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“Sugar Beet Pulp improves butterfat”, “Feeding over 4kgs of wheat causes acidosis”, “Feeding straw reduces milk yield”

These are some of the many comments that you hear when discussing dairy nutrition, and although these are valid in many situations, these types of comments totally miss out on the potential of modern dairy nutrition. Historically, relying on certain ingredients has always ensured good herd performance with a typically predictable response, but with an ever growing drive for financial efficiency, there is a demand to push the boundaries of dairy nutrition.

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With advancements in the field of genetics, we now have the ability to selectively breed based on animal productivity, efficiency, longevity and even carbon footprint. These developments are encouraging producers to be as selective with their calf milk formula as they are with their breeding, matching the correct amino acid intake and balance to the growth and performance requirements of their calves.

Body Condition Score (BCS) is a subjective measurement of the amount of body fat the cow is carrying. This measurement can be taken at any time, with different scores recommended across the differing lactation stages. B with the minimum being: at calving, during early lactation, at service, during late lactation and at drying off.

In the UK, the scoring system is based on a 1-5 scale; with 1 being emaciated and 5 being obese. The scores increase in increments of 0.25. A majority of cows fall into condition scores between 2-4, with those found to be outside this range making up extreme cases. As BCS is directly related to body weight, each 0.5 BCS equates to approximately 50kg body weight. There is also a significant relationship between back fat thickness (BFT) and total body fat (TBF), as a change of 1mm of BFT is equivalent to 5kg of TBF. Therefore, 10mm of BFT equates to approximately 0.5 unit of BCS.

Negative energy balance during early lactation is a demanding physiological state for the cow at the best of times, and can be made worse through the feeding of butyric silage. The cow’s liver requires optimal condition as the demand for glucose increases from 1kg/d in late gestation to 2.5kg/d 3 weeks post calving. A successful transition determines the success of the subsequent lactation, with energy levels crucial to immune function during the transition period. The feeding of butyric silage, however, can increase the risk of ketosis in cows at all stages of lactation. This is often referred to as type III ketosis, which is the focus of this article.

Cows do not have a Crude Protein (CP) requirement, Varga et al (2007). Yet, for many years CP has been used when formulating diets, and this often continues to be the case. Cow’s have a requirement for Amino Acids (AA), not protein, and the supply of the AA is predominantly produced by the cow herself in Microbial Protein (MicP) in the rumen. Together with Rumen Undegradable Protein (RUP) and Endogenous Protein (EP), this makes up the supply of Metabolisable Protein (MP) to the small intestine. Both MP and the component AAs are then absorbed by the small intestine and used for protein synthesis and meeting the needs of the cow for: maintenance, growth, reproduction and lactation.

Grass is the cheapest feed available on farm and, if managed correctly, it offers significant potential to reduce the cost of production. However, crops can be extremely variable in terms of quality and quantity, so targeted investment into aftercut nutrition is key to realise the potential of the leys.

Traditionally growers often reach for contact acting postemergence herbicides for spring cereals. However, by considering the use of pre-emergence residuals, weed control can often be improved, whilst at the same time reducing the total spent on sprays.

Having a plan to harvest some of your cereal crops for whole-crop cereal silage is a "no brainer" if you need to top-up tight grass silage stocks on dairy and other livestock farms, says silage specialist, Derek Nelson.

Rumination and cudding are essential for efficiency and health. A beautiful example of this is the story of cow named Selz-Pralle Aftershock 3918. Interestingly her owner had not realised quite how special a cow she was.

It was only whilst looking through the production data of his 450-cow herd at the start of August did he realise that she was still producing 100kgs daily, eleven months after her 4th calving. Aftershock 3918 ended her 4th lactation with a record of 35,457kg, at 4% fat 3.1% protein. Her lifetime production after 1537 milking days is 100,870 kg, an average of 66kg per day. She is a cow that simply goes about her business; never sick, always back in calf quickly and never requiring special attention. Where she stands out from the herd (apart from her continuously high production levels), is her cudding rates. The herd’s cudding rates are routinely monitored and average around 8 hours per day. Aftershock 3918 was found to chew her cud for an average of 10 hours a day. For me this highlights the importance of cudding and how it influences cow performance. Recent studies by Kaufman et al. (2017) support my view, while others have found no relationship between milk yield and rumination time. However, I am sure that there are a number of factors that determine the extent of rumination time and cudding activity which are related to environment and diet.

Cudding indicates several positive signs of cow health, namely: adequate effective fibre fraction within the diet, correct rumen pH and the absence of acidosis. At herd level, 75-80% of cows that are lying down should be cudding at any one time. Where fewer cows are cudding, it is important to identify the underlying cause. In many cases this will more likely be sub-acute acidosis (SARA). Symptoms of SARA can include: hyper ventilation (rapid breathing), lameness, cows puddling on their feet, scouring, dirty backs (caused by tail swishing), low butterfat and rough coats.

Cud counting can also be a useful tool for assessing the adequacy of effective fibre within a cow’s diet. A cow should chew each cud around 65-75 times. For anything lower than 60, rumen function can be improved through increasing effective fibre levels within the diet. A combination of cudding to stimulate saliva production and correct dietary fibre levels will help lead to the production of 2-2.5kg of essential rumen buffer. This helps to maintain an optimal rumen pH of 6.2-6.8, where microbes are at their most effective and efficient.

With the latest developments in cow monitoring activity. Real time monitoring of rumination and cudding activity is available to all producers and provides an excellent way to monitor health and performance of the diet fed.

In summary, higher cudding rates improve both a cow’s health and performance, and can be achieved through close attention to diet formulations and careful management. The integration of the latest technology in dairy systems can help with this through the monitoring of hourly cudding rates and the flagging up of any issues warranting action.

Martin Hope
Dairy Specialist
You can contact Martin, or find your local Dairy Specialist, by clicking here.