Listen to your cows to improve milk yields Chasing improved milk yields has always been the dairy farmer’s main goal, especially when profit margins come under constant pressure from rising input costs and falling milk prices. Genetics, fertility, and herd health are all key to achieving higher yields, but so too is nutrition. In fact most farmers, vets and nutritionists would agree that unless nutrition is successfully taken care of, none of the remaining key performance indicators will fall into place and yields will fail to improve.

Where opinions differ is how to provide the best diet for the dairy herd – what products to feed and in what quantities. For Philip Everton and Barry Kedward, herd managers at Home Farm on the Burwarton Estate near Bridgnorth in Shropshire, the key is simple: pay regular attention to what your cows are telling you and adjust the ration accordingly.

Philip and Barry, along with cowman John Tranter, manage the farm’s 200 Holsteins which are currently being moved away from block calving to an all year round pattern. Over the past 12 months, several other changes have also been instigated by the team at Burwarton.

“The cows are obviously housed day and night during the winter months,” Philip explains. “However, at the beginning of 2008 we decided to keep the cows in at night for as long as possible during the rest of the year. This gives us greater control of what each animal is eating as well as letting us keep a closer eye on behaviour patterns and overall herd health.”

All freshly calved cows remain inside during the day and night until they are back in calf. Again, this is to ensure that each individual animal receives a nutritionally balanced diet. “It is asking too much of a freshly calved cow to produce a high yield of milk, put on weight and conceive again in a short space of time if she is being fed on grass alone,” Philip remarks. “For that reason, we keep the cows housed and spend as much time with them as possible to make sure that they are eating well and that their diet is delivering a good balance of energy and protein.”

The cows at Home Farm receive a winter ration that consists of five main elements: grass and maize silage, a pre-mixed blend from Wynnstay Feeds, parlour fed dairy nuts, various minerals and a liquid supplement that provides additional sugars and protein to the diet. The ration is designed to provide an M+25 TMR, with the dairy nuts fed to yield over this level.

Home Farm, Burwarton Estate: winter ration

The ration was formulated in conjunction with ruminant feed specialist Darran Ward of Wynnstay Feeds who works closely with Philip and John to ensure that the cows are performing well. “Philip and I talk to each other at least once a week to keep each other up to date. Our main focus this year has been to settle the cows onto a winter ration as quickly as possible following last year’s late maize harvest,” Darran explains.

The basic ration was formulated using Wynnstay’s feed programme, but Philip has a free rein to fine tune it according to what the cows are telling him. If they aren’t yielding enough milk or if their manure is too loose, the team discusses what needs to be done and makes minor adjustments until things improve. Silage quality is also analysed by Wynnstay on a monthly basis throughout the winter to allow the diet to be adjusted according to variances in quality throughout the clamp.

Any changes to the diet are made in a gradual and staged process. “We were late getting the cows onto their winter ration and yields and fertility were starting to suffer. We were also struggling to find the right balance between protein and energy intakes. That was when we decided to add the liquid feed to the diet,” Philip explains.

“The small amount of molasses in the pre-mixed blend acts mainly as a dust inhibitor and to hold the feed together,” Darran adds. “We added the Hipro 50, which is a molasses based liquid, at the end of November in an attempt to introduce a cost effective source of additional protein into the diet and to increase sugar intake.”

Since introducing the liquid supplement, daily milk yields have shot up from 3800 litres/day to over 4200 litres – a yield response of almost 3 litres per cow per day. “It has been like adding the final piece to the jigsaw,” Philip de clares. “At first we couldn’t quite believe it. We even went back through our records to make sure that we had got our calculations right.”

Darran explains the logic behind why the liquid feed is having such a significant benefit. “Hipro-50 provides a top up of molasses and urea to increase the amount of sugar and protein in the diet. Normally, the urea would be broken down almost instantly inside the rumen, but because it is bonded to phosphate it has a similar degradation time as soya.

“Because it is a liquid, the Hipro-50 doesn’t fill the cow up as much as soya beans would, so you can get more nutrients into each animal. After all, the more you can put into a diet, the more you’ll get out,” Darran adds.

The addition of the liquid feed also means that all the cows receive an equal ration irrespective of whether they are first or last to the feed barrier. “The liquid feed coats the entire ration so diet presentation is better and each animal receives a more uniform share,” Darran continues. “This can have real health benefits. In particular, it reduces the risk of sub-acute acidosis which can be caused by an imbalance in the diet. This can have a major impact not only on milk quality, but also on milk price.”

The liquid feed costs approximately £30 per day for the whole herd, but this expense, and more, has been recovered by the increase in milk yield. It is also proven to be cost effective as it has allowed Philip to reduce cake in the parlour by 1kg/cow/day. The farm’s exposure to rising soya prices has also been mitigated. “The spot market for soya has rocketed recently due to the weakening of the Pound against the Euro, and due to drought conditions in Argentina which have impacted on soya yields,” explains Darran.

The compositional quality of the milk produced at Home Farm has also improved as a result of introducing the liquid supplement, with milk protein levels increasing from 3.15% to 3.25%.

Now that the herd’s nutrition is on track, Philip and John have more free time to turn their attention to other aspect of herd management. “Our calving index is now moving in the right direction”, John explains, “but we have decided to move away from Holsteins. We no longer feel that the breed offers the kind of cow longevity that we are looking for.”

Consequently, the Burwarton herd is now using Brown Swiss, Swedish Red and Montbeliard genetics. “We have decided to take a step back from the traditional Holstein in favour of producing a sturdier cow that is easier to get into calf. Milk yields will probably fall a little, but we should end up with a healthier herd that is more profitable in the long-term. The first batch of calves are due over the next few months, so we are eager to find out how they develop,” John concludes.

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