(Article! one of a two-part series) High producing cows can be very profitable. They can also be very costly, especially if: - Cow turnover rates are high, - Replacement costs are high, - Too many good cows are culled before they produce any offspring, and if - Too many cows have to be Table 1: Replacement Costs per Cwt. of Milk Replace Sale Net Cull Cost per Cwt Milk Cost Cost Value Cost Rate Cow/Yr Cow/Yr /Cwt 1400 500 900 .38 342 180 1.90 1100 500 600 .38 228 180 1.27 1100 800 300 .38 114 180 .63 800 500 300 .38 114 180 .63 1400 500 900 .25 225 180 1.25 1100 500 600 .25 150 180 ,83 1100 800 300 .25 75 180 .42 800 500 300 .25 75 180 .42 sold at depressed prices. of raised replacements, be sure to These costs are illustrated in include the obvious cash costs of Table 1. With the wide range of feed, bedding, vet and breeding situations illustrated in the table, plus the heifers’ share of non-cash the net cost of replacements farm costs such as debt payments. and get higher production with lower cost and less maintenance. C-2 feeder H-2 feeder H-2 feeder adult turkey for broilers for broilers for turkeys feeder with plastic pan nipples bins and swine FLEX-AUGER* feeding agrl systems Wort GLENN’S UDDBRiNGS By Glenn A. Shirk Lancaster Extension Dairy Agent ranges from 42 cents to $1.90 per cwt of milk shipped. This is a very significant cost of producing milk! It is a cost that is seldom dis cussed, and one that varies a lot from farm to farm. Note how the costs in the above table are affected by: • The initial cost of replace ments, whether purchased or raised. When determining the cost Insist on Chore-Time Northeast Agri Systems, Inc. Flyway Business Park 139 A West Airport Road Utife, PA 17543 labor, fuel, electricity, the value of the calf at birth, etc. • The average sale value of all the cows that leave the herd. This includes dead cows and cows sold for slaughter and dairy purposes. Subtract this from the initial cost of the replacements to get the net cost that has to be recovered. • The average turnover or cull ing rate. This is all the cows that left the herd divided by the aver age size of the herd. Multiply this by the net cost of replacements to get the average cost of replace ments per cow per year. • The cwt. of milk shipped per cow per year - not per lactation. Divide the replacement cost per cow per year, calculated above, by the cwt of milk shipped per cow per year to get the cost per cwt of milk shipped. Turnover rates by themselves are not as important as why the cows left which cows left (did you get enough offspring from genetically superior cows before they had to be culled?), how much you got for the cows when they left the herd, and costs incurred by unsuccessfully treating and breed ing problem cows before they had to be culled. If cows are merchandised suc cessfully for a good price, turnov er rates of 50% or more can still be very profitable. However, if replacements enter the herd at a cost of $l2OO-1600 and leave the herd six months later at a value of only $3OO-500, that’s dropping a lot of big dollars in a hurry, and it happens far too often! Cows that have the genetic abil ity and desire to produce a lot of milk are a challenge to the man agement skills and determination of today’s producers! Before striving for more pro- STORE HOURS: Moa-Fri. 7:30 to 4:30 Sot. 6:00 to Noon 24 Hr. 7 Do/ Repair Service BST, it may be beneficial for pro ducers to ask themselves two questions: Am I doing a good job managing my herd at its present level of production? Can I suc cessfully manage more produc tion? How well producers manage their high producing cows will have a great impact on the figures they can enter into their version of Table 1, and on their cost of pro ducing milk. Flesh Management One of the major challenges of managing high producing herds is maintaining cows in good flesh, getting' them bred back, and get ting them off to a good start in subsequent lactations. Maximizing dry matter intakes, nutrient intakes, digestibility of the feeds cows consume, and absorption of the right kinds and amounts of feed nutrients into the blood stream will help producers meet these challenges successfully. As we accept the challenge of managing still higher levels of production in the future, we need to think about how we can effec tively monitor how well we are managing cows’ energy reserves. A good indicator of this is the body condition of cows at various stages of their lactation. Body condition scoring should become a routine practice, and we need to record the scores and get them entered into a system where they can be summarized into use ful management reports. We need to be able to relate successes and problems to rates of flesh loss and to body score levels. Stage of Lactation Day off time Calving time Early/mid lactation Late lactation if** cage systems through DHIA-Penna. and Raleigh. Ask your supervisor for more details. The option is new, and we will be learning together as we take advantage of this new manage ment tool. What scores should you be striving for? Here are a few ideas to consider and to discuss with your advisors. What are some other considerations? On large breed animals, one body condition score is equivalent to about 125 pounds of body weight The energy in every lb. of flesh lost has the potential to pro duce about 6-7 pounds of milk, but the protein in this 1 pound of flesh can only support about half this much milk. Thus, if this flesh is to be used effectively, more protein is needed in the ration. But the goal should be not to force cows to draw heavily upon this flesh. The goal should be to hold flesh losses to less than 1 body condi tion score, for several reasons. Rapid loss of flesh before and after calving can cause fatty livers. This can suppress cows* immune response, cause “down cows”, depress appetites, predispose cows to ketosis, reduce concep tion rates, etc. When body condition scores drop to about 2.5, conception rates start dropping rapidly. At 2, con ception can be almost zero. At these low scores, you may also notice a depression in fat and pro tein tests. ULTRAFLO* for layers, pullets & breeders authorized master distributor 1-800-673-2580 Ph: (717)569-2702 ||| eh (Turn to Pag* A 33) Body Score 3.5- 3.5- 2.5-3.0 3.5-
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