Tag Archives: Lactation
Benefits of Good Transition
The risks of disease and metabolic issues are greatest during the transition period (3-4 weeks either side of calving), which is dominated by a series of adaptations as cows move from pregnancy to lactation. As much as 80% of all health issues related to this period. Establishing successful lactations requires an integrated transition management and [...]
Nutritional strategies to help maintain production and body condition in late lactation
Although we’re aware of the importance good management over the next three to four months has on next season’s production, working out the optimal time to dry off can be far more challenging. Assessing condition scores (CS) of your herd now is an important first step to making informed decisions. Target condition scores are 5 [...]
ME Best Predictor of Feed Value?
Feeds for dairy cows are often valued according to their price per megajoule (MJ) of Metabolisable Energy (ME), as energy intake is usually limiting with cows during early lactation. ME is a measure of the energy available to cows, after losses from undigested feed, urine and methane are accounted for. ME has some limitations as [...]Importance of Good Transition
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 [...]