How Will You Feed Your Herd In 2008

Dairy Pipeline: April 2008

Bob James, Extension Dairy Scientist, Dairy Nutrition
(540) 231-4770; jamesre@vt.edu

Who would have expected the conditions we’ve seen in 2007 and 2008? Milk prices exceeded $25/cwt. Corn and soybean prices reached record or near record highs and we experienced a drought which lead to depressed forage yields and reduced forage quality. The next 12 months should be interesting! These conditions provide a strong stimulus for us to seriously examine the economics of our feeding program. Regardless of the economic conditions it’s important to remember that the goal is to produce milk at the greatest economic return per cwt of milk produced. This means that we must look at both costs and returns. As an example, when corn prices exceeded $5.00/bushel and soybean meal $350/ton, it was tempting to feed less. However, this was not a good decision when milk prices exceeded $25/cwt. As we face new challenges for 2008 consider the following factors in guiding your long and short term planning decisions.

Long Term:

► Forage quality is especially important.
Strongly consider forage varieties yielding more digestible nutrients. The BMR varieties of corn and other forages used for silage have been developed with higher whole plant digestibility. This results in improved intake, less grain (corn) feeding and potentially healthier cows producing milk with higher components. What about reduced tonnage and crop knock down? Research has yielded new varieties that address these problems quite well. One can expect similar yields and standability characteristics of conventional varieties.

► Grouping cows. When BST was more widely used there was less incentive to group cows because we could reduce the drop in production experienced by cows in late lactation. One group TMR herds were also easier to feed and manage. However, with higher feed costs and more variation in daily milk yield there’s more incentive to group cows. Premium ingredients can be utilized in rations for fresh and or high production groups where an economic return from more milk, higher components or improved health justifies their expense. Suggested minimum groups are:

• Fresh cows – First 2 -3 weeks of lactation.
• High production.
• Low production/late lactation cows.

►Environment. What are conditions like where the cows eat? Consider the following:

• Is there protection from sun, wind, rain?
• Will added ventilation or cow cooling improve intake and cow comfort?
• Does the bunk surface encourage intake or should it be resurfaced?

Short Term:

► Forage test routinely. Monthly testing of corn silage is advised, with more frequent testing as herd size or expected variation in the forage quality increases. Use wet chemistry for initial samples and less expensive NIR testing when less variation is expected. Starch levels should be measured in all corn silage samples.

►Group cows.

Does this sound like a broken record?

► Make wise purchasing decisions.

• Become informed about market trends. Subscribe to information services which provide timely, brief reports on market trends. This information will also help you negotiate in an informed manner with your feed supplier. Most milk marketing cooperatives provide such information to their members. Read it!
• Develop relationships with several feed suppliers. Their long term goal is for your continued profit (and theirs)! A little competition is good for everyone. However loyalty to good service and reasonable pricing will encourage the supplier to stick with you when times are tough economically. A good supplier will relay market trends to you in a timely fashion and help you manage feed costs. Don’t switch suppliers at the slightest burp in feed prices on one supplier over another.
• Evaluate the relevance of ingredients. What is the cost of each ingredient? What does it provide to the ration? What are the benefits of continued inclusion in the ration and the risks of economic losses if it’s removed from the ration? What are the limitations to higher, economical production for the herd? If somatic cell count exceeds 350,000 or days in milk exceed 225 for the group it’s unlikely that some premium priced ingredients will elicit an economical return. Ingredients with marginal returns for mid to late lactation cows and in lower producing herds include: amino acid supplements, probiotics and fat supplements.

► Control shrink. Losses for forages and some commodities can exceed 25% of the delivered quantity.

• Manage the silo face by using a facer or shaving the face from the side with the unloader.
• Control weeds around silo bags by spraying with herbicides or using electric fencing to discourage animal damage to bags.
• Use gravity flow bins for high priced ingredients that are not used rapidly.
• Train feeders to minimize dropping excessive amounts of forages or commodities while loading mix wagons.

► Consider the purchase of feed management software. These technologies enable managers to monitor loading and feeding accuracy as well as shrink. Once deliveries of commodities or grain mixes are entered into the inventory, the system will deduct amounts utilized as cows are fed thereby enabling a comparison of what the cows receive to what was delivered. They also provide a convenient way to track dry matter intake of groups of cows within the herd and relay it to the nutritionist.

Ultimately it’s important to remember the three rations that exist on the farm.

1. The ration that has been formulated and delivered to the feeder. Were the appropriate ingredients selected? Did you provide good information to the nutritionist?
   
   
2. The ration that was delivered to the cows. Are loading and mixing instructions clear for the feeder? Did he/she mix the ration as instructed and deliver appropriate amounts to the group?
   
   
3. The ration that the cow consumed. Was there sorting? How does the dry matter intake compare to that specified from the nutritionist? Did you communicate this information back to the nutritionist? Strive to make sure that they are all the same.

When facing the challenges of high feed prices, don’t make rash decisions, instead evaluate some of these key factors involved in successful feeding management.

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