E4—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, March 5, 1983
Daily
Pipeline |
“•*h'a I 1 2
I 1 '* *****o By I
t ' t jL , Glenn A. Shirk
\ : Mi' Extension
Ml Dairy r
i ( Agent _ M
Fat Test Fluctuations
The 50-cent milk price deduc
tions concern many dairymen. Will
it take place? If so, how will they
be able to make up for some of the
loss?
One way might be to increase fat
tests by three points. With a 17 cent
differential, that would be 51 cents
per hundredweight of milk. This is
a possibility only if fat tests are a
problem in the herd now, and if it
can be raised without sacrificing
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too much production in the
process.
Fat tests are a problem on many
farms - and there probably are
some good reasons for many of
those problems. Let me explore a
few possibilities with you.
I recently attended an Agway
meeting, and saw a good, graphic
illustration of a problem which I
see on many farms. The
illustration is roughly as follows:
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As we approach and exceed the
“generally safe,” upper limits of
grain - the 60% level - we can ex
pect fat tests to become very
erratic for a while, then plummet
to a more constant, abnormally
low level. This, I believe, vividly
shows what is happening on many
farms - why a 3.8% tester one
month suddenly drops to a 2.1% on
the next test aid then recovers to
near normal on the following test -
or why there is a rather wide
discrepancy between DHIA tests
and plant tests, with DHIA tests
being lower.
These big fluctuations can be
very temporary, and we are quick
to find fault with sampling and
testing procedures. If in question,
compare DHIA protein test fluc
tuations with fat test fluctuations.
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Chances are, if the protein test
shows little, if any, fluctuation,
you have a herd problem that is
causing the fat test problem.
Another check on the accuracy of
individual cow tests is to submit a
tank sample, preferably from a
tank that was empty when the
supervisor arrived for the first
sampling. The tank sample should
agree with the average test for the
herd.
Why are more and more herds
experiencing the problem? There
are several possibilities.
1. We’re pushing for production
and greater profit margins. Grain
is relatively cheap, so we’re
feeding more of it.
2. We may not be getting enough
forage into our heavy producing
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heifers and into our large, heavy
producers. Here’s why.
We have been programmed X
assume that all cows eat the san .
amount of forage - at least on
paper for the purpose of balancing
rations and for writing down on
paper a neat, simple feeding
program for the herd. Then, we
feed grain according to milk
production, plus a few extra
pounds for that growing heifer.
The problem is, a lot of the herd is
x not 1300 pounds - herd average.
The smaller heifers may not
have the capacity to consume what
you feed the average sized cow.
The larger cow needs more than
the average cow. Consequently,
their minimum forage needs of 1.5
pounds of hay equivalent per
hundred pounds of body weight,
are not being met. And, because
we’re pumping the grain to them
for production and for growth, our
forage to grain ration is out of
balance - we’ve exceeded 60% of
the DM in the ration coming from
grain! This creates abnormal
conditions in the rumen. Fat
quickly become eratic and e»
ceptionally low - an indication of
poor rumen health - 'and dry
matter (DM) intake drops.
Eventually, production will also
start to decline. Similarly, when
cows go off feed on forage for
whatever reason - hot tem
peratures in summer, bad fer
mentations, poor quality, molds,
stale forages, etc. - we experience
the same problems.
3. We’re feeding higher quality
forage, which is lower in fiber
content
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