A2B-Lancast«r Fanning, Saturday, February 7,1987
A 4 3’ Equals A 4 10’ For The Ideal
BY JOYCE BUPP
York Co. Correspondent
YORK - While some athletes
strive for a perfect score of 10, and
school students favor earning
perfect 100 s, Penn State’s Jud
Heinrichs leans toward a score of 3
as ideal.
Or, at least Heinrichs sees “3s”
as near perfection when evaluating
cows for body conditioning, or the
“fat cow syndrome.”
The dairy specialist outlined his
scale for “body conditioning
scoring” during the second in a
series of Extension nutrition
schools being hosted in Berks,
Lancaster and York counties. Dry
cow management was the focus of
the second session, featuring
Heinrichs and a panel of local
dairymen at each location.
Body conditioning scoring allows
dairymen to evaluate their cattle
on a scale of 1 to 5, to determine if
animals are carrying adequate,
too much or too little flesh to
maintain production and fetus
development. Only two areas of the
cow’s body, prone to visible fat
layering, are considered: the
tailhead, or area covering the
pelvis from the pinbones to the
peak of the tailhead, and the loin,
or “short ribs” section, where the
horizontal projections from the
lumbar vertebrae form a ledge
shelf effect over the eye muscle.
“It’s easy to walk down a row of
cows and quickly look at these
areas for body conditioning,”
Heinrichs advises. He urges
dairymen to make frequent
checks, of both dry and milking
cows, using this scale to pinpoint
underfed and overfed individuals.
A score of 1 indicates severe un
derconditioning; a score of 5
means an overconditioned, obese
cow.
A cow scoring 1 on the scale is
“very sick or very malnourished
for whatever reason,’ ’ according to
the dairy specialist. The “skin and
bones effect” leaves the chine, loin
and rump region sharp and
prominent. Individual short ribs
have limited flesh covering and
can be easily felt through the hide.
The area below the tailhead and
between the pinbones is severely
depressed, forming a cavity, and
causing the area to appear ex
tremely sharp.
Cows given a 2 score carry some
flesh over the short ribs but are
still thin enough that the ribs can
almost be visibly counted, with a
definite ledge and shelf formation.
A caved-in effect is evident bet
ween the tailhead and pins.
“A cow ranked 2 should cause
you concern about her protein and
energy intake. She may not be
eatmg, she may have breeding
problems, and she is probably
going to be too thin at dry off,” says
Heinrichs.
The ideal 3 cow will have a bit of
shelf-effect sharpness at the short
ribs, but the individual bones can’t
be counted or sharply felt when
touched. Tailhead should be
smooth, but with no rounded
patches of fat evident.
Cows at the 4 level of the scale
are carrying too much flesh and
show no shelf effect over the short
ribs area. Herds with a great many
over-fleshed animals may have
ration balancing problems and are
likely low in milk production.
At the upper end of the scale, or
5, are individuals Heinrichs likens
to "Charolais headed for the
butcher.” Fat patches simply bury
the tailhead prominence and the
animal’s bone structure cannot be
felt under the heavy layer of fatty
covering.
All herds will have some in
dividuals in the 2 and 4 range of the
scale. However, if more than a few
4s are found in late lactation cows,
and fresh cows score as 2s, it
should trigger concern about the
feeding program. To better track a
herd’s body conditioning problem
individuals. Heinrichs suggests
that dairymen keep a record of
body scoring on a monthly basis.
Dry Cow Feeding
Dry cow rations can heavily
influence problems of too thin or
too fat cows. A simple rule of
thumb, says Heinrichs, is to aim
for a ration made up of half corn
silage and half orchard or mixed
hay grass. A problem unique to the
southeastern part of Pennsylvania
is that alfalfa hays are often too
high in protein balancing dry cow
diets.
And, while overfeeding grain to
dry cows can quickly lead to
overfed, obese cows at freshening,
total withholding of grain can lead
to a later loss in production.
Small quantities of grain help
maintain the delicate balance of
microflora that must be present in
a cow s rumen in order for it to
properly handle feedstuffs and
maintain the necessary acidic
level for absorption of vital
minerals. Total withholding of
grain eliminates that desirable
bacteria. At freshening, when
grains are suddenly re-introduced
to a cow’s diet, often at high levels,
the digestive system simply cannot
utilize the feed without adequate
microflora levels.
Recommended dry cow grain
feeding level is .5 percent of the
cow’s body weight, or three to five
pounds grain for a cow weighing
1,200 to 1,500 pounds. At
freshening, grain should be
boosted to 1 percent of body
weight, and then increased about
one pound per day to a maximum
of 2 percent body weight by two
weeks after fresh date.
For top producing individuals,
grain intake can go to 2.5 percent
body weight, with maximums of 30
pounds of grain for a 1,200 pound
cow, 32.5 for a 1,300 pound cow, and
37.5 pounds grain for a cow
weighing 1,500 pounds.
An exception is for heifers still
maintaining body growth while
malking their first lactation, and
which may need higher grain
poundages to meet those growth
plus production demands on their
systems.
Because cows lose .a large
volume of weight at calving, plus
the additional drain milk
production puts on their body
systems, feed balancing at this
stressful time is critical.
A cow freshening without proper
feeding in the late dry period will
probably never reach her proper
milk production levels. An overfed
cow may experience calving
difficulties, and be more prone to
metabolic disorders related to the
dry period care and calving, in
cluding udder edema, milk fever,
York Dairymen Discuss Dry Cow Management
BY JOYCE BUPP
York County Correspondent
YORK A panel of four York
and Adams county dairymen
compared their dry cow
management programs during the
Jan. 27 second session of the Ex
tension school on nutrition, hosted
at the 4-H Center.
Included in the panel were Jed
Beshore, New Cumberland, Allan
Zepp, New Oxford, Peter
Glen Rock, and Doug Cope,
Dillsburg.
Beshore called dry cow
management the “weakest link” in
his dairying program. Due to a
lack of facilities for separating dry
animals from the 50-head milking
herd, Beshore said he gives them
no special attention until they
freshen.
Instead, Beshore compensates
by making sure late lactation cows
get adequate gram to maintain
body weight through the dry
period. Free choice access to
poorer quality hay and 10 to 15
pounds corn silage per day, fed at
Nutrition School, Day 2
Jud
ketosis, fatty liver syndrome and
displaced abomasums.
Again, Heinrichs suggested an
ideal, the division of aherdinto five
separate groupings. This would
allow the milking herd to be
divided into recently fresh, early
to-mid lactation, and late lactation
groupings, while dry cows would
also be separated, splitting those
within a month of calving into a
separate feeding group.
Forages
While pasturing cattle is not an
immediate January concern of
Pennsylvania dairymen, Heinrichs
also touched on the value of
grazing cattle.
Both growth rates of heifers and
milk production of mature cattle
can be heavily influenced by
quality of fresh pasture forages. In
a past study on growth rates of
heifers on pastures, researchers
found young stock which grew
taller during summer solely on
pasture feeding, but actually lost
weight from the beginning of the
pasture season to the end.
The addition of legumes to grass
only plantings can greatly boost
feed value and recovery after
grazing of pasturing areas. A 16 to
18 percent protein level is not out of
reach with a well-managed and
fertilized stand of quality mixed
pasture forage.
Strip grazing, or turning animals
into separate stands every day or
two, exposes them to fresh, highly
palatable, grass more frequently,
and helps to better maintain milk
production and body growth.
Again, splitting a milking herd can
better utilize pasture forage, if
high milkers are given first chance
at fresh pasture, with late lactation
cows following in rotation of
grazing area.
Forage preservatives have seen
increasing popularity in recent
years to hold quality of stored
feeds and boost nutrient levels.
Some are worthwhile, according to
Heinrichs, and others have proved
night, round out the dry cow’s
ration.
“It may not be the optimal for
maximum return, but if it’s suc
cessful with the least cost in
equipment and facilities, we’re
better off; the less debt load, the
better,” figures the New Cum
berland dairyman, whose herd
averages over 22,000.
The 125-head m Allan Zepp’s
freestall facility are divided into
two groups on a total mixed ration
with a computer supplement
feeder. At dryoff, cows are treated
and immediately turned into the
dry pens with bred heifers, sharing
the same basic half hay and half
corn silage ration.
Selenium is given three weeks
prior to due date and at two weeks
cows are started on a 12 to 13
percent protein gram mix. After
freshening, they go into the high
production TMR grouping, and
onto computer feeding after two
weeks.
“I’m doing what tht-y say I’m
supposed to." say- Zcpp, with a
Cow Body
less valuable. Most fell into one of
four categories, as mold inhibitors,
enzymes or anti-oxidants, nutrient
and buffer materials, and
inoculants.
Mold inhibitors are acid types
which help stimulate the growth of
bacteria to increase levels of
acetic and lactic acid in the fer
mented product. While they work
well on basically all crops,
Heinrichs warns that mold
inhibitors are not cost effective,
except for use in high moisture
com.
Enzymes and anti-oxidants act
as catalysts to speed up chemical
reactions in the fermenting
product. While they promote
production of lactic acid, Which
inhibits undesirable bacterial
growth, they work “only if it’s
going to work anyway.” The dairy
specialist labels them “good for
corn silage, but expensive.”
Forages lacking carbohydrates,
such as grass, oats, or wheat, may
be boosted with the use of nutrient
and buffer additives, which feed
the products that increase the
carbohydrate level and mineral
30 YEARS AGO
- Two-hundred twenty-six more
growers took advantage of the
marketing facilities of the Lan
caster Poultry Exchange in 1956
than in 1955, Levi H. Brubaker,
president, reported at the annual
meeting Jan. 17.
In all, 871 growers marketed
6,407,415 birds in 82 sales for an
average price of 21.38 cents for the
Tuesday sales and 20.65 cents for
the Thursday sales. Sixty-two
percent of the sales were on
Thursday.
- Members of the Quarryville
and Southern Lancaster County
locals of Inter-state Milk
Producers Cooperative were told
Jan. 24 that adoption of a
marketwide pool for the
Philadelphia milk marketing area
will cost either the producer or the
consumer two to two and one-half
cents a quart.
- Dairymen start receiving $5.95
a hundredweight for milk
marketed in the Lancaster area
today under a tentative order
issued by the Pennsylvania Milk
Control Commission.
- Pennsylvania was again second
in America in both the number of
Holstein registrations and the total
herd average of over 18,000. “I
don’t know yet if it’s paying the
bills.”
Leise moves late lactation cows
into the lower of two groups in his
herd of 80 head He aims at
avoiding edema at freshening by
eliminating salt and mineral free
choice access.
At dryoff, all cows are treated,
with extra attention paid to in
dividuals with mastitis hstory.
Grass hay is the major diet, with
occasional admittance to bunk
feeder leftovers. Two weeks prior
to freshening gram feeding is
started, and at freshening, cows
are moved into the higher, 65-
pound production group. Parlor
feed is withheld for the first two
weeks, until production begins to
show some increase.
“If a cow shows severe edema, I
will premilk on occasion, and
freeze colostrum. I like to manage
for edema prevention,” he says.
Production for the herd averages
over 17,000.
Getting cows in good body
Condition
content. These type additives will
guarantee a better fermentation
process, plus help increase the dry
matter level. One drawback is that
some types must be stored under
high pressure.
Inoculants are a live bacterial
microorganism, Heinrichs
stresses, which are easily
destroyed and may need to be kept
under cool conditions. Both direct
sunlight and chlorinated water
may destroy their effectiveness.
They can be used in crops where
added bacteria are beneficial.
Another possibility for forage
preservation, and one much more
heavily used in other areas of the
country, is ammonia. Added at the
the blower, it reacts immediately
with the forage as it is blown into
storage, but must have moisture to
react properly.
Ammonia lowers re
fermentation, serves as a mold and
growth inhibitor and reduces
heating levels. The cheapest
source of non-protein nitrogen, use
of ammonia can boost silage
protein levels to the 17 to 18 percent
range.
THIS WEEK
of animals transferred last year.
- The potential 1957 crop of
European corn borers found in
U.S. com fields last fall is smaller
than the previous year’s but still
large enough to threaten economic
damage, according to State-
Federal surveys. The North-
Central states showed reduced
numbers of this costly corn pest,
while a build-up of the msect’s
numbers occurred in Eastern
states, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture says.
- A herd average of 45.7 lbs. of
butterfat won first place in the
Progressive Dairy Herd Im
provement Assn, in December for
Charles Brosius. His cows
averaged 925 lbs. of milk.
There were 18 herds with
averages of over 35 lbs. of butterfat
among the 103 herds tested. In all
3,442 cows were tested in
December.
- Unsold Lancaster County
tobacco will be marketed through
the Lancaster County Tobacco
Growers Cooperative Assn
starting in about two weeks under
a plan proposed Friday night by
the coop manager, Mark S. Hess.
condition is Doug Cope’s primary
concern about his dry cow
program. He follows DHIA
recommendations and shoots for
the optimal 60-day dry period, then
withholds gram, dry treats and
gives Vitamin A and selenium at
dryoff.
Except during severe winter
months, when they are housed in a
separate wing of the 55-head stall
barn, dry cows go out on pasture
Small portions of grain, and a bit of
hay “to slow the grass down,” or
milking herd feed leftovers, are
included in dry cow rations.
About two weeks prior to
freshening, another round of
Vitamin A and selenium are given
when animals are moved into the
barn, clipped and cleaned up.
Grain ration is upped and silage
and alfalfa hay introduced.
“It takes about four weeks
before I have them upped to the
desired grain levels,” Cope
figures. The herd’s current rolling
milk production is just under 19,000
pounds of milk.