Partially substituting maize with soya bean hulls may lower dairy cattle feeding costs while increasing income generated from milk solids. Anesmé van der Vyver, a master’s student at Stellenbosch University, spoke to Glenneis Kriel about her research findings.
As a typical concentrate for grazing dairy cows consists of up to 80% maize grain, the partial substitution of maize with highly digestible by-products is one way of buffering the impact of maize price fluctuations and spikes.
Previous research at the Outeniqua Research Farm indicated that the partial replacement of maize grain with bran, hominy chop and Tongaat Hulett’s Gluten 20 did not have a negative impact on milk yields and actually increased milk fat percentages. Researcher Anesmé van der Vyver therefore decided to evaluate the impact of using soya bean hulls, a by-product of the bean extraction process, as a partial replacement. Her research was conducted in partial fulfilment of her master’s degree in Animal Sciences at Stellenbosch University, under supervision of professors Robin Meeske of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture and Chrisjan Cruywagen of Stellenbosch University.
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