In Response To Falling Milk Prices Penn State Extension Dairy Specialists have prepared a list of suggestions for dairy producers to consider in response to the recent decline of milk prices. Here are tips from Dick Adams, Bill Heald, Jud Heinrichs, Steve Spencer, Mike O’Connor and Lar ry Specht for your consideration. DICK ADAMS Feed Cost Reductions Overall view: Current price relationships for concentrates and forage and anticipated new milk prices of $l2 for 3.5% milk call for no skimping on rate of conce trate feeding. A grain to milk ratio of I:2'A or 1:3 certainly should be within reason if it is needed to balance the forage ration. Never theless there are some things that could be done to reduce feed costs on many farms, especially those with a cash flow problem due to lower milk prices and other rea sons. These include the following; 1. Buy wisely - Get prices from at least two or three sources for items needed in volume. Take ser vice, quality, nutritional assis tance into consideration before deciding on a supplier. Be sure prices are for comparable items and on the same basis regarding delivery, discounts for volume, cash, etc. 2. Maintain reasonably low inventories of feeds and ingre dients - This makes more cash available for other needs and helps protect against r-a fluctuating market. -'• 3. Use a meal or pellet rather than a coarse-texture feed - Meals and often pellets may cost less than the same formula in a coarser and perhaps less digestible form. 4. Consider use of a urea RELATIVE FEED VALUES: Multiple Feedstuffs PRICE INPUT: as of March 7 Shelled Corn Per Bushel—> 44% Soybean Oilmeal Per Ton> Crop/Feedstuff Table 1. Grains 1 EAR CORN 2 EAR CORN, high moisture 3 EAR CORN, bushel basket.... 4 CORN, shelled, high-moisture 5 OATS, spring 6 BARLEY, winter 7 WHEAT, winter 8 RYE, winter 9 SORGHUM, grain 10 SOYBEANS, whole, raw Table 2. Supplements i Extenders 11 COTTONSEED MEAL 12 BREWER'S GRAIN, wet 13 BREWER'S GRAIN, dried.... 14 DIST. CORN GRAIN, dried. 15 HOMINY FEED 16 CORN GLUTEN FEED 17 WHEAT BRAN 18 WHEAT MIDS 19 BEET PULP, dried Table 3. Hay 20 LEGUME 21 MIXED, mainly legume 22 MIXED, mainly grass.... 23 GRASS Table 4. Silages 24 CORN 25 LEGUME, haycrop 26 MIXED, mainly legume 27 MIXED, mainly grass... 28 GRASS, haycrop 29 SMALL GRAIN 30 SORGHUM-SUDAN Based on nutrient values in Penn State University Feeds Library. Program by: W.K. Waters, Dept, of Ag. Econ. & Rural Soc., Penn State University. containing feed in a well-balanced ration - Soluble protein and rumen undegradable protein must be at proper levels in the total ration, as well as mineral and readily avail able energy content (NSC). More often can be used in a ration con taining higher levels of com sil age, hay and dry com than with a haylage and high-moisture com diet. 5. Reduce forage and concen trate waste - Some farms run con siderably over the 5 to 10% feed ing out loss generally encountered with good feeding and handling practices. 6. Switch from a farm or custom-mixed concentrate to a manufactured feed if it is more economical and meets the needs of your herd - Often custom mixes cost more than a manufactured feed. 7. Try decreasing protein intake moderately - Some good produc ing herds can use an appreciably lower protein ration than others. Check response when lowering protein the equivalent of 2% on a finished dairy feed basis. 8. Try discontinuing buffers or limiting their use to the first 2 to 3 months of the lactation. Cows may not respond profitably on a ration high in alfalfa which is a good natural buffer. 9. Determine if fat feeding is profitable in your herd by response to its removal - It does not pay to use high-fat rations in some herds whether it is from oil seeds or added fats. 10. Consider use of commodi ties and/or food processing wastes - More advantageous in herds of about 100 cows and higher. 11. Increase forage intake and $2.48 $220.00 Relative @ Feed DM Value % 79.56 Per Ton 58.39 Per Ton 1.39 Per Bu. 71.68 Per Ton 1.49 Per Bu. 2.43 Per Bu. 2.80 Per Bu. 2.74 Per Bu. 2.43 Per Bu'. 6.07 Per Bu. 10.25 Per Cwt. 36.12 Per Ton 137.78 Per Ton 151.92 Per Ton 5.07 Per Cwt. 6.93 Per Cwt. 5.11 Per Cwt. 5.67 Per Cwt. 4.16 Per Cwt. 99.49 Per Ton 93.60 Per Ton 75.49 Per Ton 71.43 Per Ton 28.44 Per Ton 53.07 Per Ton 48.65 Per Ton 37.97 Per Ton 33.11 Per Ton 36.85 Per Ton 30.57 Per Ton decrease concentrate intake in a well-balanced ration if cash flow is critical. 12. Use sour colostrum, waste milk or milk rcplacer for calf feeding. 13. Wean calves at four weeks, if they arc eating 1 to VA lbs. dai ly of a good calf starter plus forage. Make only one change at a time to improve evaluation. Decrease concentrate intakes gradually Si not over 3 to 4 lb. daily during a period of a week. BILL HEALD Lower Costs of Producing Milk 1. Switch from DHIR or DHIA to AM/PM testing. 2. Withhold high SCC cow’s milk from bulk tank milk to receive quality bonuses. 3. Remove cows from the herd that don’t produce enough milk to pay for their feed and maintenance costs. 4. Don’t breed cows that are to be culled. 5. Keep only the best heifer calves and sell the rest before weaning. 6. Reduce culling of milking herd to 25-35%. ,7. Sell cows that continue to be infected with Staph aureus after dry cow therapy and freshening. 8. Shoot for a 50-60 days dry period. 9. Freshen heifers at 22-25 months. 10. Design a mastitis control program to lower SCC by 'A or linear score by 1. 11. Determine desired lactation average milk production. Divide that number by 200 for cows and 225 for heifers to determine peak milk. Manage cows to reach that level of peak milk on first or sec ond test. 12. Look for Holstein cows with protein tests below 2.9%. These cows are low in energy or thin. Feed them more energy to correct body condition score or protein test. 13. Look for Holstein cows with fat test below 3.3 or above 4.3. They probably have a feeding problem that is reducing production. How Does Your Herd Compare? STATE COLLEGE (Centre Co.) —This data is -Value for CWT Silagc(s) 1-55 pulled from Pennsylvania DHIA’s mainframe -Value for Pasture Per Day(s) ™ computer each week. It is a one-week summary -Value for Milk Per Cow Per representing approximately one-fourth of the Year(s) 2,404 herds on test, as they are tested monthly. -Feed Consumed Per Cow Per These data are valuable from a business man- Year(Lbs) agement standpoint and can be used for compar- A: Grain 7,115 ing your operations to the averages from almost B: Hay 2,523 ' 1,400 herds across the state. C: Silage D* F)av Pasture Oo ?m«, AVe n C«, all hCTdS bet We e" -Feed Cost Per Cow Per Year(s) 2/25/91 and 3/04/91 . Q . 556 Number of Herds Processed 1.424 ; 109 Number of Cows Processed 83,629 • _ ' 231 Number of Cows Per Herd 58.7 • » 20 Milk Per Cow (Lbs) - 17.338 Feed Cost Per C ow Per %-Fat 3.67 v 918 319 -Income Over Feed Costs Per %-Protem 3.19 i ,486 Protein Per Cow (Lbs) 553 ; Gra [„ } t 0 Milk Ratio 1:2.4 Average Daysm M. k Per Cow 315 Cost per CWT Milk(s) 5.30 iMSEoS, A,g Level Por ~183 SCC Herds 32U65 -Value for CWT Hay(s) 4.33 f«u- 87 87 88 89 Average Farm Feed Costs For Handy Reference To help farmers across the state to have handy reference of com modity input costs in their feeding operations for DHIA record sheets or to develop livestock feed cost data, here’s this week’s average costs of various ingredients as Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 16, 1991-A2l /I FOCUS I Pennsylvania I^^^ ■” Dairy Herd* 1 I , . \ Call 1 800-DHI-TEST for service or information Improvement Association \ 14. Cows with a somatic cell count score greater than 4 arc probably infected and indicates that the mastitis control program can be improved. JUD HEINRICHS How to Lower Replacement Feed Costs 1. Feed discarded and waste milk colostrum. 2. Don’t overfeed liquid feeds to young calves. 3. Feed adequate forages - kinds and amount. 4. Watch costs of purchased feeds. 5. Forage test and feed program. 6. Watch grouping of animals - numbers and the age-weight spread. 7. Check amounts of grain fed - 2 to 3 lbs. 8. Feed waste feeds from cows. 9. Keep weight gains steady. 10. Feed ionophors. STEVE SPENCER Increasing Income and/or Cutting Costs 1. Lower Somatic Cell Count (SCC). Use proven teat dips and dry treat all quarters of all cows. 2. Cull low producers. 3. Keep milking equipment in top operating condition. Buy used when possible. 4. Consider 3X milking. This can provide 15-20% increase in milk production. Make sure labor scheduling can handle it 5. Invest in a heat reclaimer. Payback is quick on most farms. 6. Use proper amount of chemi cals for cleaning and sanitizing. Don’t over-use. MIKE O’CONNOR Reproductive Management Here are a few topics in the area of reproductive management that dairy herd managers may want to consider in planning to reduce expenses. 1. Age at Ist calving - Strive for an average of 24 months. It is esti mated to cost at least $1.50 per compiled from regional reports across the state of Pennsylvania. Remember these are averages so you will need to adjust your figures up or down according to your loca tion and the quality of your crop. Corn. No. 2y - 2.57 BU. 4.60 CWT. Wheat, No. 2 - 2.63 BU. 4.39 CWT. Barley, No. 3 - 2.01 BU. 4.30 day to extend the age at first calv ing beyond 24 i ths. Too many dairy farms arc losing $lOO per heifer because of delayed first calving. 2. Production per cow per year decreases as calving interval increases beyond 13 months. 3. Inseminate cows in standing heat - Inseminations based on sec ondary signs of heat result in low er conception rate. This increases semen costs and extends calving interval. A study using herds with average fertility showed at least $35 net return per cow per year with the implementation of a sys tematic heat detection program versus poor heat detection procedures. 4. Cull chronic repeal breeding cows - evaluate the benefits of keeping cows that have been inse minated three or more times. 5. Use reproductive hormones judiciously - carefully evaluate your use of drugs for inducing heat and ovulation. LARRY SPECHT Genetic Management Tips 1. Buy only as much semen as you will use in the next six months 2. Buy semen from a reliable source. Know your supplier! Semen that doesn't settle cows is the most expensive kind. 3. Use sires with reliable infor mation. Progeny tested sires from established AI programs arc your best bet 4. Pay attention to PTA dollars for milk, fat and protein. Use of this economic index will give dairymen the best return per dollar spent. 5. If you are on DHI or AM/PM test - consider signing up for the young sires that are being progeny tested by the AI units. This prog ram offers semen at greatly reduced prices and provides gene tics'that are equal to the average AI sire currently in service. Oats, No. 2 - 1.43 BU. 4.46 CWT. Soybeans, No. 1 - 5.60 BU. 9.35 CWT. New Ear Com - 64.91 BU. 3.25 CWT. Alfalfa Hay - 100.25 BU. 5.01 CWT. Mixed Hay - 80.50 BU. 4.03 CWT. Timothy Hay - 76.50 BU. 3.83 CWT.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers