FEED & NUTRITION

The trace mineral requirements of dairy animals is a topic that continues to receive a great deal of attention, and rightfully so. Although trace minerals comprise less than 0.01 percent of the total mass of an organism, they are essential for normal function.

From an economic perspective, once we have invested in a robot or automated milking system, the goal should be to maximize the milking capacity of the robot. Because of its limited capacity of milking time, we should concentrate on maximizing the milk yield per cow because we cannot increase the number of cows per robot.

Forage quality is one of the most important factors that determines the level of milk production and profitability of a dairy farm. Traditionally, forage quality has been defined by the nutrient content and digestibility of the nutrients in a forage.

Researchers are increasingly identifying the implication of microbial growth in dairy feed ingredients and feed.

The growing season from the past year has been somewhat like stock and futures markets. Several months of (early season) conditions and expectations changed markedly in a matter of a few weeks.

How cows eat and ruminate is just as important as the nutritional composition of the feed in front of them. Make the most of every minute at the bunk by understanding dairy cow behaviour and incorporating that into daily herd management.