Grazing
Gazette
pennSwe
College of Agricultural Sciences
ta coopanlion with USDA/ARS
GRAIN/ENERGY
SUPPLEMENTATION FOR
DAIRY GRAZING SYSTEMS
Lawrence D. Muller and
Lisa A. Holden
Penn State University
The use of and interest in pas
ture as a major source of fonge
for dairy cows continues to in
crease. primarily because of eco
nomic constraints. Feed costs are
the largest expense on die dairy
farm and are typically decreased
about $l.OO to SI.SO/cwt. of milk
during the grazing season. Supple
mental feeding with pasture based
systems is mote difficult than with
confinement systems. Some of the
most common nutritionally relat
ed questions from producers and
consultants with pastures systems
include:
• How much supplemental
grain or energy should be fed?
• What should be the feed in
gredients and nutrient composi
tion of the grain mixtures?
* What is the profitability of
each additional unit of grain that is
fed?
These questions and others like
them will be the focus of some of
the articles written for this col
umn. This article will touch on
some of the reasons why supple
mental grain feeding for grazing
dairy cows is a profitable decision
for many graziers.
A recent article in a widely read
grazing magazine questioned the
economics of supplemental feed
ing in the United States when pas
ture is well managed and of high
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P S lent
quality and quantity. The essence
of this article is that it is not eco
nomical to feed grain, bypass pro
tein, supplemental! forages (un
less pasture quantity is inade
quate). or total mixed ration
(TMR). However, science, pro
ducer experiences, and economics
do not support the “no supple
mentation” approach with high
producing cows in the U.S. Cer
tainly, improved grazing manage
ment to increase the quantity and
quality of pasture can reduce the
supplemental feed needs and im
prove profitability.
Your own farm information
about feed costs, herd health, milk
production, body condition, and
reproductive performance can be
very useful in making feeding
management decisions. Many
graziers have looked to thcNew
Zealand dairy system for help in
making grazing decisions.- While
this information can be very use
ful. keep in mind the differences
between the New Zealand situa
tion and your own farm situation.
Cows in New Zealand graze low
cost pasture year round as the sole
source of nutrients with no supple
mental grain and produce about
7,000 pounds of milk per cow. hi
New Zealand, grain costs are often
double and milk prices one-half
compared to Pennsylvania.
Despite the fact that current eco
nomic conditions in New Zealand
do favor supplemental grain feed
ing, current research for dairy pro
ducers in New Zealand is focusing
on nutritional strategies to in
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crease production and optimize
profit
Forage alone. What can we ex
pect from Pennsylvania cows if
pasture is the only source of feed?
Research studies in the U.S. with
high producing cows fed only pas
ture are limited. A study in Wis
consin in which high quality alfal
fa hay crop silage was the only
forage had a total lactation milk
yield of 12,700 pounds of milk or
41.6 pounds per day. The DMI for
the total lactation averaged 41
pounds per day, or 3.1 percent of
body weight These cows had l£w
er body condition than cows fed
varying the amounts of supple
mental grain.
Based on this and other studies,
and on estimates of energy needs
for maintenance and activity vs.
energy intake from pastures, herb
age from well managed pastures
should be sufficient to maintain 35
to 45 pounds of milk per day with
little or no supplemental energy.
This production may be higher
with legume and grass/legume
pastures than with mostly grass
pasture because of higher DMI
from pasture containing legumes.
Cows in early lactation may be
expected to produce 50 to 60
pounds of milk per day with pas
ture as the only forage. However,
these cows would lose extensive
Grain (DM) feeding guidelines for a grass based pasture system during the grazing season*
4% FCM Spring Summer Fall
Production (lb) lb G:M* lb G:M‘ lb G:M*
>BO 20 1:4 to 1:5 25-27 1:3 20 1:4 to 1:5
70 16-18 1:4 to 1:5 21-23 1:3 to 1:4 16-18 1:4 to 1:5
60 12-14 1:4 to 1:5 15-18 1:5 12-14 1:5
50 8-10 1:5 to 1:6 10-12 1:4 to 1:5 8-10 1:4 to 1:5
<4O 6-8 1:6 to 1:7 8-10 1:5 to 1:6 6-8 1:6 to 1:7
‘Assume 1300 lb. bodyweight
These guidelines arc based on high quality grass pasture availbale in adequate quantities assum
ing the approximate DMI. Lower quality forage will require more grain. Maximum grain DM fed
should be equivalent to about 2% of bodyweight. Some adjustment of grain should be made based
on body condition scores and stage of lactation. Lower amounts are likely needed when the pasture
contains legumes.
‘Grain: milk ratio (DM basis).
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body weight and condition be
cause of inadequate dry matter
and energy intake from only pas
ture. Cows often have a lower
body condition when grazed com
pared to cows under confinement
Reproductive efficiency may de
cline if cows lose too much condi
tion.
Supplemental energy/grain.
Energy is thought to be the most
limiting nutrient for profitable
milk production and normal repro
ductive performance when pasture
is the major source of forage. The
amount of grain fed to increase the
total energy intake on a pasture
based system can have long-term
effects on energy balance, milk
production, body weight and con
dition changes, reproductive per
formance, and profitability. Re
search and producer experiences
indicate that supplemental energy
from main is beneficial and profit
able With high producing cows un
der a grazing system.
Grain benefits the cow in two
ways: (1) providing needed ener
gy for activity (walking, grazing)
and (2) providing a source of ru
men available non-structural car
bohydrate (NSC). While pasture
can be quite high in protein, it
lacks NSC. Without additional
NSC in the diet, protein is used for
energy, and excess nitrogen is ex
creted in urine. Thus, valuable
protein is lost to the animal and
excreted into the environment.
The result is lower animal produc
tion and a higher nutrient loading
into soil and water.
Providing grain supplements
rich in NSC and lower in protein
(nitrogen) can help to “capture”
mote of die protein in pasture and
“convert” it to milk protein. This
efficient use of resources helps to
balance out the total use/reuse of
nutrients in the whole farm sys
tem. Research shows milk ptoduc-
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lion responses of 'A to 1/4 pounds
for each pound of grain fed. The
milk response to grain is usually
highest with the first amounts of
grain fed and diminishes as addi
tional grain is fed. In the previous
ly mentioned Wisconsin research
with alfalfa haylage crop silage,
the milk response to the first 2,000
pounds of grain fed was about
2,000 pounds of milk, or 1 pound
of milk per I pound grain. Re
search at Ohio State reported
about a 1 pound milk response to 1
pound of grain fed with both or
chardgrass and alfalfa based pas
ture systems. With milk priced at
12 cents per pound and grain at 6
cents per pound, grain feeding on
pasture makes economic sense. In
addition, each pound of grain fed
displaces or substitutes for about
Vi pound of pasture DM. Thus, to
tal DMI will increase with each
pound of grain fed.
Bottom line. The bottom line is
that grain feeding for high produc
ing cows on pasture results in
higher DMI, which translates into
higher, profitable milk production
and improved body condition.
Based on this information and our
research at Penn State, we have
developoed the grain feeding
guidelines in the following table.
The amount of grain or supple
ment to feed depends on the “man
ager’s eye” when monitoring milk
production and body condition.
The make-up of the concentrate
mixture can range from either
simple to complex formulation,
but should complement the for
age.
Future articles will discuss the
makeup of the concentrate mix
ture in more detail. The values in
the table are merely guidelines.
Higher rates of grain feeding may
be needed when cows are thin,
walking long distances to pasture,
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