Good nutrition will stop the drop

Good nutrition will stop the drop

Production has been well ahead this spring taking peak milk to new heights on many farms. With forecast farmgate milk prices at record highs, looking after a herd’s nutrition can help extend peak production and income and ‘stop the drop’ which occurs each year.

SealesWinslow Science Extension Manager, James Hague, says many seasonal calving herds experience a sharp drop in milk from peak. The rate of drop can be in excess of 4% per week and last for 4-8 weeks.

“This drop slows back to a normal 2.0-2.5% per week but by then the potential for thousands of kilos of milk production in the whole season has been lost. For an average sized herd this could be 25,000 kgsMS which, at an $8.30 payout, would mean more than $200,000 of income that never arrives in the bank.”

He is encouraging farmers to look critically at their milk production curves over the last few seasons and identify where milk is being lost.

“We have been tracking farm production data on more than 200 farms with our Tracker system, and for the majority of these farms it is in the post peak drop that the milk potential is lost. Analysis of this data shows that these farms could have produced 27% more milk (worth $203,000 at an $8.30 payout) if the gap between actual production and target was closed.”

Mr Hague is also cautioning producers to ask themselves how much of the peak milk came from the cows back, where cows have dropped a lot of body condition to support a large amount of the peak.

“A cow that milks hard off her back typically has lower dry matter intakes and will suffer a greater drop post peak than a cow whose dry matter intakes are high. Getting dry matter intakes up is essential and so is good feed conversion efficiency.

“This comes from having a balanced diet of fermentable carbohydrates to match the protein in the grass.”

Starchy and sugary feeds like SealesWinslow's HiStarch are specifically formulated to ensure a measured release of fermentable energy in the rumen and some important by-pass starch. Fermentable energy is required by the rumen bugs to multiply and more effectively digest the total diet, so having an additive effect. Not all feeds do this, especially oily feeds which can reduce fibre digestion in the rumen.

Mr Hague is encouraging producers to look at their past production and their present diets to ‘stop the drop’ this season. SealesWinslow’s field team can help farmers identify the value of this lost milk and investigate profitable solutions. Contact 0800 007766 or email info@sealeswinslow.co.nz for a ration review.

ENDS

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