Given the feed price roller coaster of recent years and regional challenges with forage quality and availability that occur each season, it’s more important than ever to make sure you receive – and rations include – the feed ingredients you purchased.
Unfortunately, this is not always the case because product swap-outs occur for a variety of reasons.
These changes can result in feeding a ration that does not match the one formulated on paper, which can ultimately cause animal health and performance issues.
Talk it over
Because of these potential swap-outs, it’s important producers and their nutritionists communicate clearly and specifically about exactly what the ration should include for each and every batch of feed mixed and fed on your dairy.
For instance, if the diet is to include a specific brand-name product, it must be communicated to everyone who has a hand in delivering the feed that the ration is to include the specific ingredient, not just the generic name.
Furthermore, when considering ration ingredients, keep the following factors in mind so that rations deliver on expectations:
• Understand how the ingredient works in the cow (or mode of action) and investigate ingredient palatability and expected animal response – including what the expected performance change will be (like more milk production, higher components or improved feed efficiency).
Also understand when you should reasonably expect to see a response. Some ingredients offer fairly rapid responses, while others take more time to take effect in the cow.
• Avoid duplicating or overlapping technologies when selecting ingredients. Also, discover which group or groups of animals respond best to the ingredient – i.e., early lactation cows and transition cows – and make sure their ration contains that specific ingredient to get the best return for your investment.
• Examine the science so that you select ingredients based on proven research and not simply on testimonial input. Feed reputable, research-proven products. When evaluating ingredients, look for independent or university research results when available, in addition to company research results.
• Make sure the research was conducted on dairy cows (or heifers) and examine the details of the trial to make sure it’s a fair comparison. Also check the P value (probability) of trial outcomes to ensure statistically validated results.
For example, a P value of less than .05 means there is less than a 5 percent probability that the response difference between two treatment groups was due to a random or arbitrary reason.
• Look for repeatable results from multiple trials and experiments. Give weight to meta-analyses, which are statistical analyses of a large number of studies.
• Monitor cows to see how they respond. And look to more than milk production as an indicator. Track key factors like milk component production, body condition, reproductive parameters, overall herd health, hoof health and heifer growth to determine whether the ingredient is successful in your herd and worthy of your ration.
• Look for certifications. Ask for third-party certifications that help ensure feed companies adhere to good industry practices through random audits and strict manufacturing guidelines.
For example, the Facility Certification Institute audits feed manufacturers participating in the American Feed Industry Association’s Safe Feed/Safe Food quality program.
Specifics matter
Last, keep in mind that not all products are created equal.
For instance, just because a product contains essential fatty acids (EFAs) doesn’t meant it contains EFAs in the same amount or configuration as another product. Brand X is not the same as product Y.
Every product contains proprietary properties that mean the products are not interchangeable and often work differently in the cow – which can change performance as well as your return on investment.
Finally, keep in mind that not all products are of the same quality. Again, due to proprietary properties, coatings, differing chemical structures and so on, some products may theoretically appear to be interchangeable in a ration, but in practice they are not interchangeable.
Take the time to be your own best advocate and work with your nutritionists and feed suppliers to ensure you get exactly what you pay for.
Good communication costs nothing, while losses due to poor ration communication can quickly and negatively impact your dairy’s profitability. PD
Photo by Karen Lee.
Elliot Block
Senior Manager of Technology
Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition
