Dairy Management BY DR. GEORGE F. W. HAENLEIN Extension Dairy Specialist University of Delaware Are We Feeding For Production Needs? NEWARK, DE Not really! We think we do. Professionally, as dairy fanners and as consultants, we assume we do. And we got away with it for a while, when most of our cows milked less than 20,000 pounds in 10 months. But our luck is going to run out as we move into the major league of dairying - into the bio-hi-tech era. Into not just computer-aided dairy ing but, beyond that, into metaboU cally and nutritionally manipu lated cows. When this happens, milking 10 percent of body-weight will no longer be the exception, but the rule. Just imagine. No more fat cows, and no more lazy ones, either. And no more complacency on our part in assuming we’re feeding our cows according to pro duction needs! We aren’t. You’ll no doubt agree that we tend to feed our cows according to Jj 4408 WORKS ALL AROUND THE FARM - whether you’re cleaning, loading, feeding or haulilng. The 4408 is a dependable little hired hand that'll cut down on a lot of your daily hand chores and free up your time. 4408. built small, compact and versatile to work in all those hard-to-reach places all around the farm. QUICK AND NIMBLE, the Bobcat util- BOBCAT BUILDS’EM BIG T00...a1l MESSY MANURE HANDLING izes 4-wheet drive, easy-to-handle the way through the light-to-medium becomes neat and easy with Bobcat, responsive controls and tum-around- duty 400, 500,600 and 700 series to Hog farmers especially thank Bobcat in-its-tracks maneuverability to get the beefed-up 800 and 900 series for the hand labor it saves in cleaning into tight places where bigger workhorses. out bams and pens, loading manure machines won’t fit. ood feeding. Quality work - we’re in it together! 'cotmurr i— wwm^^m bobOOtDEALERS A BUSINESS UNIT Of CMM EQUIPMENT COMPANY Carlisle, PA PETERMAN FARM EQUIPMENT 717-249-5338 Chambersburg, PA CLUGSTON IMPLEMENT INC. 717-263-4103 g-pg da |iff CLUGSTON U,r PA 717 265 4440 FARM EQUIPMENT Miffimburg^EA RA 717-265-4440 717 .573.2250 BS & B REPAIR LCL CONSTRUCTION 717-966-3756 EQUIP. SALE CO. c - B«l 215-362-2510 | JJP ,« glfc rr W(««««««««««««C<(««««««((l«««««««««««««««<l««««<««««««««<«««««‘<«« < * < «««« M<<,<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<« The lazy and fat dairy cows are disappearing from our herds, just as the low-genetics cows have, thanks to A.I. and DHIA. Now, we have rumen manipulators, that is, “isoplus” supplements. And soon we’ll have growth regulators, BST and others that make high efficiency feed converters out of our cows. BOBCAT... The Quality Machine That Keeps On Workin' Tunkhannock. PA BARTRON FARM BURCHFIELD’S INC. BOBCAT OF SUPPLY 814-793-2194 PITTSBURGH, INC. 717-836-4011 412-655-1030 Hanover. PA SHEETS BROS., INC. 717-632-3660 $ ♦/ Martinsbun Mill Hall. PA DUNKLE & GRIEB 717-726-3115 Needmore, Column the daily pounds of milk they pro duce, individually or in groups. In general, we try to feed those ani mals yielding above 50 pounds or so a certain formula or certain amount of ration once or several times a day. But cows with less milk - the so called “low milking group” receive a smaller amount of supplements. The logic seems clear. We feed cows at the level that they cam, plus a certain “challenge” ration. And once a month, right after the DHIA test, we hurry to readjust those rations. We want to save some feed from those cows that don’t deserve it anymore. Why do I insinuate that this is wrong, that this is not feeding according to production needs? FEEDING, handling grain, fertilizer, or hay , are just a few of daily chores for the versatile Bobcat. Working in and around pens and stalls are ideal jobs for the compact loader. Pittsburgh. PA GRUMELU’S FARM SERV. pA 717-786-7318 Because, while trying to save money by not overfeeding, we are losing money as our cows don’tget bred when they should two months after calving, thus prolonging the lactation beyond the 12-month calving interval that is optimum in terms of profitability. We are correct nutritionally to feed a certain cow what she deserves at a daily production level' of 39 pounds, for example. But we are not correct physiologically to feed every 39-pound milker the same amount of supplement regardless of her stage of lactation - first month, second month, fifth month, seventh month, or tenth month! We must change to a system of feeding to meet physiological needs! If a cow who milks 39 West Lawn. PA CLARKLIFT SERVICES 11 215-670-2950 | I Honey Grove. PA NORMAN D. CLARK & SON INC. 717-734-3682 Honesdale. PA CHARLES H. SIEPIELA, 11 INC. 11 717-253-3334 £ £ Lancaster Farming Saturday, September 3, 1988-07 " 3 s pounds is in her first or second month of lactation, she is in the ris ing phase of her lactation towards peak production, just like another cow who may be milking 80 pounds in her first or second month. And this rising phase of production has two important characteristics. Nutritionally, it’s the time when the cow is usually in a deficit She needs at least 20 to 25 percent more nutrients - not feed, but nutrients -- per day than what she is offered or is eating. Physiological ly, she is supposed to be producing another ovulation for the next heat cycle and the next pregnancy. But she’s in a nutritional deficit and won’t produce another egg right away. She’ll wait a bit ‘til she gets nutritonally straightened out. Am I being far-fetched or overly simplistic? I don’t think so. At the recent American Dairy Science meeting in Edmonton, Canada, I heard again that our problem is more widespread than we want to admit Mote than 32 papers were presented on aspects of BST, the bovine growth hormone, applica tion. In most cases, milk produc tion per cow per day was increased and, while there seemed to be no problematic side effects, a signif icant number of the cows involved in these studies did not get bred in time or as soon as the controls did. Conclusion: They were not fed correctly for their increased nutri tional and physiological needs. Therefore, the cows decided they’d wait a while in producing another egg. How can you tell whether you are doing right or wrong in your feeding program? Protein content of milk is a good indicator. We usually ignore this, however, cows that are in nutritional deficits usu ally test low in milk protein 3.2 percent or less - because the mam mary gland needs energy to pro duce milk protein. And if the cow is starving, she will produce less, just as she waits to produce another egg- Thus, if we want to move tow ards higher milking cows with higher physiological efficiencies, we must feed them for pounds of milk produced plus stage of lacta tion needs. Otherwise, we’ll lose money instead of making it on our cows. poultry JPjufxxi (amarlors Oldest) P»r«dts«,Pa. |717|«77«31
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