Dairy Grist
WESTERN & PRAIRIE EDITION A PERIODIC NEWSLETTER PRODUCED BY GRAND VALLEY FORTIFIERS VOLUME 2, ISSUE 4 | WINTER 2022
Dear Friends, As Christmas quickly approaches all of the Grand Valley Fortifiers family members want to wish you and your family members a very blessed Christmas! Across the provinces and across the country, we had a very “interesting” growing season and thereby variable harvest in terms of quality and in terms of yield. In these days of expensive feed costs and regionally sparse and/or poor quality forages, we have included a number of articles centred around getting the most out of your feed/forages. With tight margins throughout the industry, formulators, feed specialists, and operators all need to think “precision feeding and management” and work closely together to capture as many savings and efficiencies as possible. I trust that the information that is shared within this edition of the Dairy Grist will bring opportunities for improvement top of mind and will result in more investigation and discussion with your Dairy Specialist and Nutritionist. As we near the end of 2022, I and all at the GVF group of companies family members are thankful for the opportunity to work so closely together with so many of Canada’s amazing Dairy producers across this wonderful country. We count this a privilege and hold these relationships – many of which have existed for decades – as a rich blessing. Blessings on you, yours and your Dairy operation in 2023! Sincerely, Ian Ross, President & CEO
EVALUATING THE TMR FOR UNIFORMITY
by: NIKKI CAMPBELL Ruminant Nutrition Consultant, Grand Valley Fortifiers, Nutrition Direct
P
erforming routine Penn State Shaker Audit (PSPS) on your TMR is an excellent, efficient, and cost-effective bunk management tool. The goal of evaluating your feed program is to ensure that every mouthful of feed cows eat is the same all day and not sortable. The PSPS shaker box can be performed on any TMR or individual forage. A sample of 500 g allows the feed to be evaluated by moving it through the separator. Table 1 Shows Grand Valley Fortifiers recommendations for the division of material on each sieve using a 3 box system.) Table 1: Current GVF PSPS TMR Recommendations Recommendations Top
<9%
Middle
50-60%
Bottom
<50%
The material on the top two sieves represents the effective fiber in the diet. The top sieve contains the long-stemmed fiber that largely contributes to the rumen mat, is digested slowly, and what is needed for proper rumen function. It is important to note, that although long-stemmed material is extremely important for the creation of this mat and proper rumen function, that material should never be cut longer than half the cow’s muzzle - anything longer than this length increases sorting. The middle sieve represents shorter fiber particles, these shorter pieces contribute to the fiber mat, but are more easily broken down and digested. The bottom pan represents the finest particles,
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these are rapidly digested and used as a quick source of energy for the cow, and do not contribute to the fiber mat but necessary to keep up with energy demands of milk production. Currently, the NRC recommends a minimum of 25% NDF on a dry matter basis, with 76% of the NDF coming from forage. Chop length is very important to achieving NDF targets, a diet can contain adequate physically effective fiber, but because the forage is chopped so finely, it will not contribute to rumen health, and will have a negative impact on the gut microbiome. Ideally, a lower amount on the top sieve is recommended, this represents the most sortable portion of the diet. Current research is supporting a lower amount of material on the top sieve and maximizing the amount of feed on the middle sieve. Both the top and middle sieve will promote chewing and rumination and support a healthy rumen environment. If you do not have access to a PSPS shaker box, you can also look to your forage lab results. Increasingly, nutritionists are looking at the uNDF 240 hr number. This number gives us an idea of rumen fill and provides an indication of how much forage cow can eat before the she is full. The lower the uNDF240 number, the better. As the number decreases, this represents an opportunity for increased intake of forages. Higher forage rations are always preferred for cow health! It is important to have the proper amounts of material on each sieve, an imbalance can lead to rumen upset. For example, a lack of effective fiber can lead to ruminal acidosis, with not enough fiber present in the diet to produce an adequate fiber mat. A reduction in chewable fiber or “chew factor” leads to a lower amount of saliva produced and material moving more quickly through the rumen, all equating to lower buffering capacity and feed not being fully digested. On the opposite end of the spectrum, if there is too much material on the top sieve, this can lead to excessive sorting and the potential for slug feeding. Sorting occurs when cattle move around their feed to sift out the concentrates to get to the “goodies” first. This doesn’t mean that they will not eventually eat the longer Ian Ross, President & CEO | David Ross, VP & CMO Mark Bowman | Jeff Keunen | Lisa McGregor | Kathleen Shore, Ruminant Nutritionists Curtis Ebanks, Layout Editor
stemmed particles but often it is the cow last to the feed bunk that will eat it out of desperation. This is when we see manure inconsistencies in the barn. When concentrates are consumed first, rumen pH is negatively affected and proper digestion is inhibited, leading to inadequate nutrient absorption, potential rumen acidosis, and a reduction in milk production. When should you speak with your nutrition advisor about running a PSPS shaker box or conducting a full TMR audit? 1. A large change in forage proportions has happened. 2. You are switching into a new cut of forage. 3. The cows appear to be consuming less feed or there are more leftovers than usual. 4. You are noticing loose manure, undigested feed particles in the manure or a change in milk production or fat. Your dairy specialist will be able to determine what the best course of action is. If you are looking to check your TMR to ensure that the proportions of fiber are meeting GVF recommendations, your rep can take samples from the beginning, middle and end of the bunk to get an average of the mix. If you are looking for a full TMR audit, this consists of taking 10 samples along the bunk as the feed is being delivered to allow your advisor to determine if there are any inconsistencies in the mix. A consistently mixed TMR should look like Graph 1 i.e little variation in the feed delivered along the bunk and a uniform mix. Graph 2 shows an inconsistently mixed TMR leading to inconsistent intake across the herd.
Potential causes for an inconsistent mix include weigh scales off calibration, order of mixing, forage chop length, sharpness of knives, and amount of time spent mixing. It is also good practice to take a sample of leftover feed and perform a PSPS shaker box on this as well. Comparing leftover feed to fresh feed shows if any additional sorting is occurring. There should be minimal differences between the distribution of materials from the fresh and leftover shaker boxes. PSPS audits can also be done on individual forages during harvest while feed is being chopped, so that any changes to the chop length can be made while the feed is being ensiled. The Penn State shaker box is a great economic tool that producers or their dairy specialists can routinely perform on farm. High forage diets, high forage intake and increased dry matter intake are key factors in optimizing milk production and reducing purchased feed costs on farm. Ensuring that your TMR is mixed uniformly is the easiest and quickest way to ensure that your cows are consuming a properly mixed ration thus optimizing herd performance.
THE VALUE OF BEEF GENETICS IN YOUR DAIRY HERD
by: TOM BOWMAN Dairy & Beef Specialist Grand Valley Fortifiers
It is no question that dairy producers are always looking for ways to increase production and revenue while also looking to cut costs where they can, whether it be through adopting new tech-
nologies, changes to barns and equipment, or trying new practices on their farm. One practice that producers are increasingly using is to breed with a beef sire to produce a dairy-beef crossbred calf. Producers have taken a liking to this for multiple reasons; the first being that they can improve the genetics of the herd by using a beef sire on the lower producing cows and using dairy sires on their higher producing cows to only keep heifers from their higher end cows. The next reason is that they can produce a crossbred calf that can be sold for beef with a premium over a straight dairy bull calf. Producers are also able to reduce the number of heifers they are raising which can reduce overall farm feed costs. While the dairy-beef cross presents a great opportunity for producers, there are some considerations which they should consider to make sure that they are getting the most out of the crossbred calves, while also providing a quality product for the next person in the supply chain. The three most important things for dairy producers to think about when it comes to the dairy-beef cross include the marketing and end user, breeding and genetics, and management of the calves. The first decision which needs to be considered is what the marketing strategy and who the next user of the calf is. There are many options that producers can choose from to market their crossbred calves. The first is to sell the calf at a few days old either directly to another producer or through an auction mart. Marketing calves through an auction mart can be helpful for determining a price while marketing directly to another producer gives the opportunity to develop a breeding and management program that calf buyers could be willing to pay a premium for. A second option is to raise the calves to a point where they are weaned and can be sold to a cattle feeder to go directly onto feed. This can give dairy producers an opportunity to raise the calf through the most vulnerable period of life and sell a larger calf at 200+ lbs. A third option producers have is to raise the crossbred calves to up to a finished weight and market them as finished beef either through an auction mart, directly to a harvest facility or sell freezer beef. When doing this, producers are able to produce a finished animal and capture the full margin of feeding the calves. Producers who choose this route should think about the feed and barn space they have available, the labour required and what nearby markets are easily accessible. When considering which beef bulls to use on dairy cows producers should keep in mind the characteristics which will provide the highest value of a finished beef animal. The preferred beef traits are a black hided, polled steer with similar yield and grade to a conventional type beef animal. Some of the breeds to consider can include Angus, Simmental, Limousin, Hereford and Charolais, keeping in mind that there is almost as much genetic variability within the breeds as there is across the breeds. Some expected progeny differences (EPD’s) to look at in selecting a sire are calving ease, hip height, carcass weight, rib eye area and marbling. When crossbreeding Holsteins which have a large frame we are trying to get a smaller framed calf with a more moderate rib eye area and higher marbling quality, whereas in breeds like Jerseys which marble very well we are focusing more on getting a higher yielding carcass with a larger rib eye area. In instances where producers are marketing calves directly to another farmer it would be worthwhile to work with them to select sires which have the best characteristics for them, otherwise it is good to work with a specialist to determine which sires will work best on their farm. With respect to managing the calves it is important to keep in mind what will provide value for the next user. Proper management of the calves will lead to less disease issues and will help the calf transition onto feed as seamless as possible. Early life care and management needs to be similar to what producers are already doing for dairy heifer calves. Calves should get a proper amount of colostrum as quickly as possible, separated from the cow and administered any vaccines. They should also be castrated and dehorned within a few weeks of birth. Calves can be fed
Dairy Grist a milk replacer or whole milk in a similar program to dairy heifer calves. Beef crossbred calves should begin to be weaned at 40 days old and should be completely weaned at 60 days. Following weaning, the dairybeef crossbred calves should be fed a calf ration with adequate fibre and protein levels up to 300 lbs body-weight at which point they can then be transitioned to a more typical beef feeding program. It is important to communicate with the next user, veterinarian, and nutritionist to develop a management and feeding program that is the best fit for your farm. Overall using beef on dairy is an exciting opportunity for producers to reap the benefits of what could be considered a by-product of producing milk. However, producers should make sure to look at how they are marketing their calves, which sires they are using, and how they are managing the calves. By evaluating what they are currently doing producers can make changes to develop a program that will provide a quality product for the next user and generate the best return for their calves.
with JEFF KEUNEN Ruminant Nutrition, Grand Valley Fortifiers, Nutrition Direct
HARVEST 2022 AND HOW TO MANEUVER YOUR FEED STUFFS THIS WINTER.
H
arvest 2022 is wrapped up across western Canada. It has been another interesting year for yields across the west. As per usual we have seen it all, from tremendous yields in the northern half of the provinces, to spotty areas of mediocrity to outright crop disasters. Southern SK and Southern AB seem to be our most variable with one neighbour having sufficient feed inventories to the next having to go out and purchase enough to get by again for a third year in a row. BC is a whole different world from its normal. As is the case in the prairies across the central and north BC there is an abundance of feed stuff, but in the south rather than having a spotty harvest, everyone is just missing 20-40% of their inventory. The extremely cool and wet spring held back our planting season and then the incredibly hot and dry summer that followed, gave no reprieve nor optimal growing season for the crops. So, what does this mean for the quality of feed stuffs and what alterations will made to utilize them? We are seeing the correlation of impressive yields in the central to northern areas, but little quality to go with that. Now some crops are not following this pattern, the wheat silage, poly crop silage and some corn silage crops in central Alberta seem to have had a tremendous year. Even though they have had better than average yields, we are also having better than average quality. This makes sense with the weather patterns and just when the heat arrived in relation to planting times. Now the grass and alfalfa crops along with the barley silage seem to be a different story. As the volume of yield has increased, the quality has decreased. It is not necessarily the fact that the quantity of nutrients is down, but the nutrients (protein and energy fractions) have been diluted over a larger dry matter mass in the plant and the fibre fraction is just a larger than normal percentage. So rather than seeing a 20% protein alfalfa with a 30% ADF and 40% NDF we are seeing a 15% protein with a 38% ADF and a 52% NDF. Still the same kgs of protein harvested per acre just a higher volume of fibre to go with it and to figure out how to utilize. Grass is even more extreme on these analyses, with some samples coming back as low as 3-5% protein and as high as 67-70% NDF. All these bales appear to look like nice feed, but analytically it is just a significant amount of fibre
with a sprinkle of protein and energy to go with it. This seems to correlate with the cooler early growing season before the furnace kicked on.
Southern SK and Southern AB have this same issue where the spot showers reached, here there are sufficient volumes, but lower quality (or density) of nutrients and thus we find ourselves having to supplement more protein or energy to our rations to make things balance. Great for having the inventory required to feed our animals, but now having to find a way to increase the nutrient density of the rations with purchased ingredients. This is a year where by-products are finding a home everywhere. If you can get your hands on some, they are a cost-effective way to make up some volume that is missing in some areas and in others where we have the volume, they are a terrific way to reduce that fibre content and increase the nutrient density cost effectively.
CORNELL HIGHLIGHTS – THINGS TO CONSIDER IN AMS SYSTEMS
by: VICKI WIENS Dairy Specialist Grand Valley Fortifiers
I attended Cornell Nutrition Conference in October. One of the speakers I enjoyed was Dr. Trevor DeVries, University of Guelph, and his topic on Nutritional Opportunities and Challenges with Robot Milked Cows. To start off, there are two major opportunities with robot herds: 1. Encourage voluntary milking visits (increases efficiencies) 2. Manage cows individually (pushing for higher peaks, better persistency, stage of lactation) The question is how do we get these girls to go to the robot? The feed in the robot and at the feed bunk. Dr. DeVries and others have seen that the partially mixed ration (PMR) and pushing up feed is closely linked to milking activity making high quality forages critical to the system. Furthermore, the more times we feed out/push up, the more milk the cows will give. Most importantly, Dr. Devries notes that in a robot barn it is critical to make sure that the feed bunk doesn’t go empty versus a parlour milked or tie stall barn.
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The other feed to consider is the robot feed which achieves two things: attracts the cows to the robot and keeps them occupied during the visit. Granted, barn design plays a role in this equation as we can feed less at the robot in a guided system vs. free flow as there is more than just the concentrate attracting them to the robot. Questions to ask are: do these cows get the amount of robot feed they are programmed to receive? Is she consistently going to the robot? What are you putting through the robot… a pellet, cracked corn/barley, crumbled pellet, or meal? What is the dispensing rate of the feed? How fast can she consume that feed in the time she spends in the box stall?
JOIN US IN WELCOMING OUR NEW NUTRITIONIST TO OUR TEAM! It is with great pleasure that we welcome Lisa McGregor to our Ruminant Technical team as Ruminant Nutritionist working with the familiar names/faces of Mark Bowman, Jeff Keunen, and Kathleen Shore. Lisa is not new to our industry having worked as a Ruminant Nutritionist for the past 6 years. She brings her upbeat attitude, her willingness to serve customers and her knowledge to our team and we are thrilled to be working with her.
LISA MCGREGOR
Lisa is a graduate from the University of Guelph
Ruminant Nutrition where she completed both her undergraduate
and graduate degrees. Lisa will be a part of the team located in our head office in Cambridge, Ontario and will be looking after rations, samples and product formulation. Please help us welcome Lisa and feel free to reach out to her in her new role. Lisa can be reached at: lisamcgregor@grandvalley.com
2022
Dear Friends
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When it comes to feed type the highest intake rate is from pellets and DEC. 26/27 JAN. 03, 2023 TUESDAY MONDAY DEC. 28TUESDAY JAN. 02MONDAY slowest intake rate is from a crumbled feed or meal. On average, a cow will eat at a rate of approximately 250g/min so if we do some quick maths CLOSED DEC. 26 REOPEN DEC. 27 CLOSED JAN. 02RETURN TO JAN. 03, 2023 of what the cow is capable of, ~7 min box time x 250g/min = 1.8kg per NORMAL 8AM - 5PM CLOSED CLOSED RETURN TO NORM visit x 3 visits, which gives us ~5.4kg/d/cow. When Dr. DeVries and his BUSINESS HOURS BUSINESS HOURS CUSTOMER SERVICE DESK OPEN, group surveyed various farms, with different traffic setups across Canada, DELIVERIES RESUME DEC 28. A N D the average consumption per cow was 5.4kg/d. Knowing this, we can N E W Y Eintake. A R It’ isS design the feed tables to match production and total feed S C H E D U LE important to note that no matter where the feed comes from, cows will only eat a certain level of dry matter (depending on requirements). In2022. Thank you for your business in general, researchers have found that cows have a substitution rate of 1:1. That is, for every 1 kg extra in the robot = 1kg less eaten at the bunk which is why it is important to know dry matter intakes. A key challenge with AMS farms is that with high producing fresh cows, more of these cows fall into negative energy balance because they struggle to consume enough energy at the start of lactation. Some key metrics to follow: robot visits (3+), and consumption of robot feed Prepare Him Room (% allocated). Dr. DeVries suggests addressing this energy shortage by supplementing these fresh cows with a secondary pellet that can provide “Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in his name, He gave the an alternative energy source. right to become children of God.(John 1:12) Conversely, we can’t forget our late lactation cows, overfeeding this group of cows will lead to an increased risk of problems in the transition/ When Christ was born on this earth 2000 years ago, there was no room fresh period in her next lactation. Feeding these cows a lower energy rafor Him at the inn. Instead, he was born in a stable among the animals, tion with more forages at the feed bunk will help with preventing over that as farmers, we’re all so familiar with. However, it was Jesus’ sacrificial love to all mankind that “made room” for you and me to have access to conditioning and save producers significant dollars as well. the Father. Through His birth, death, and resurrection He made Finally, we need to pay attention to our cows behaviour within the barn. room for all who believe in His name and Are they visiting the robot and the feed bunk appropriately? Are they eatreceive Him to become children of God. ing the correct allotment of feed for their stage of lactation and body condition? Are our fresh cows/heifers peaking high enough and maintaining This Christmas season, have proper body condition? Are we drying off cows at an appropriate body you prepared Him room? condition to prevent disease risk in the next lactation? We can do a lot to tailor the feed to her in the robot but if she’s not going there, she’s not getDon’t miss out on the ting it. Some feed for thought! best gift of all!
Thought for the Day