July 25, 2002

Dairy Specialist Offers Guidelines for Making the Most of Short Forage Supplies

The 2002 crop season in the region has been extremely variable with some areas suffering from drought while others dealt with too much rain and flooding. As a result, many dairy producers will be facing a shortage of forage and the forage that is available may be of reduced quality, notes a North Dakota State University Dairy specialist.

"Producers may be wondering what adjustments they can make," says J.W. Schroeder of the NDSU Extension Service. "Even though the situation will vary greatly among farms, there are a number of key areas that need to be evaluated." Schroeder suggests that producers involve agribusiness professionals such as feed suppliers, bankers, veterinarians and others in their evaluations and decisions.

Schroeder says each farm will need to examine the following areas:

• Forage inventory and need. The first step is to determine the quantities of forage available and required. Estimate the yearly tons of forage dry matter needed per cow. For Holsteins that’s 5 to 6 tons. Daily forage neutral detergent fiber intake can be estimated at 1 percent of body weight. Determine the amount of total animal units to be fed. A cow is one animal unit. Heifers older than one year old are considered to be a one half of an animal unit and heifers younger than a year old are considered to be one quarter of an animal unit.
• Forage quality. Forage testing will be very important this year with the wide variation in growing conditions. Be sure to sample correctly. There are many laboratories available to perform this feed analysis.
• Forage allocation. Producers must consider the qualities of the forges available, where they are stored and if specific forages can be reserved and fed to specific groups of cows. Higher-quality forages should be used for early lactation cows and heifers from weaning to breeding.
• Feeding management. If rations with lower levels of forage must be fed, consider increasing feeding frequency. Feeding more frequently will decrease the quantity of carbohydrate fed at each meal, reducing the risk of cows going off feed, digestive upsets, acidosis and depressed levels of milk components. The addition of buffers may also be beneficial in those lower-forage rations.

With variations in forage supply, forage quality and feed price, formulating rations will be particularly challenging and important, Schroeder says. Observing some basic principles will minimize potential animal health problems.

• Ration Formulation. Assess the forage level in the ration. You may be forced to feed less forage. If so, consider using some sources of digestible fiber such as soy hulls or beet pulp rather than simply increasing levels of high starch components such as corn or barley. This will minimize the risk of acidosis, low milk fat, and off-feed cows. Remember that a cow needs to spend nine to 11 hours per day chewing and ruminating.
• Assess forage types. As producers alter the hay or haylage in the ration they need to evaluate how this changes the types and quantities of supplemental energy and protein required..
• Rumen metabolism. Don’t short-change the rumen in terms of energy or protein. Microbial protein is still the best and most economical source of amino acids. The ration’s non-structured carbohydrate level should be 35 to 40 percent for early lactation cows. The level can go up to 45 percent if some fibrous byproduct feeds are included in the ration. Rumen degradable protein (RDP) should be 60 to 65 percent of total crude protein. Soluble protein should be about 50 percent of RDP.
• Grain mixes. In some herds, it could be beneficial to use more than one grain mix for the milking cows. A simpler and lower cost grain mix could be used for the mid and late lactation cows. Storage facilities on the farm and labor required for feeding are integral components of this strategy. A base grain mix for all cows plus a top-dress grain for higher producers is another option.
• Added fats, bypass protein and feed additives. These all have a place in the diet, but ask your nutritionist the following questions: What do they cost? Why are they in the ration? Are they justified? Are they needed for fresh cows or for all cows.

There are a number of alternatives for producers if forage supplies are low, Schroeder notes. These include purchasing additional forage, culling some animals, have heifers custom raised or purchase feeds that will substitute for some of the forage. "If you are substituting forages or other feeds for the forages you usually use, each of those modified diets must be evaluated carefully," he says.

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Source: J.W. Schroeder, (701) 231-7663, jschroed@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu