Feed Efficiency in focus!
The webinar ‘How to drive more feed efficiency in challenging times’, is the latest episode in the Cainthus ‘An Eye on the Future’ webcast series. Now, with the ever increasing feed prices, dairy farmers look for ways to get the costs down, without compromising on feed intake and milk production. During the live broadcast on May 13, webinar host Aidan Connolly, CEO of Cainthus, asked three dairy experts the main question: what can farmers do in the short and long term to increase efficiency and maximize milk production?
The 5 key takeaways from this webinar are:
Make sure the cows always have access to feed (and water)
Use local by-products or alternatives if available
Don’t go for the cheapest diet. You will pay the price later
Rumen health is key for feed efficiency
Know what you're feeding: test your forages
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PODCAST
Feed efficiency starts with feed availability
Minnesota based dairy producer Garrett Luthens of Skyview Dairy is aware of the high ingredient prices. “But that doesn’t mean we have to tear the whole diet apart and go cheap. For me it is about making small adjustments and finding alternative ingredients with the best digestibility rates. If there are good by-products available in your region, use them”. According to Luthens, increasing feed efficiency is also more than just looking at the forage or silage. “If you want to increase feed efficiency in your dairy cows, you need to look at the cows and make sure they are comfortable and have access to feed at all times. Feed efficiency starts with making sure the feed intake is high. We cannot accomplish that with no feed at the bunk. Luckily, with technology we now have the tools to better monitor the cows and better decide on what is needed and when and do automatic feed push ups for example”.
Use of by-products can be an option
According to Dr. Mary Beth de Ondarza, Nutritional consultant at Paradox Nutrition LLC, it is sometimes not even clear what we mean with feed efficiency in dairy cows. “When is a cow efficient? Maybe we have to sharpen the definition and only talk about the costs per unit of energy and unit of protein that’s going into the cow”. Besides the true definition, De Ondarza agreed with Luthens that going for a cheap ration is not the way to go in times of high feed prices. “You will pay the price down the road”, De Ondarza said. Like Luthens, she rather advises to look for alternatives such as by-products. “But there are also other energy sources such as non-forage fibre sources that could be interesting to mix in the diet”. De Ondarza addressed that, when we talk about improving feed efficiency, it is all about improving rumen health. “Do we feed enough fibrous material for example. It is key to know the particle size of the ration you are feeding. A rumen also likes consistency. So make sure the cow is fed in a consistent way and has more meals per day. It all has an effect on the feed efficiency in the end”.
Treat feed ingredients as gold
“With the current prices of ingredients like corn or soybean meal, it is almost like you're handling gold. The feeders on the farm should also be aware of that”, said Dr. Bill Stone, Director of technical support and field research at animal nutrition company Diamond V. When handling gold, you don’t want to waste anything, that’s for sure. “Feed efficiency can be improved by reducing feed and nutrient losses and making sure we get the most of the rations that cows consume”. This is why Stone recommends to test forages on a weekly basis so you know the nutritional values and can quickly correct the rations when needed. “At Diamond V we also try to further refine our knowledge on what is happening in the rumen regarding carbohydrate and protein breakdowns and fermentation. This information will also help to make more accurate diets and prevent nutrient losses in the cow”. Stone also mentioned that cow comfort is an important component in increasing feed intake and thus milk production. “When you can better control the 24h-cow time budget and make sure the cows lie enough hours per day, it will positively influence feed digestibility and feed efficiency. By using camera technology we can measure the cow time budget even better and use this information to change things or protocols if needed”.
The final word
All speakers agree that increasing feed efficiency is more than adjusting the diet. The feeding regime, feed availability and cow comfort all have major influence in feed intake and efficiency.
Also have a look at the previous expert webinars in the Cainthus ‘Eye on the Future’ webcast series: