Publications
Managing Heat Stress
Heat stress occurs when cows are unable to control their body temperature at high temperatures, which leads to reduced feed intake, rumination, rumen function, milk yield and milk fat and protein levels, and increased respiration rate and risk of acidosis. The higher the relative humidity (RH) the lower the temperature at which heat stress occurs, [...]
Holding Yields at Peak
There is an opportunity with increasing dairy prices to maximise returns by maintaining milk yields as high as economically possible after peak, with diets based around home grown feeds (pasture, other forages, crops). Maintaining intakes of feeds with high Metabolisable Energy (ME) levels are key to sustaining milk yields and body condition, which may be [...]
Making & Feeding Quality Forage – Return on Investment
It is important to include fixed (land, interest) and variable (seed, fertiliser, sprays) costs in growing and harvesting pasture or crops to properly evaluate cost benefits of using inoculants when preserving forages. Effective lactic acid producing inoculants have been demonstrated, in controlled trials, to reduce dry matter losses by 5->10%, under good ensiling conditions. Inoculant [...]
Making & Feeding Quality Forage – Tools
Last month’s article covered some key aspects of the ensiling process. This month will consider some tools to assist in ensuring the best possible preservation. Two of the key principles mentioned last month were, achieving the fastest fermentation to preserve as much forage as possible, and achieving anaerobic conditions by preventing oxygen leaking into the [...]
Making & Feeding Quality Forage – Principles
Maximising growth and utilisation of high quality home grown forages is a key component in driving dairy farm profitability, particularly with low milk prices. This includes both grazed and conserved pastures and crops, as dairy farmers will need to feed both to match forage supply with herd requirements. This is the first in a series [...]
The Key to Maximizing Profit: Quality Silage
Making high quality silage is about achieving the twin goals of rapid, efficient front-end fermentation and back-end stability during storage and feedout. Even in the best situations, there are likely to be challenges simply due to variability in the crop or weather variations during harvest. However, focusing on good management practices, including selecting the right [...]
Merger Revamps NZ Silage and Animal Nutrition Markets
The merger of two leading forage technology and animal nutrition businesses will create opportunities that can benefit New Zealand contractors and farmers, say the companies' directors. Nutritech International and Lallemand NZ Ltd (trading as Vitec Nutrition) have combined their businesses to create the country's largest supplier of animal supplements and forage technologies. The merged business [...]
Early Lactation
Previous articles have emphasised the importance of good feeding and management during the transition period around calving, so early lactation management should build on a good transition foundation. Early lactation is a stressful time for dairy cows, as they recover from calving, rapidly increase milk production while losing body condition, and prepare for the next [...]
