Increasing dairy farm profit by maximising forage utilization

Edith Charbonneau, Ph.D,

agr.

Collaborators: M.C. Coulombe R. Roy D. Pellerin

ContentHaving high quality forage in quantity

– Adjusted yield for quality– Cost per adjusted ton

Forage utilisation– Milk from forage– Its impact– How to increase Milk from forage

Assess forage management and utilization

Importance of forage management Forage management is a key factor to increase dairy

farm’s net income

• Up to around 50 000$ higher net income for farms having more efficient forage management₋ High yield₋ Good quality₋ Low cost of production₋ High Milk from forage

(Roy et al., 2008)

$/T

DM

Good forage utilisation decreases the need for concentrate feeds

Price in concentrate feeds varies greatly in time

Importance of forage management

1987 1992 1997 2002 2007 2012 20170

50100150200250300350

CornBarley

Adjusted yield for quality Value of forages estimated from corn grain and

soybean meal prices and compositions

Low co

ncentr

ate pr

ices

High co

ncentr

ate pr

ices

0100200300

MatureMid-matureImmature

Low co

ncentr

ate pr

ices

High co

ncentr

ate pr

ices

0100200300

MatureMid-matureImmature

Forage value increases up to 50$/T;

it’s an increase of 20%

Adjusted yield for quality Value of forages estimated from corn grain and

soybean meal prices and compositions

Cost of forage production

• Adjusted yield– Correct the yield for the nutrient content (quality)

• Adjusted cost of production– Cost of forage production /Adjusted yield

Adjusted yieldeq DM/ha

Yield Quality T DM/ha

(Coulombe, 2012)

Adjusted cost of production

• Quality Calculation– Relative quality _ based on energy (RQE)

RQE = TDN (%DM) / 1.24

– Relative quality _ based on protein (RQP)Digestible protein (%DM) / 0.32

– Global quality index(RQE+RQP) / 2

• Coefficients are calculated using a reference forage:– Weighted mean from average chemical analysis of a mid- mature

silage (2/3) and a mid-mature hay (1/3)

(Coulombe, 2012)

Adjusted cost of production

Quality-adjusted cost of production- relationship with the cost of production -

Average Cost Prod.25% higher

Cost Prod.25% Lower

Adj. cost of production, $/T 202 259b 165a -94Variable cost, $/ha 494 530b 447a -83Fertilizer and other improvements, $/ha

96 96 89 -8

Machinery cost, $/ha 666 754b 588a -166Labor cost, $/ha 211 224b 188a -36

Results from 381 herds in AgritelWeb (2009-11)

Results for the adjusted forage cost of production from dairy farms

Quality-adjusted cost of production- relationship with the cost of production -

Average Cost Prod.25% higher

Cost Prod.25% Lower

Yield, T/ha 5.9 5.1a 6.5b -1.4Adjusted yield, eqT/ha 6.1 5.1a 7.1b -2.0NEL, Mcal/kg DM 1.34 1.35 1.34 -Crude protein, % 16.3 15.8b 16.9a +1.1Area, ha 74.6 69.3b 81.7a +12.4

Results from 381 herds in AgritelWeb (2009-11)

Results for the adjusted forage cost of production from dairy farms

Forage utilisation

Forage utilisation

Milk from forage• Concept was developed in the 70’s by Agri-

Gestion Laval at Université Laval• Milk from forage (MF) is an estimation of the milk

produced from forage by subtracting milk production theoretically allowed by concentrate from the total amount of milk.

MFaverage= (MFenergy + MFprotein) /2

MFenergy= ECM – [Conc NEL (Mcal) - NELfor growth (Mcal)] 0.75 (Mcal/kg milk)

MFprotein= PCM – [Conc CP (kg) – CP for growth (kg)] 0.088 (kg CP/kg of milk)

Milk from forage

(Charbonneau, 2002)

Objectives for Milk from forage (kg/cow)Average cow weight (kg)

AcceptableLevel

Target

> 650 2650 3200

550 to 650 2550 3100

< 550 2450 3000

Milk from forage

Average MF25% lower

MF25% higher

Milk from forage, kg/cow 2266 919b 3 629a +2700

Margin/cow (std), $/cow 3516 3268a 3763b +495

Feeding cost, $/hL 34.51 35.83a 33.04b -2,79

Milk sold, hL 5439 6166a 4996b -1170

Number of cows 73.3 80.8a 67.2b -13.6

Results from 381 herds from AgritelWeb (2009-11)

Milk from forage – Economic interest

Average MF25% lower

MF25% higher

Milk per cow, kg/y 8373 8028a 8580b +552

Milk fat, % 4.05 4.06 4.05 -0.01

Milk protein, % 3.35 3.37a 3.34b -0.03

Calving interval, d 424 430a 422b -8

Replacement rate, % 31.1 32.4a 30.3b -2.1

Results from 381 herds from AgritelWeb (2009-11)

Milk from forage – Animal performance

Average MF25% lower

MF25% higher

Feed efficiency 1.12 1.06b 1.20a +0.14

Forage intake, T/cow 5.45 5.21b 5.46a +0.25

Forage crude protein, % 16.3 16.4 16.3 -0.1

Forage NEL, Mcal/kg 1.34 1.33b 1.35a +0.02

TMR, % 48 57b 28a -29

Results from 381 herds from AgritelWeb (2009-11)

Milk from forage – Animal performance

Farms with high Milk from forage have:

• Better margin/cow (lower feeding cost and more milk per cow)

• Forage of better quality

• Higher forage intake

• Higher feed efficiency

Milk from forage – Summary

Farms with high Milk from forage and low adjusted cost of production • Similar animal performance with even

better economic outcomes • Lower milk cost of production 10.40 $/hL • Higher income of 20 132 $/ full time

equivalent

Milk from forage with inexpensive forage

Farms with high Milk from forage and low adjusted cost of production • Similar animal performances with even

better economic outcomes • Lower milk cost of production 10.40 $/hL • Higher income of 20 132 $/ full time

equivalent

Milk from forage with inexpensive forage

Difference of around 55 000$ between the

farms in

our study

Would decreasing concentrates increase Milk from forage?

When high quality forages are fed, it can be an option…

• An experiment was conducted to test the concept

(Pellerin et al., 2000)

Milk from forage – Research

Cows receiving low concentrates diet• Ate 1000 kg concentrates per lactation• their forage intake by 24%

Targeted difference of 2000 kg per lactation between groups could not be met• No significant differences in milk production

• No difference in milk composition

• Increase in milk urea for cows with low concentrates

Concentrate amount

Production performance maybe more related to type of concentrate than the amount

• Physical and chemical characteristics of diet associated to Milk from forage production– 90 farms (22 with corn silage)– Chemical analysis (ADF, NDF, CP,…)– Particle size of forages– Processing of concentrate feeds

Feed characteristics

(St-Pierre et al., 2002)

25

R2 = 0.003

R2 = 0.356

-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

Days in milk

Milk

(kg/

d)

Relationship between Milk from forage and DIMMilkMilk from forage

Feed characteristics

(St-Pierre et al., 2002)

• Silage-based diet (no corn silage)– Grinding of concentrate increases Milk

from forage, mostly in early and mid- lactation

– Small forage particle size decreases Milk from forage in early lactation but increases it in late lactation

– Forage quality increases Milk from forage for every cow

Feed characteristics

• Corn silage-based diet– Increasing RDP from concentrates increases

Milk from forage

– No effect from concentrate grinding, forage particle size or forage quality on Milk from forage

Feed characteristics

Effect of carbohydrate degradability on Milk from forage when alfalfa silage is used

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Crackedcorn

Ground corn

Starch Dried wheyPermeat

Milk

from

fora

ge (k

g/d)

MFenergy; P=0.73

MFprotein; P<0.01

MFaverage; P=0.09

bb

aa

b

a a

b

Concentrate type

(Charbonneau et al., 2006)

Conclusions

It is worth working on forage cost of production and their utilization • Difference of 55 000$ between the top and

the bottom groups To decrease cost of production

• Machinery cost• Yield

Think in terms of yield adjusted for quality

Conclusions

To increase Milk from forage•Good quality forages

But its not enough, you have to use them…• Increase forage intake •Adequate amount of concentrates for each

cow•Adequate choice of concentrates for the

forages in the ration (type, processing,…)

Conclusions

An evaluation tool was developed to assess forage management and utilization on dairy farms

Helps to point out the strength and the weakness in forage management and utilization

Already available in Quebec Will soon be available in English for all Canadian

provinces

Conclusions

Thanks!!Questions ?

edith.charbonneau@fsaa.ulaval.ca