Whole crop wheat (WCW) is a relatively new crop as a feed for dairy cows, and little information is available on its dry matter yield and nutritive value relative to stage of growth at harvest. Also, the role of urea (which hydrolyses to ammonia in the crop) addition in reducing fermentation and aerobic spoilage losses has not been investigated.

The aim of this experiment was to examine three stages of growth at harvest for WCW, with and without urea.

An area of winter wheat (cv Fortress) was cut (5 cm above ground) at three growth stages (GS 49, 71 and 87). The resultant forages were chopped through a precision-chop harvester and stored in air-tight barrels of 0.225 m3 capacity. Urea was added at 0 and 40 g/kgDM at each stage of growth and there were three replicates of each treatment. Thermocouples placed centrally were used to monitor temperature changes. The mini silos held approximately 100 kg of forages and they were opened after 90 days. Vertical cores were taken as samples and the mini silos were left open for a further 18 days to assess aerobic deterioration.