Managing For More Milk

Jennifer Heguy, UCCE Stanislaus & San Joaquin and Jed Asmus, Independent Nutritionist

You cannot simply take one dairy’s diet, feed it to another herd, and expect the same production results.  The reason - there are many variables that impact a cow’s ability to make milk.  While nutrition is extremely important, and the largest cost of producing milk, it is only one of a number of factors that needs to be routinely evaluated. Table 1 is the typical time budget for a lactating cow (housed in freestalls).  Cows spend almost half the day lying down, followed by eating/drinking, standing in the stall or alley, and milking.  Within each of these areas is an opportunity to improve management. Let’s take a look at a few areas where small improvements in management may find you more milk.

Table 1. Dairy cow time budget (USDA, 2007)

Feeding Management

Just as important as what you’re feeding is how you feed.  In a study published in the Journal of Dairy Science, three of the most influential milk production variables (outside of the ration) were related to feeding: stocking density, feeding for refusals, and pushing-up feed.  These may seem like common sense practices, but all three are often overlooked on dairies.  Keeping an accurate pen count and allowing for adequate feeding space are imperative to ensuring adequate dry matter intake.  When animals are overstocked (more cows than feeding space), there is greater potential for sorting to affect subordinate cows in the pen.  Dominant cows eat first, leaving subordinate cows to eat the sorted feed rather than the formulated ration, thus compromising milk production and animal health. 

In times of high feed costs, the natural (but not necessarily correct) response is to cheapen rations.  One way to accomplish this is to reduce the amount of feed offered to limit refusals. In a 2009 California feeding management survey, 58% of producers reported not feeding for refusals.  Unless pen counts are spot-on, and your feeder has turned weighing ingredients into a fine art, you may be underfeeding animals when not feeding for refusals.  In that case, the cost of limiting feed intake (thus limiting production and affecting health) outweighs the savings in feed.            

Keeping feed in front of cows is another important factor when managing for more milk.  This is accomplished by feeding multiple times per day, keeping feed pushed up, and/or a combination of the two.  Lack of feed, or feed not within cows’ reach should not be a limiting factor for milk production.

Milk is about 87% water, making water an important (and oftentimes overlooked) nutrient. If you see cows waiting to drink, you need to install more watering space.  The majority of free water intake is consumed shortly after milking, so ensure that animals have abundant access to clean, cool water.  Both water quantity and quality are important!  Water troughs should be cleaned at least weekly, a practice only 40% of producers reported in the 2009 survey. 

Resting Area

We’ve already covered stocking density as related to feeding management, but it is also important for “cow comfort” and adequate lying time.  Cows need a clean, dry environment, with adequate “cushion” regardless of bedding type.  Studies have shown that lying time increases with increased bedding depth.  Cows standing in stalls rather than lying down can be an indication that improvements are needed.    Neck rail placement in freestalls is another area where improvements may be beneficial. Table 2 provides recommendations for neck rail placement based on the size of the animals being housed.  When neck rails are placed too far forward or too high in the freestalls, animals will stand and urinate/defecate in the beds, creating a hygiene problem.  Neck rails placed too far back or too low can prevent animals from utilizing freestalls. 

Table 2.  Recommendations for neck rail placement by size of animal

Take Home Message

The objectives of any dairy are to make milk, and make money.  Cows searching for adequate resting areas, eating a sorted ration, standing in holding pens for an extended period of time, etc., do not make more milk.  The cheapest milk increases are not found by decreasing the cost of your diet, instead they fall into eliminating management bottle necks that decrease productivity on your dairy. 

Link to PDF Version: Managing For More Milk