airy ipru.
DHIA Service Center, Orchard Road, University Park, PA 16802
Dairyman to Dairyman
Question: What does it mean
when we see an up and down
trend in our MUN test from one
month to the next?
During the past few months, I
attended more than two-dozen
meetings where this same ques
tion was asked. I am certain that
sometimes a change in the MUN
levels of the herd is due to di
etary differences that occur as
we move downward in our silos.
This year a number of dairies
are also seeing this effect due to
shortages of feeds like high
moisture corn. Changing to dry
corn can impact MUN quite
suddenly. Most dairymen recog
nize changes during a feeding
period and can usually adjust
for these by matching them up
with the MUN story that the
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cows tell. What goes on when we
are sure that no feed changes
have taken place and yet we see
significant movement in MUN?
Often we need to look beyond
what we do to “how” we do it.
When this question is asked, we
need to talk about how we do
things in our feed management.
The huge swing to AM-PM test-
ing programs in past years, due
to economic concerns, has sent
us a message about how we feed
our cows. In 1995, MUN testing
was started in PA DHIA and an
other message was sent. If we
choose to listen to our cows we
can come to some eye-opening
conclusions.
Now it is my turn to ask the
questions. Do we feed a TMR? Is
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anything fed outside of the
TMR? What is the moisture of
the TMR? When feeding com
ponents, what is the sequence?
Are the cows fed the same
during the night as in the day?
What is the refusal rate of feed
ing? If you have not noticed, all
these questions address the
“how” that goes into our feed
ing programs. Most of the time,
when MUN is higher one month
and lower the next in a continu
ing pattern, we are witnessing
our cows’ evaluation of how we
feed them. In this particular
herd the feed program went like
this:
•PMR (partially mixed ration)
fed during the day
•Top dress grain used on high
producers
•Hay fed during the night
When we look at the diet as a
whole, we see a well-planned
and balanced diet. When we
look at the different diets fed
during the day and then those
fed at night we see that they are
very different. From the MUN
numbers, we see that every other
month the cows are below the 10
to 14 range that we would like to
see. The next month they are
right in the middle of that range.
Our cows are telling us that half
the day they simply run out of
gas. If we use MUN values to
guide us, then we may want to
change “how” to include a plan
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that delivers a more equal flow
of nutrients both day and night.
We can do this in ways that do
not increase labor costs. Cer
tainly feeding closer to a true
TMR would be desirable, but not
always practical. What if we fed
part of the hay during the day
and supplied our cows with
some of the PMR just before we
leave the barn for the night? I
think we should consider this.
Covering every scenario
would be time consuming and
would not serve any purpose.
Each time I am asked to address
this problem of up and down
MUN values each month, the
same answer surfaces. The cows
are telling us that the “how”
part of our feeding program
needs to be changed until MUN
becomes more consistent. For
those dairymen that test 2x, you
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will not have the advantage of
your cows telling you as directly
that feed nutrients do not flow
evenly during the day. We may
learn from others if it is likely.
At PA DHIA we are committed
to using records to help you
manage your herd. If MUN is
confusing, or you want a second
opinion, call me to set up an ap
pointment for your free MUN
consult.
Average Farm Feed
Costs for Handy
Reference
To help farmers across the state to
have handy reference of commodity
input costs in their feeding operations
for DHIA record sheets or to develop
livestock feed cost data, here’s last
week’s average costs of various ingred
ients as 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 location and the
quality of your crop.
Corn, No.2y 2.46 bu., 4.40 cwt.
Wheat, N 0.2 2.39 bu., 3.99 cwt.
Barley, N 0.3 —1.76 bu., 3.77 cwt.
Oats, N 0.2 —1.53 bu., 4.77 cwt.
Soybeans, No.l 4.76 bu., 7.94 cwt.
Ear Com 76.75 ton, 3.84 cwt.
Alfalfa Hay —132.50 ton, 6.63 cwt.
Mixed Hay —136.25 ton, 6.81 cwt.
Timothy Hay —140.00 ton, 7.0 cwt.
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