US or UK – dairy farmers face same sort of trouble
US or UK – dairy farmers face same sort of trouble
By Shelley Wright
DAIRY farmers in the USA face similar problems to their UK counterparts, says American research scientist Limin Kung.
He told the audience at last weeks Semex dairy conference in Glasgow that, in the past 10 years, there had been a 40% fall in the number of milk producers in the US, with just 114,000 remaining. Those who had stayed in business still faced an unpredictable future, with wild swings in milk price.
"In the past six months we have seen the milk price fall from about 25p/litre down to about 16p," he said, adding that US farmers, like those in Britain, were now questioning what they had to do to survive.
The trend in all developed countries to keeping fewer cows that were capable of producing more milk meant that, as well as making use of innovative management, producers had to go back to basics, said Dr Kung, a dairy researcher at the University of Delaware.
"On many of the farms I visit, dairy calves and heifers are the most overlooked sector. With cull rates as high as 45% on some of the big US units, more attention has to be paid to rearing replacements.
"It really is back to basics. Many people will have clean calving areas and proper isolation for sick animals. But then they forget things like making sure all the feeding equipment is properly sanitised, and disease then runs through a batch of calves," he said.
Everyone was aware of the need to get colostrum into calves. But farmers also had to realise that timing was vital. Calves should receive colostrum within six hours of birth. Mortality rate doubled when this was exceeded.
"The volume is also important. Calves used to receive probably 1.5-2.5 litres of colostrum. But these big Holsteins need three to four litres immediately after birth, and the same again 12 hours later, to ensure sufficient antibody levels," he said. Newborn calves were unlikely to be able to drink such volumes, so tubing might be needed.
Dry cow management was another area where attention to detail was essential. In the last two to three weeks before calving, more concentrates had to be fed, but diet density, too, had to increase. That would ensure rumen capacity and absorptive surface area was sufficient to cope with demands of early lactation.
The next important basic management tool for any farmer was to know exactly what cows were eating, Dr Kung said. "There is significant data showing that every extra kg of milk produced in peak lactation results in about 200kg when spread across the entire lactation.
"So know what you are feeding and adjust accordingly. There are some herds in the US where silage dry matter will be analysed every day. That is maybe a bit excessive, but if you have wet silage and different crops in the clamp then you need to analyse it routinely and adjust diets on a dry matter basis."
As well as ensuring that cows were eating the right diet, producers had to maximise their animals access to the feed. "They should all have ad-lib access to feed for 16 to 18 hours a day, but especially after milking. That will keep them on their feet while the teat canals close," Dr Kung said.
Another area frequently overlooked was the calibration of mixer wagons. "More farmers are using TMR, and the benefits are well documented. But how many regularly calibrate the scales on the wagons?"
Dr Kung believed water was the most overlooked nutrient in dairy cow management. Not only should the quality be good, but access was also important. "Do not make your cows walk to get to water. They want to consume 30-40% of their daily intake immediately after milking. If they are feeding at this time, then do not make them stop that to go and find water." *
DAIRY SURVIVAL
• Innovative management.
• Back to basics.
• Correct nutrition vital.
Know exactly what your cows are eating, says US researcher Limin Kung.