Dairy producers’ commitment to providing consumers with great-tasting, nutritious and high-quality milk and dairy products has never been more solid. But today’s consumers are increasingly removed from agriculture, and dairy checkoff-funded research confirms that consumers want to know more about the products they buy and how they are produced.
Thanks to the vision and actions of dairy producers, we have a good story to tell. Through the adoption of new technologies and practices, dairy producers have increased efficiencies that both improve on-farm profitability and reduce the environmental impact of dairy farming.
According to a Cornell University study, today 9.2 million dairy cows produce more milk than the 25.6 million dairy cows the industry relied on in 1944, using 90 percent less cropland and 65 percent less water, producing 76 percent less manure and 63 percent less carbon emissions.
We need to continue to find ways to build consumer confidence in dairy products, sustain our farms and reduce our environmental impact.
The fact is, while a dairy cow’s rumen allows her to digest the high-fiber feed necessary for milk production, it also causes her to produce enteric methane gas, a greenhouse gas (GHG) emitted into the atmosphere and a significant contributor to dairy’s carbon footprint.
That’s why the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, which was established under the leadership of dairy producers, is advancing the Cow of the Future project.
The project aims to provide U.S. dairy producers with science-based resources to reduce the production of enteric methane gas through improvements in feed and animal management that make good business sense.
But these reductions cannot be made at the expense of milk production because the future promises to bring millions more dairy consumers who want to enjoy nutritious, wholesome dairy foods and beverages.
Cow of the Future report: Research priorities
Composed of leading researchers and animal scientists, the Cow of the Future team focused first on identifying eight research areas that have the greatest potential to reduce enteric methane emissions.
These research areas also could provide direct benefits to farm businesses by identifying ways to improve profitability through increases in production efficiency.
Of the eight research areas, three involve advancing the science and understanding of enteric methane emissions in dairy cows: rumen microbial genomics and ecology, methane measurement techniques and mathematical modeling.
The other five areas address practical ways to reduce enteric methane emissions: rumen function and modifiers, enhancing feed quality and feed ingredient usage, and genetic approaches to increase cow productivity.
An integrated research model can help reduce redundancy, improve research efficiency and increase the overall impact of reducing emissions.
Cow of the Future report: Considerations and resources
The best feed management and animal management practices address both economic and environmental concerns.
The second report from the Cow of the Future team focused on consolidating, for the first time, considerations and resources for feed management and animal management practices that both increase business value and reduce enteric emissions from dairy.
The report should be a valuable tool for nutritionists, veterinarians and dairy producers – the people who ultimately make business decisions that affect the sustainability of their operation.
The contributors to the report include leading animal scientists from land-grant universities as well as industry experts on nutrition, milk quality and dairy production. Following is a brief summary. The full report is expected to be published in the fall.
Feed management practices
One of the best ways to reduce enteric methane production in individual animals is to improve feed efficiency. This requires paying attention to ration formulation, as well as forage and concentrate management.
Formulating balanced rations that meet animal requirements for health, reproduction and high levels of productivity will lead to higher feed efficiency. High-quality forages promote feed intake, overall ration digestibility and high productivity.
The inclusion of concentrates will increase animal performance and steer rumen fermentation away from methane production.
Concentrates also can serve as vehicles for inclusion of feed additives that improve rumen function and lead to improved animal performance. These positive effects can help increase farm revenues.
Considerations for improving feed management practices include:
• Conduct ingredient and diet nutritional analyses that include information on composition and digestibility.
• Meet macronutrient and micronutrient requirements for each animal category in the farm (calves, heifers, dry cows and cows in early, mid-lactation and late lactation).
• Focus on optimizing rumen function and intake by balancing fiber and energy-containing feedstuffs.
• Focus on factors that improve forage quality and that can be managed, such as plant variety selection to match weather and agronomic conditions, agronomic practices, maturity at harvest or during grazing, processing and storage.
• Monitor, over time, dry matter intake, feed efficiency, income over feed cost (IOFC) and income over purchased feed cost (IOFPC).
Animal management practices
Opportunities to increase the amount and efficiency of saleable milk production on the farm while reducing enteric emissions exist at all stages of the animal’s life; the focus is on reducing overall herd involuntary culling and unproductive days.
Animal management practices should lead to increases in milk quality and productivity and should reduce milk loss and the need for replacement animals. Thus, the farm operation will increase profitability and reduce methane emissions per pound of fluid milk at the whole-herd level.
Considerations for improving animal management practices include:
• Ensure sustained health and timely growth and development of calves and heifers through adequate colostrum feeding, diarrhea and respiratory disease prevention, implementation of vaccination and breeding programs, and nutrition to meet the specific requirements for each distinct animal category.
• Effectively manage the transition cow by promoting cow comfort and dry matter intake, stabilizing nutritional requirements and reducing the incidence of postpartum metabolic diseases.
• Optimize the productive life of the lactating cow by implementing consistent milking procedures, preventing mastitis and improving cow comfort, cow time budgets and reproductive efficiency.
Resources for producers
Every farm is different, so this report is not prescriptive. With these considerations in mind, the report provides a range of resources, from best management practices to scientific journal articles that describe why those practices are beneficial.
Small steps add up
The report shows that many common practices that are good for the farm business also may be good for the environment.
Until now, the connection between economic and environmental impact had not been properly recognized. As producers continue to make good decisions about their feed and animal practices, these efforts will contribute to the good story of dairy and to the sustainability of the industry, now and for future generations.
For more information
View a comprehensive review of mitigation practices for greenhouse gas emissions by livestock recently published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Visit The Cow of the Future reports . The Considerations and Resources paper will be published in the fall. PD
Juan Tricarico
Cow of the Future Program Director
Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy
