This winter many dairy farmersare faced with poor quality,variable silage. UFAC’s DavidTurnbull considers the optionsfor making best use of it.There is a considerable variation insilage this year. We are seeing cropswith higher acid loading, giving anincreased risk of acidosis. Othershave high Dry Matter and NDFwhich can reduce DMI and hencetotal energy supply. Furthermore,cows will require more energyanyway to metabolise the supply ofexcess rumen degradable protein.In short, cows may well be energydeficient.The biggest challenge facing dairyfarmers this winter will be choosingthe most cost-effective supplementsto maximise forage utilisation andmaintain good rumen health. This will require careful choice ofconcentrates and supplements toensure there is enough NDF in the diet.The options available are quitelimited. In an attempt to increaseDMI and ensure sufficient effectivefibre to support adequate

rumination, farmers may be temptedto offer larger quantities of dryforages such as straw but these areprone to sorting and are low inenergy. With lower cereal prices thisyear it may be tempting to feedmore to boost energy levels.However, this puts the cow at evengreater risk of sub-acute rumenacidosis (SARA).

Maximise DMIFeeding a fat supplement canincrease energy intakes withoutcompromising rumen health, andprices remain attractive, but it isimportant to choose carefully. An appropriate fat supplement forwet silage feeding conditions will berumen-inert to minimise the risk ofSARA, and not reduce overall DMI. It must be highly digestible in thelower gut. This limits the choice.Calcium soaps reduce dietpalatability and DMI. Under low pHconditions typical when feeding wetsilage, calcium soaps breakdown inthe rumen releasing fatty acids thatare toxic to fibre digesting rumenmicrobes. Hydrogenated fats

including the C16 range of productshave a high melting point, above50°C, which makes them lesssoluble in the rumen and lessdigestible in the lower gut.

Proven on farmOne proven option is Dynalac, ahigh ME (27 MJ/kg DM) dry fatsupplement made from vegetableand marine oils which is highlydigestible and specifically designedto balance wet silage-based dairyrations. It passes rapidly through therumen into the lower gut minimisingexposure to rumen fermentation.Further down the digestive tract, thefatty acids are readily digested andabsorbed. Unlike other sources of fat, Dynalacsupplies a unique blend of essentialfatty acids with multiple metabolicfunctions. The inclusion of omega-3fatty acids makes it particularlysuitable for enhancing embryosurvival and improving fertility. Choosing the right fat supplementcan help increase total energyintakes while maintaining rumenhealth and margins.

Feed smarter to make

most of silage

UFAC (UK) Ltd, Waterwitch House, Exeter Road, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 8RX

David Turnbull

issue 3 November 2014

Many dairy farmers are considering using fats indiets this winter to help complement lower energygrass silages and to potentially boost butterfatpercent. Now new research confirms the choiceof fat can have a significant effect of howsuccessful these strategies will be as MikeChown of UFAC UK explains.“To be effective in dairy diets fats have to pass through

the rumen to be absorbed in the intestine,” Mikecomments. “This is termed being ‘rumen inert’, and the

more inert the product is the better and fats vary

considerably in this regard.”

Mike explains that factors such as melting point andparticle size will impact on how well fats are used and nownew UK research shows that fats based on vegetable andmarine oils have a significant nutritional advantage overmore traditional calcium soap productsIn the research at the University of Reading CEDAR, cowswere fed different fat products and the rate at which theproducts left the rumen was recorded. “If a fat moves through the rumen quickly it means it is not

being digested or broken down in the rumen. This means

more will be available to the cow. Fast movement through

the rumen is particularly important with high yielding

cows expected to achieve high dry matter intakes.”

In the trials UFAC Dynalac and Galaxy both performedbetter than calcium soaps, moving through the rumenmore quickly and making more energy available to the cow.“This is a significant result as it confirms what we had

always observed on farm,” Mike continues. “The unique

method UFAC uses to protect our oils and fats delivers

superior rumen protection and enhance their utilisation

by the animal, which means more effective cows, and

potentially higher margins and better butterfats.”

Ensure you arefeeding the correctfat this winter

It looks like being achallenging winter formany dairy farmers. We have seen a periodof increased milk pricevolatility and currentprices are well below

the prices being paid last year. At the same time the difficult springand early summer mean that there issome variable grass silage to feedand rationing cows may be lessstraight forward as a result. On the positive side, many feedprices are lower than last year butthis is not a green light to just feedmore cereal-based concentrate,because the combination of rapidlyfermented cereals and this year’ssilage could greatly increase the riskof acidosis and reducedperformance.Successful rations this winter willensure that the diet containssufficient total energy but in a formthat promotes good rumen health.This means there is a real place forfat supplements based on rumen-inert essential fatty acids in a highlydigestible form such as Dynalac andOmega Cream.Although milk prices are down, theyare still not as low as they were afew years ago. Farmers who feedsmarter can still expect to makereasonable margins.

Welcome fromRobert Jones, MD

Fresh cow management changes reduce ketosis risk

For further details pleasecontact UFAC-UK on:UK Sales office01780 460327 NORTH - David Turnbull 07788 963487 MIDLANDS - Mike Chown07827 249157SOUTH - Mark Townsend07788 294539

INTERNATIONAL - Dr. V. Nigdikar+44 (0)1638 665923+44 (0)7733 365907

Email: sales@ufacuk.comWeb: www.ufacuk.com

Contact us:

Glycerene is a unique glycerol productdeveloped to help optimise earlylactation and transition performanceby looking after the liver in particular.It is a highly palatable free flowingmeal, designed to help optimiseperformance by supplying essentialnutrients direct to the liver so increasingglucose available to the cow. It reduces the risk of fatty livers andthe levels of BHBs in the bloodbecause it improves the efficiency offat absorption so reducing the amountof body fat that needs to be mobilised.Being rumen-inert it passes throughto the liver so more is available tothe cow than from unprotectedliquid glycerol supplements and sogive a more constant energy supply.

Immediate effectIn August this year, Tim startedfeeding Glycerene at a rate of0.5kg/cow incorporated into thetransition group TMR and beganBHB testing every cow in the freshgroup weekly. “In the first week

after adding it we only had one cow

with raised BHB levels with the rest

consistently below 1.0. Cows were

also eating well with no sign of

depressed intakes. On average we

are seeing fewer than two cows a

week with raised levels now.”

Dan and Rob had been concernedthat cows were being dried offcarrying too much condition ataround BCS 3.5 which he thinkswas contributing to the risk of highBHBs, so he is making managementchanges to try and reduce condition.

“We were feeding one TMR across

the herd and as the herd can be

averaging 35 litres per day, it is quite

a potent mix aiming to give M+30

topped up with concentrate in the

parlour. Consequently lower yielding

cows were putting on too much

weight.”

To try to reduce weight gain, the herdis now split into high and low yielderswith the highs fed forM+30 down thetrough while lowsare fed for M+20.While Tim says thatsplitting the herd hasincreased workloads, theplus side is that he does notnow need to replace the mixer wagondue to smaller different mixes ratherthan two or three big mixes, thesame, for the whole herd.The low yielding group has also beenout to graze in the late summer andTim is confident that cows will dryoff at a lower condition score.To limit condition increase in the far offdry group the diet had been de-tuned with a higher proportionof straw to maintain rumen fillbut reduce energy intake.“We are starting to see the

benefits of the changes

with cows in more suitable

condition,transitioning

well and moving

smoothly into

the main herd”

Tim concludes.

UFAC Southern Business ManagerMark Townsend believes that goodfresh cow management will becrucial during the current period ofdepressed milk prices. “With prices

low and margins squeezed, it will

be more important than ever to

ensure cows get established into

lactation quickly, achieving high dry

matter intakes with minimal

metabolic problems which will

reduce production, increase costs

and delay rebreeding.

“Glycerene can help reduce the

rate and extent of NEB and get

cows producing efficiently more

quickly,” he comments.

Fine tuning management with aparticular focus on the freshcalved group is paying dividendsfor Tim Miller from Crib HouseFarm, Stalbridge in Dorset.

Tim and his son Dan run a herd of280 all year round calving, twicedaily milked Holsteins which areaveraging 11,000 litres with acalving interval of 392 days. The cows, until five months agowere one group, grazing spring andsummer and being buffer fed aftereach milking. There is also a freshcalved group of 19 cows. They areall housed in a building designedand built by Tim and Dan. The cows are TMR fed on a dietbased on grass and maize silage, a blend, molasses, wholecrop andstraw. The diet is formulated byRobbie Taylor of Velcourt who keepsa close eye on performance. Milkyield has been improving steadilysince Robbie has been feeding thecows from 8,500 to the present11,000 litres/cow. Tim is quick tohighlight the contribution ofherdsman Rob Strawbridge who hasbeen on the farm for nearly fiveyears. “Since Rob has been with us

40 days has been taken off the

calving interval” Tim says “he is

really focussed on getting the cows

back in calf, tail painting cows

weekly and doing most of the A.I.

regularly achieving a 40%

conception rate”.

Dry cows are run as far off dry andtransition groups and the aim is thatthey spend three weeks in thetransition group. When they calvedown they will spend up to 21 daysin a fresh calved group.

Ketone testingOne of the key factors determiningwhen cows move out of the freshcalved group is negative energybalance (NEB). Cows need to beeating well and to help boostimmediate energy supply, Tim and Danhad been feeding propylene glycol.To monitor NEB, Tim purchased acow side ketone (BHB) test kit onEbay three years ago and had beentesting any cows that were offcolour. Blood is drawn from the tailhead and can be tested in a matterof seconds with the target being aBHB reading lower than 1.0.“We used to have as many as 10

cows with levels above the target,”

Tim continues. “Then Andrew

Jones from Pearce Seeds visited

the farm with Mike Chown from

UFAC. Coincidentally we had just

run out of propylene glycol and

Dan comments that since we had

stopped including it, the cows were

eating more TMR. Mike Chown

explains that propylene glycol can

depress dry matter intakes and

suggested we replaced it with

UFAC Glycerene.”

Mike Chown

From left: Rob Strawbridge, Dan Miller, Tim Miller

Cows are in the transition group for three weeks