Although weather is a key influencing factor on grass availability, crop establishment/growth and farmer mood, there is absolutely nothing that any of us can do about it! There are, however, some simple things that we can all do for our animals to ensure that they remain as healthy, happy and productive as possible. AHDB reported that GB milk deliveries totalled 991 million litres in August, a decrease of 0.5% compared to last year. Daily deliveries averaged 31.9 million litres per day. Production for this year’s milk season so far (April-Aug) stands at 5,258 million litres, back 0.9% compared to the same period of the year before.
With milk supply tightening due to lower- than-forecasted milk yields and talk of milk prices increasing, we need to give our cows the correct nutrition now to ensure that they continue to deliver the litres (at the desired milk quality) to capitalise on potentially stronger milk prices.
Some important factors to consider:
Are we being realistic about the quantity of fresh grass available to your cows?
Grass growth rate has been extremely variable this season (you don’t need us to tell you that!), making the situation extremely challenging. With winter months approaching rapidly, some of you may be feeling cautious about forage supplies, following a very variable grass growing season and mixed reports regarding silage quality. Fresh grass DM% is lower than you might think (around 15-18%DM) and with daylight hours reducing, we need to be prioritising the cow and what she is realistically able to eat.
Are you ensuring the cows are receiving enough high-quality feed to support the desired level of milk production?
We appreciate that costs will be front of mind for all of you and the urge to resist the demands of a full winter routine for as long as possible are tempting, but please consider the following;
- Quantity and quality of buffer being provided, how much time have cows got to eat it?
- Think about access and space at troughs/feed fence especially for freshly calved cows, heifers and more subordinate animals.
- Clean troughs out more frequently to avoid heating and/or mouldy feed contaminating fresh feed.
- Consider the amount of time spent in collecting yards.
- Think about clamp management – are you able to move across the face quicker to prevent heating? Is the shear grab sharp to achieve a clean cut at the face?
Do the cows have enough access to fresh, clean water?
- The unsung hero, the often-forgotten nutrient – a 40-litre cow can drink up to 200 litres of water a day. After all, milk is about 87% water!
- Do you have enough water troughs?
- What is your water pressure like? Can it cope with the number of cows per trough and high demand periods such as straight after milking?
- Are the water troughs clean and fresh, is there a biofilm?
- Observe cows drinking, are they glugging or licking from the top of the trough? Do you see cows going for the freshest water near the ball valve?
How are your forage stocks looking (appreciating that you may not know for maize harvest yet)?
- Is the first cut disappearing quicker than you had hoped?
- Is 2023 maize all but gone?
- Please involve us in the conversation early, we may be able to help extend forage stocks a little or look at some alternative options.
Remember the young ones?
When times get tough, there is often a temptation to keep youngstock tight. Please be mindful that these are the future profit generators of your farming business. We need to ensure that they receive the correct nutrient supply for their age and stage to support growth, development and fertility so that they can get (and hold) in calf and seamlessly enter the herd in the future.
Always think about dry and transition cows!
Although the nutrient demands of our heavily pregnant girls are nothing like that of our early lactation ladies, we need to provide them with the right amount of all the nutrients, we all need a stress-free calving and successful transition into milk, to hit the required peak yield for your herd.
What are the cows telling us?
- Dry matter intakes – are they staying the same or are they a bit variable?
- Rumen fill (guide to what cows have eaten in last 4 – 6 hours)
- Body Condition Score (more of a longer-term indication of nutrition, are you measuring this? If not, we can help!)
- Dung consistency
- Bulk tank milks and milk quality
- Fertility
Who knows what the winter has in store for all of us but please do give us a shout, we are on hand to help and support and can hopefully provide some valuable guidance to assist you with some of the factors within your control.