FEED & NUTRITION

The number of farms with automated milking systems has rapidly increased in North America over the past 15 years. Despite the increase in adoption, there have been very few controlled studies that have evaluated feeding management strategies for cows milked within automated milking systems.

In box-type automated milking systems, rest feed is feed programmed for the cow to receive at the robot but not consumed for various reasons. It could be because the cow did not have enough total visits to the robot, not enough time in the robot to consume the allotted feed, or the feed was not dense enough or palatable enough to be consumed efficiently.

The transformation of nutrients from a predominantly green and brown feed mix into a creamy white, life-sustaining liquid called milk by the dairy cow is a truly amazing process. One of the main components of the dairy cow’s milk is fat (butterfat). It is the component by which Canada’s supply management system is managed.

Often when nutritionists think of fatty acid nutrition, our minds turn to fat supplements. However, the area is much broader than dairy cattle diet fat supplements and should be recognized as such.

Most dairy research tends to focus on protein and energy needs, and trace minerals are often overlooked. Yet when we fail to consider the role of trace minerals, problems can arise, including interferences or interactions with minerals in feed and water.

Oilseed byproducts are an effective source of protein for dairy cattle, with soybean meal being a common ingredient in North American dairy rations. However, canola meal has been garnering interest by dairy nutritionists in recent years thanks to a growing body of research demonstrating positive impacts on performance and increased canola production in Canada, resulting in increased availability of canola meal into the U.S.