX® hybrid with seasonlong eye appeal. It is a hybrid with very good standability and drought tolerance, reaching full maturity for silage in 144- 160 days.
Brian says the addition of VPMAXX® to the maize crop was quite by chance, around six seasons ago.
“A young sales representative just turned up one day, and he was at the right place at the right time,” Brian says. “We started off growing about 5 ha of VPMAXX® , and we’ve added to the area here and there”.
Unlike most farmers, Brian doesn’t weigh his maize yield; instead, he uses another gauge for success.
“I have three big silage bunkers and if we can fill them all, I consider it a successful maize harvest,” he says. “However, I have been told we have one of the better yielding crops in the area”.
The Rogers’ feed out maize silage to the cows 365 days per year, on a covered feed pad. How much the cows are fed depends on the time of year, and pasture quality.
“In winter we feed more maize silage per cow, depending on how the grass is growing,” Brian says. “The main driver of milk production is grass, but in saying that, maize makes up the bulk of their diet”.
Brian says feeding maize silage ensures cows are in better condition – which translates to better production, and better fertility.
The Rogers’ VPMAXX® Account Manager is Alan MacDougall, who Brian says has been “fantastic”.
“He pops in at just the right time, and he hasn’t failed me yet,” he says. “He guided us to the use the hybrid we have used, and it has outperformed everything”.
“Alan, like all the VPMAXX® reps we have encountered, provides great service and a great product, and you can’t ask for much more than that”.