Forage Management - Nutrition & Milk Composition -

Transcription

1 Forage Management - Nutrition & Milk Composition - Charles J. Sniffen, Ph.D. Global Dairy: Consultancy Co., Ltd

2 Introduction What I saw yesterday Variation in cheese yield farm to farm Within year July and August being the lowest Among years What are the opportunities to minimize this variation?

3 Introduction The profitability of a dairy resides directly on the success of the forage operation on a farm Grown and/or purchased A complete understanding of soil resources and weather patterns is necessary for a profitable operation

4 Introduction I am a nutritionist not an agronomist However, I feel that this is so important to our dairy industry that we need to talk about it My training is with Ev Thomas at the Miner Institute I learned much

5 Introduction For farms that use the land Important for manure disposal Important in nutrient recycling For farms that purchase most of the forage Manure disposal system needs to be intensive Quality monitoring system needs to be in place

6 Complexity of Crop Production Weather -Temperature -Moisture -Time of year -Sunlight Soils -Drainage -Fertility -Type variability Storage -Quality segregation Forages Forages to to Feed Feed Plant - Species - Varieties Machinery -Balance -Repair Labor -Skills -Availability Harvesting Strategy

7 Crop Operations Soils Understand the soils soil maps Soil types Heavy or clay poorly drained Loams Gravelly Sandy Drainage, fertility, ph

8 Crop Operations Soil fertility history ph N, P, K, Mg, S Trace elements such as Bo, Cu, Zn Have a soil type map of the farm Helps in fertility management Track soil fertility Soil test at least every 3 years Analyze manure

9 Crop Operations Producers need to consider purchasing crop management software Soil map in the system Fertility history Weather history Crop history Inputs Yields Machinery history

10 Crop Operations With crop management software it is possible to Assess crop yield response to inputs such as machinery, fertilizer and cropping practices Assess when it is best to turn over machinery relative to repair rate Assess whether the machinery is an appropriate investment

11 Crop Operations Crop management software can be an aid in developing short and long term crop strategies The producer needs to identify a certified agronomist to help make good crop decisions Intensive crop monitoring during growing season Recommendations on cutting, fertilization and latest technology

12 Forages Need to know forages that can be successfully grown in an area Regional crop research farms Look at new variety/hybrids Conduct crop management research Provide information on the best varieties/hybrids to use for a region Provide good crop management information

13 Forages Farms do own testing establish variety/hybrid plot areas Do yield analysis Improve fertility and crop management Practices

14 Variety Selection Forage quality characteristics Yield Characteristics Longevity Disease resistance Maturity Quality longevity window Many new forage varieties available

15 Costs of Productivity In today s economy need to know cost to produce a crop This means a scale to measure yields Place scale right at storage area can either drive on the scale and record or the scale records automatically. Put in weather center to measure minimum/maximum temperature and rainfall Consider soil temperature and moisture recording Knowing yields and input costs, it is possible to make good management decisions

16 Machinery Crop Planting and harvesting is frequently the downfall in the crop operation Machinery right sized for the farm size Machinery well maintained A good farm shop Good maintenance records Proper inventory of key parts that wear out frequently Old machinery well maintained goes to the bottom line of cost per hundred kg milk produced Timing is everything in a crop operation

17 Storage Central principle is to have the right forages for each group of animals on the farm all of the time Each group of animals on the farm is critical Each group has specific forage needs to optimize response Hay/wrapped bales storage and access

18 Feeding Characteristics Forage Analyses We do CNCPS analyses + Fermentation acids + NDFd NIR is getting better so many are using this as a means of analyses On some large dairies we are now considering placing NIR units because of large inventory turnover Do wet lab where not sure

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22 Protein Fractions

23 Carbohydrate Fractions

24 Fiber Quality and NDF intake High Oa 50% NDFd NDFI,%BW Low Oa Week 30% NDFd Mertens

25 NDF Digestibility Measurements 100 lag Abe - Oa Van Amburgh % Remaining 50 Rumen fluid Enzyme Allen Wisconsin Time of Fermentation, Hrs

26 Van Amburgh et al Kd Calculator

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28 Environmental Impact on NDFd High Temperature NDFd Soil Moisture Low Low High

29 Cuttings May mixed legume & grass rain poor performance June rain poor performance July hot & dry good performance August hot & dry good performance September & October cool hi Nitrates poor performance

30 Irrigation Drives down digestibility Poorly drained soils more Irrigate to provide yield but some drought stress

31 Fatty Acids

32 Minerals & Bioavailabilities

33 Amino Acids

34 Forage Strategies The early lactating cows need high quality forage all year round They need high digestibility fiber They need effective fiber Place in storage so that will have continuous access Do NDFd 24 with the prediction equations we will be able to predict the available NDF Kd s

35 Dry Cow Forage Strategies It is essential to have the right forages and that these forages be consistent throughout the year Grasses are preferable Low potassium Intermediate digestibility Store in a separate area

36 Purchased Forage Operations The forage principles remain the same Develop rations for each animal group that will optimize the use of the byproducts available in the region Allow the model to tell you what the best forage needs are for a group Develop the specifications of the forages required Provide this to the people who provide the forage to the farm

37 Purchased Forage Operations The challenge is to have an effective purchasing system in place Specifies qualities needed for each group Have a quality monitoring program in place Too much of the imported forages has been from an irrigated grow out program Potential reduced fiber digestibility Monitor NDFd frequently enough to know suppliers Use NIR analyses for monitoring

38 Some Nutrition Guidelines

39 Tentative DM & NDF Guidelines Nutrient Lbs Kg %Fraction %DM Min, %DM Max, % DM Dry Matter Ferm Dry matter Total NDF pendf Lignin ermentable NDF > Chalupa & Hoover, 2004

40 Sugar needs to be at 8-10% DM to see a response to sugar per se Reduce starch accordingly Tentative NFC Guidelines Chalupa & Hoover, 2004 utrient Lbs Kg %Fraction %DM Min, %DM Max, % DM Sugar Ferm Sugar Enhanced Sugar Ferm Enhanced Sugar Starch ermentable starch Starch + Sugar Ferm St + Sugar Soluble Fiber Ferm. SolF

41 Protein & AA Guidelines RDP needs to be 11 to 12 %DM Peptide at 110% requirement, many times 115% requirement NH 3 at 110% requirement, needs to be in excess of peptide SOLP 30 to 35% of CP can go to 37% Meet MP and AA factorial requirements Meet ratios & make sure Lys:Met>3.0:1

42 Lipid Guidelines When EE goes to 5% or over, check lipid sources Keep unsaturated fatty acids under control Use Ca salts If using CPM then keep duodenal 18:1 Trans below 100g/day Be sure to ensure good feeding mgt and fermentation control

43 The Environment Cool weather NFC > 43% Maximize fermentable starch > 25% DM Warm weather NFC < 38% DM Minimize fermentable starch < 21% DM Increase sugar to 7 to 8% Increase the soluble fiber to 7 to 8%.

44 The Environment Poor stalls, flooring and ventilation Decrease NFC to < 37% DM Increase SOLF Decrease fermentable starch to <22% DM Excellent conditions NFC can be >40% DM Fermentable starch > 24% DM Sugar > 6% DM

45 Summary Forage quality is the beginning nutritional key to successful productivity & milk composition Forage quality is the beginning key to animal health Forage quality is the beginning key to profitability Adjust the way you think help your producers put a quality forage program in place