Milk Protein and butterfats are a huge part of the milk cheque revenue and will become even more important into the future.
The basics on Milk Protein and its production is that it requires energy to make it. Genetics in the cow are important but if you do not feed her she cannot produced adequate levels of Milk Protein.
The basics that have to be fulfilled to produce Milk proteins are:
- The cow must be in good health. She must not have a large fluke burden, not wheezing and coughing and able to walk without stiffness.
- She must be in a good body condition. This depends at what stage of her lactation she is but generally accepted between 2.75 to 3.5. Interestingly too fat a body condition score (4) impacts just as negatively on Milk protein production as too thin.
- She must be given adequate fuel to power milk protein production.
The general advice if these criteria are fulfilled is to feed as good a quality feed as you need to produce your target milk protein. Milk protein will depend on stage of lactation and also on grass and silage quality to a large extent.
Our DairyMax 18% and DairyExcel feedsare tailored to provide high levels of energy to your cow at a high protein level while still keeping condition on the cow. Generally feeding high protein feeds causes cows to produce more quantities of milk and can cause cows to strip condition from their back to produce this. With our DairyMax and Dairy Excel range we try to get the best of both worlds by providing a high energy feed with high levels of low protein Maize (over 25%) to keep condition on the cow. We also provide a rumen buffering agent, an active yeast and protected fat in the form of megalac to allow farmers to feed high levels if necessary in bad weather or if grass is in short supply. Even at low feeding levels these active ingredients help the cow to make the most of grass and silage by balancing her rumen and keeping it working efficiently. Ask any of our customers from 2012, 13 and 14 dairy seasons how they found it for an independent assessment. The feedback we have gotten from these products has been excellent. Proof again that we use quality ingredients to make quality results for our customers.
Paul O’Connell
Ruminant feed specialist.
Call us on 061 355186 for more details.
