Crimping cereals to finish cattle at H and K Farms Dumfries

With many growers having sown more spring cereals following last year’s poor harvest and some slow ripening of this year’s crops, the worry is that the 2024 harvest could be just as bad.

Barley at the crimping stage

With this in mind, growers are being urged to consider crimping some of their grain, which not only brings harvest forward by around three weeks but also produces a high-quality concentrate feed which can be fed to livestock or traded from farm to farm.

Michael Carpenter, from feed preservation specialist Kelvin Cave Ltd, says: “As well as being earlier, harvest is also less weather-dependent which can help speed things up, widen the window for autumn cultivations and help bring arable rotations back on track.”

Barley for crimping is harvested before it's completely ripe

Growers who have caught on to the idea – whether for cereals, pulses or grain maize – also find that livestock perform exceptionally well on crimp, with improved rumen health and digestion, together with increased palatability and intakes, helping to achieve higher productivity and profitability.

Higher cereal yields per hectare are a further bonus, along with improved nutritional value.

“We’ve seen yields per hectare of up to 50% fresh weight more than dry grain, or as much as 15-30% on a dry matter basis,” explains Michael.

Michael Carpenter of Kelvin Cave Ltd

“Some of the extra yield obviously comes from the additional moisture but the DM is higher because it’s harvested before disease and senescence set in, and at a time when shedding and bird damage are less.

“The nutritional value of the crop is higher because it’s less lignified at this earlier stage of growth, meaning the fibre is more digestible and the protein more available,” he adds.

Crimping process

The crimping process itself – which involves rolling the grain and applying a preservative – allows cereals to be preserved in a simple clamp or plastic tube.

Carried out on the day of harvest at 25-45% moisture, it uses either the farm’s own equipment or the services of a contractor.

“Even crops which have ripened unevenly can be preserved in this way,” says Michael.

It’s important to use a proven preservative to achieve a high-quality end result, and the salts-based preservative, CrimpSafe 300, is recommended by the company.

“This product contains human food-grade preservatives which control the lactic acid fermentation of the grain and give maximum protection against spoilage organisms, even after the clamp or tube are opened for feedout,” he says.

Scottish producer

Farm manager James Marshall, who runs over 3000 acres (1200ha) for H and K Farms in Dumfries and Galloway, has been crimping a variety of cereal crops, as well as whole cropping beans, for the last two years.

He says the practice gives flexibility, helps spread the farm’s risk, and has both livestock performance and agronomic benefits.

He also values the extra dry matter yield which he estimates to be at least 15%, the absence of dust when handling, and a large saving in costs since no grain drying is needed.

Around 400 cattle are finished through the farm every year, and as he grows more than he needs for the farm’s own use he is able to sell surplus crimp to local livestock producers.

He says: “It’s a great feed for cattle as there’s less risk of acidosis than dried, rolled grain, and dry matter intakes and growth rates are higher.”

Citing a neighbouring cattle farmer, he says he collects the ensiled, crimped cereals from the clamp on a weekly basis, and feeds it from a heap in his yard.

However, buyers could equally purchase the grain from the farm at the time of harvest and then crimp, preserve and clamp it themselves.

Also trading wholecrop beans to local producers, the two feeds are complementary, together producing high protein and starch, and providing ‘a good basis for a finishing ration or a milking diet.

However, as well as the livestock benefits, James says that crimping brings forward the farm’s rotation, allowing a winter crop to be grown for the farm’s 1200 ewes or wintering sheep.

“We put forage brassicas into most of the winter cereal fields, so the earlier we can get the cereal off, the quicker we get in the brassicas and the bigger the crop – every day counts in late July and early August,” he says.

Concluding that he intends to crimp more grain, including spring triticale, he is one of many who have been converted to the process once they take the plunge.

Cornish dairy and arable producer

Another is Cornish dairy and arable producer Tim Wood, who says crimp’s greatest benefit is its extra yield.

He says: “The thing I like most of all about crimping is getting more from less, as where we’d harvest three tonnes per acre of dry corn, we’d get four tonnes per acre when it’s harvested earlier for crimping.

“There’s obviously more moisture making up some of that weight, but there is also more crop, and at that stage of growth it also has a higher nutritional value.”

This better nutrition is borne out by livestock performance and rumen health, which are all improved through feeding crimped instead of dry, rolled grain.

Michael concurs but says that for this year in particular, getting rotations back on track will be a priority for many.

“So, if you have no need for the crimp on your own farm, why not approach a neighbouring livestock farmer and offer it for sale? “It’s an easy question to ask and a win-win situation. You could be doing them a favour and the worst they can say is no!”

Crimping high moisture cereals

A range of modern preservatives allows cereals to be crimped at moisture contents of 25%-45%

The process is simple – crimp, ensile, feed

Harvest is around three weeks earlier and less weather-dependent

DM yield per hectare is 15-30% higher than dry grain

Nutrient value and digestibility are maximised

No drying or indoor, specialist storage is required

Allows early establishment of follow-on crops

Can be traded from farm to farm either before or after crimping

Improves rumen health and animal performance over dry-rolled cereals

Pioneered in Scandinavia and backed by over 40 years of independent international research