Nghe An farmers' creative way to protect cattle from the cold

(Baonghean.vn) - Mr. Son has a total herd of 37,793 buffaloes and cows. To protect their "industry" this winter, in addition to traditional methods such as reinforcing and covering barns and proactively stocking food sources, farmers also have a new way of doing things.

In October 2016, Anh Son District Agricultural Extension Station trained on the model of fermenting animal feed in two communes, Cam Son and Hung Son, with more than 100 households participating. Up to now, after nearly 4 months of implementation, the model has really brought about effectiveness, especially in the cold season.

Mr. Cao Xuan The, Hoi Lam village, Cam Son commune said: His family raises 15 buffaloes and cows. In previous years, they often used straw, corn stalks, and sugarcane tops to feed the buffaloes and cows. However, with this conventional method, the above foods will not last long and are less nutritious.

This year, he applied the method of fermenting food and found it to be very effective. With this method, he can store food for buffalo and cows for a long period of time, from 3 to 5 months, helping his family reduce the labor of grazing and solve the problem of food shortage during cold and rainy days.

With the ratio of 100 kg of grass or colored stems mixed with 5 kg of corn bran or rice, 0.5 kg of salt, 1 kg of molasses, then sealed in a tank. After about 1 week, buffaloes and cows can eat it.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, village 2, Cam Son commune, shared: The silage method creates a food source with high nutritional content, his family's cows gain weight 30% faster than normal farming, while the cost is cheap, each silage only costs about 80,000 - 100,000 VND.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Phung - Officer of Anh Son District Agricultural Extension Station said: In addition to utilizing agricultural by-products to contribute to cleaning the environment, raising cattle and buffaloes using the silage method also has other advantages such as: storing food for a long time; fermented silage will help livestock digest well, stimulate cattle and buffaloes to eat more, grow quickly, and increase resistance.

After fermentation, the food will have a yellow color and a slightly sour aroma, making it very attractive to cattle.

Accordingly, to implement this method, people need to prepare materials such as grass, straw, corn stalks, cassava... put into a chopper, about 5 - 7 cm, dry for 1 day and then ferment, with a ratio of 100 kg of grass or colored stalks mixed with 5 kg of corn bran or rice, 0.5 kg of salt, 1 kg of molasses. After 1 week of fermenting, it can be fed to buffaloes and cows; preserve for 6 months. Every day, an adult buffalo or cow uses 10 - 15 kg of silage combined with grass, or 15 - 20 kg/day if completely confined.

Cattle fed fermented food using the silage method will digest well, grow quickly, and increase resistance to disease in cold weather.

To encourage people to raise livestock in the direction of goods, Anh Son district has a mechanism to support 50% of the cost of buying cutting machines and fermenting feed for households raising 5 buffaloes and cows or more. Currently, not only people in Hung Son, Cam Son but also in other communes such as: Tuong Son, Tao Son, Thach Son ... hundreds of households are also actively applying this silage method. The effectiveness of the model has been contributing to the policy of developing livestock farming in the whole district.

Huyen Trang