Dairy Focus - Milk from Forage


This week's dairy focus concentrates on farms in the north west and increasing milk from forage.


Dairy Focus - Milk from Forage

Ruminant Nutritionist, Mark Gorst, has consistently delivered cost and management improvements on farms across Cumbria, Lancashire and Cheshire since he joined Advanced Nutrition in 2008. Over a number of years, some clients have seen margin per cow increase by over £500 - achieved through nutritional changes, better management of lameness and fertility, and careful monitoring.

The Advanced 360 dairy programme has been key in helping many of Mark’s clients continually move their business forward. The programme consists of a series of protocols. Mark looks to:-

  • Improve cow health
  • Increase milk from forage
  • Manage the dry cow for optimal lifetime performance
  • Monitor and improve heifer rearing
  • Monitor the herd's financial performance

 

This week we look at increasing milk from forage as the focus.

Improving milk from forage 

Improving the quantity of milk produced from home grown forages, in the majority of cases leads to an increase in herd margin. If a herd has an acceptable level of high quality forage within the diet there is a reduced need to purchase surplus concentrates. To produce 500 litres of milk you require around 2600MJ of energy. Grass silage is costed at 0.93p/MJ/kgDM therefore the cost is £24.18. If the forage was not available brewers grains could be used instead, the cost of brewers grains is 1.96p/MJ/kgDM.

Using the same calculation is £50.96. The “saving” by producing the milk from forage is £26.78.

Working with a Cheshire dairy unit, Mark looked at the re-seeding program alongside the grazing requirements and created a simple system to ensure maximum grazed and conserved forages. The herd’s annual milk yield increased by 10% over the same period.

Re-seeding may appear to be yet another extra cost at around £200 per acre, but with five-year payback at 3.75:1, it can more than pay for itself. Rejuvenating long-established ley by re-seeding can increase the quantity and quality of home-grown forage thereby reducing the reliance on bought-in feed.

One farm in Lancashire took part in a trial in conjunction with DLF Seeds & Science over a three year period, to help maximise their return from the field. The unit has a mixed soil type profile dominated by loam, an average 1,400mm rainfall. The herd is housed all year round and averages 10,500 litres. The cows are fed a TMR composing of grass and wholecrop silages, blend, molasses and minerals. Grass silage makes up the majority of the diet, therefore the quality and quantity produced is important to maintain the performance of the cows.

Mark worked with the business and identified a grass mixture ideally suited to intensive silage production. Each year, approxiamately 15 acres were re-seeded. The same specialist DLF forage mixture comprising festuoliums and hybrid ryegrasses where chosen to provide high quality leafy grass with persistence, stress tolerance and disease resistance. 30% of the perennial mixture was made up of varieties providing improved cell well digestibility. The mix had a three to five year life-span. The fields were each sampled the following year five days prior to first cut.

First and second cuts were manually weighed and analysed for DM, ME, NDF and nitrogen content to ensure the sward was ready for cutting. The same sampling process was repeated on exactly the same day 12 months later, the only difference being the weather. The results show a difference of 3,336MJ less clamped the previous year.

Looking at milk yield value to establish the cost benefit of re-seeding. The 3,336MJ per acre difference in ME yield equates to 600 litres; at 25p per litre the milk value from forage is increased by £150. Remember this figure represents the deterioration in grass quality over three years. If your leys are older, this will increase substantially. Considering the investment, reseeding costs around £200 per acre including preparation of the field and sowing at approximately £90 per acre. Spraying, seedbed fertiliser and seed may total a further £110 per acre. Over a five year ley this spend work outs at approximately £40 a year offering a conservative 3.75:1 return on additional milk from forage.

The saying of, “you can’t manage what you don’t measure”, is very true as the article highlights the importance of monitoring as part of a whole farm approach. Looking forward as we navigate what continues to feel like a rollercoaster for the dairy industry, we must continue to look at moving our farm businesses forward by monitoring performance including heifers and dry cows due to enter the milking herd. We must remember that costs are important but margin more so. If the cost remains but, performance improves, the return will ultimately be greater. 


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