A24-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 22,1990
Cows Need Amino Acids, Not Protein , Says Nutritionist
ANDY ANDREWS
Lancaster Farming Staff
MOUNT JOY (Lancaster
Co.) Dairy fanners need to
understand that cows don’t need
protein. They need amino acids.
And feeding them a special pro
tected rumen bypass, or undegrad
able intake protein, in combination
with diet-added fat can pay off in
terms of overall milk and protein
production.
Data on specific tests of exactly
what types of bypass protein (spec
ifically methionine and lysine) can
do if incorporated into a feed prog
ram were examined at a special
dairy seminar sponsored by White
Oak Mills, based in Elizabeth
town, Pa., last week.
Dr. Edward A. Moser, MS
VMD, and director of technical
support for Bio Nutritional Pro
ducts, urged farmers at the seminar
to carefully examine their feed
programs to see if special nonde
gradable bypass protein can be
used in diets supplied by feed
manufacturers.
Essential amino acids
Proteins are strips of amino
acids placed together. After pro
teins are fed to the animal, they are
broken down into essential amino
acids that are carried through the
bloodstream and used by the
animal.
“All proteins are not created
equal in terms of the amino acids
they contain,” he said.
However, Moser cautioned that
if farmers feed protein to their ani
mals without energy, the protein is
being wasted.
Based on studies, he said that
heifers and dry cows would bene
fit, based on studies, on increasing
the protein (especially rumen
bypass protein) in the diet.
More dry intake
Also, fanners should consider
that, the more dry intake the cows
obtain, the more milk and percen
tage of protein is produced.
“There is an advantage to not
only a little bit higher level of pro
tein in the diet, but considering,
Dr. Edward A. Moser, MS VMD, and director of technical
support lor Bio Nutritional Products, spoke last week to far
mers at a seminar sponsored by White Oak Mills. He urged
farmers to carefully examine their feed programs to see If
special nondegradable bypass protein can be used In diets
supplied by feed manufacturers.
depending on the price, using an
undegradable source, a rumen
bypass source of protein,” said
Moser.
Moser provided data on protein
and how it relates to milk:
• Milk protein percentage
increases with increasing days in
milk.
• Milk protein is depressed with
fat feeding. If too much fat is added
to the diet, protein percentage
drops.
• Cows on too high of a fat diet
had less milk flow to the udder.
• Older cows have a decreased
level of protein production.
“But remember that cows don’t
need protein (in their diets),” said
Moser. “They need amino acids.”
Main protein source
Dry matter intake is the main
source of the needed protein con
taining essential amino acids. If
farmers don’t want to incorporate
the special bypass protein, then
increasing dry matter intake may
improve production.
“I really encourage you as
you’re looking at things you’re
going to be doing for the next year
in your dairy operation to say, ‘I
know that there are a lot of things I
can do to affect dry matter intake,
and maybe what I should do is pick
out a few of them that this year I’m
going to work at and measure dry
matter intake over time.’ You can
do it in any sort of situation in
stanchion bams, in TMRs, all these
types of situations you can figure
out a way to get a pretty good esti
mate, even if you’re feeding very
different feeds in different
places,” said Moser.
Moser said farmers should keep
the feed in front of the cows. Cows
will eat more if the feed is kept in
front of them, and milk production,
in most cases, should increase.
“Farmers see that when the
lights and the radio come on for a
couple of hours, cows eat,” he
said.
Test feed
Farmers should also have their
feed tested regularly. Often times
Dr. Tom Drake, Penn State University, examined the Importance of looking at the
ways In which animal parasites affect dairy production at the White Oak Mills seminar.
the feed program outlined by their
nutritionist is not the actual feed
given to the cows. Moser said far
mers should set up a “phantom
cow,” a 55-gallon feed bin, where
samples of the feed can be placed
as in a regular program, and then
have that tested.
Also, farmers should “dry cows
off at the same body condition as
we’d like to freshen them,” said
Moser.
“We all have to look more
closely at some of these ancillary
feeding programs, which tend to
look at the lactating cow and may
be forget about some of the other
ones,” he said. Other dairy ani
mals should not be overlooked.
In some cases, according to
Moser, in the feed tests he looks at,
there are very high potassium for
ages. Because of the increase of
potassium in the forages, “some
times magnesium is not absorbed
as well. And so I’m cautious when
I see very high potassium forages
for dry cows. Maybe farmers
should start adding some magne
sium to those diets.”
Older cows pushier
Dairy farmers should also con
sider splitting their animals into
Tax Meetings Set For January
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) — Tax preparers, farmers,
agribusiness people and other
interested individuals can secure
information about federal income
tax at the 1991 Penn State income
tax meetings to be held throughout
Pennsylvania during January.
Meetings will be offered at 14
locations covering all areas of the
state.
Topics to be covered at the
meetings range from new deve
lopments in tax law to important
tax principles. The program will
include a discussion of tax provi
sions affecting individuals and
businesses, changes in tax forms,
and critical issues to consider
when filing the 1990 tax return.
Penn State faculty members
from the University Park campus
MILK. IT DOES A BODY GOOD.
MIDDLE ATLANTIC MILK MARKETING ASSOCIATION, INC.
4
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two groups the cow and heifer
groups. The older cows “are
pushier,” he said, and the heifers
usually will eat more if they are not
in a competitive situation with the
cow group.
With heifers on a special unde
gradable protein feed (using
bloodmeal), the total dry matter
intake necessary was lowered. The
feed efficiency increased, there
was more gain without overcondi
tiong, and the animals had better
body conditioning.
Overall, farmers should be tak
ing a closer look at their feeding
programs if they want to improve
their lot.
“I think it’s well-established
that, when you’re adding any fat to
your diet, the next thing you
should be looking at is, can I afford
and can I find an appropriate
method of adding bypass rumen
protein?” he asked the farmers.
Information about rumen pro
tein isn’t complete, but Moser said
that studies are on the right track.
“(We’re) trying to supply the ani
mals either with natural ingre
dients or, if possible, and if
expense will allow it, feeding them
a purified amino acid that is pro-
will be the instructors for the
meetings, and will hand out back
ground materials on the topics
they discuss.
The meeting locations and dates
are:
• Tunkhannock, Jan. 2
• Lewisburg, Jan. 3-4
• Dußois, Jan. 8
• Butler, Jan. 9
• Indiana, Jan. 10
• Bedford, Jan. 11
• Tamaqua, Jan. IS
• Franconia, Jan. 16
• Lancaster, Jan. 17
• Chambersburg, Jan. 18
• Wellsboro, Jan. 22
• Warren, Jan. 23
• Edinboro, Jan. 24
• Mercer, Jan. 25
Each one-day session will start
at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 4 p.m.
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tected. And if we know that’s the
thing the cow needs, depending on
expense, that may be where to
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go.
Animal parasites
Dr. Tom Drake, Penn State Uni
versity, also examined the impor
tance of looking at the ways in
which animal parasites affect dairy
production at the seminar.
“If you’re not doing something
about parasites, it’s costing you
money,” he said.
Farmers in North America face
an approxiately $350 million loss
annually to parasites. Cows
affected with parasites do not eat
as much and thus do not produce as
much milk.
If parasites are treated on time,
the benefit to the fanner could be
as high as $2OO per cow, said
Drake.
He suggested fanners consult
their veterinarian for various ways
to treat the parasite problem. He
also went over a special metabolic
profile chart, a $l5O test which
may help examine if the cow suf
fers from nutrient or other defi
ciencies, which can be used to
improve dairy operations.
A registration fee of $4O per per
son includes lunch and reference
materials provided throughout the
program. Additional reference
materials, including a “Master
Federal Tax Manual,” may be pur
chased at the meetings for a small
extra fee.
The meeting registration fee is
reduced to $3O for people who
register and pay before December
15.
A brochure, registration form,
and more information about the
income tax meetings are available
at all Penn State Cooperative
Extension offices. Questions
about the meetings may be
directed to your county extension
director. Questions about topics
covered at the meetings should be
directed to the meeting coordina
tor at (814) 863-4580.