Dairy producers and their advisers spend a great deal of time and effort to develop protocols that standardize the routine actions needed to care for dairy cows. By their definition, these standard operating procedures, or SOPs, should virtually eliminate variation in performance of daily dairy activities, regardless of who completes them.
Even with the best of efforts, consistently following SOPs doesn’t always happen. Over time, procedural drift sets in, training isn’t sufficient in some cases, and people simply make mistakes.
Whether it’s in the breeding program, feed delivery system, transition cow health or another facet that impacts cow performance, the end result is outcomes that do not occur as expected or desired.
With the variability of the modern dairy economy, the need for accurate and dependable information to take the guesswork out of reproduction and cow health has never been greater.
Predictive technologies like activity and rumination monitoring can fulfill this need. This information helps pinpoint the sources of issues and enables dairies to address the “human factor” in protocol errors during the investigation process.
For more and more dairies, this actionable data has successfully supported and replaced more subjective measures of cow health and activity monitoring. Predictive information also helps target group and herd-wide nutrition and feeding programs to keep them on track.
Start at the beginning
When using this data to track SOP compliance and effectiveness, you must first know where cows are regarding rumination time. With this information, you can then begin to track how daily activities influence that measurement.
The first step is to establish a baseline of cow performance. This is quickly determined by the system during the first week of technology adoption. Continuously recorded data builds a record for each animal which can then be used to assess individual animal, group and herd performance.
While most cows spend about eight hours or so (450 to 550 minutes) ruminating each day, it’s not the total number that’s critically important to track. It’s the variability that should be monitored.
For example, one well-managed herd using the technology has an average herd rumination variation of six minutes per day. That’s extremely consistent. Other dairies have noted differences in average herd rumination times of 15 to 20 minutes per day.
Regardless, when rumination time deviates more than what’s typical for a herd, group or cow, managers know it’s time to check on what’s going on within the operation.
Investigation prompts
When rumination variations occur and you need to investigate the cause, begin with the easiest questions first. For instance, when exploring a nutrition issue, ask:
- Is the mixer properly working?
- Is the feed properly added to the mixer and are correct mixing times being observed?
- Is feed properly delivered?
- Is sorting occurring?
Once you’ve addressed these angles, then it’s time to explore areas like feed source consistency, ration ingredients, heat abatement, cow flow, grouping strategies and other feed-related and management-related factors.
Nutritionists who have used rumination data say it’s one more tool to help them keep track of what actually happens in cows, noting the information helps shorten the lag time between a nutritional problem cropping up and when issues with health or performance are identified. For example, Figure 1 tells the story of what happened at a dairy that decided to change a ration ingredient.
Within 24 hours, cow rumination time decreased enough to trigger a warning that something was going on with the cows. But milk production didn’t drop until about three days after the ration change occurred. Rumination time and performance improved after the dairy went back to feeding the original ration.
However, management elected to try the new ration again after cows returned to “normal” to be sure the ration change is what triggered the drop in performance. Cows experienced the same negative results, so the dairy again returned to the original ration.
Monitoring in action
The owners of a Midwest dairy recently used rumination data to track down the sources of a strange pattern of variation.
The dairy maintained a strong nutrition program which was overseen by a member of the farm’s management team. Everyone who was part of the feeding program had been trained to follow established protocols and had been taught the reason these protocols were in place.
However, the herd experienced an unexplained dip in rumination time of about 75 minutes or so every Wednesday. The scenario went on for a number of weeks. Forages were tested and protocols were examined – and re-examined – and cow routines were checked for disruption, but no clear-cut answers emerged.
Then one week, the primary feeder switched his day off from Wednesday to Thursday.
Herd rumination time remained steady on Wednesday. However, rumination time on Thursday took a 75-minute drop, then rose back to normal levels on Friday.
The problem wasn’t with the forages or the cows or the protocols. It was slight changes in feeding techniques when the primary feeder was away from the dairy.
Dump procedural drift
Despite training, procedural drift crept in. Whether intentional or not, the relief feeder did things slightly different from what occurred the other six days of the week. The differences could not be detected by looking at the ration but were enough to cause a rumination change in the cows.
The dairy re-emphasized to relief feeding personnel the importance of precise protocol compliance and rumination levels remained steady regardless of who was mixing the feed. The dairy was able to demonstrate the importance of proper feeding management to key personnel and had proof as to the impact of small differences in procedures.
Ultimately, the technology consistently measures cow rumination performance 24 hours a day, seven days a week so users can interpret this information to take needed action and better manage all aspects of their herd. It doesn’t replace key personnel; it simply helps them be more efficient with their time and resources while keeping SOPs effective. PD
Shane St. Cyr
Field Support Manager
SCR Dairy Inc.
