FEEDING DAIRY COWS THIS SUMMER
Michael Garvey, CAFRE Dairy Development Adviser
Take as much milk from grass as possible — that was the message from a farm walk at Wallace Porter’s, Clady, County Armagh which focused on “Feeding dairy cows this summer”.
Porters’ herd was turned out on 18 April but ground conditions were preventing 24 hour grazing and the cows were housed at night. However Wallace was: -
- Trying to get as much grass into his cows as possible.
- Taking M+15 litres from grazed grass and silage.
- Keeping the amount of blend fed in the wagon to a minimum
Wallace knows that in May and June grazing has the potential to can supply M+23 litres of milk. He intends feeding concentrate at a rate of 0.4 kilos for every litre above this target. To achieve this, he has noted cow yields at milking and is in a position to change feed levels accordingly. Analysis of his records showed 6 groups of cows.
| Daily Milk Yield | <15 | 16-20 | 21-25 | 26-30 | 31-35 | 36+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Concentrate per cow | 0kg | 1.2kg | 3.2kg | 5.2kg | 7.2kg | 9.2kg |
The table shows concentrate feeding on the farm at the moment where forage provides M+15 litres of milk. At the average daily yield of 26 litres - the average concentrate fed is 5.2kg daily.
His next immediate aim is to get the herd grazing for 24 hours and top up concentrate feeding to cows in the milking parlour. This is the most practical approach for the farm. It does not over feed the lower yielding cows or under feed the higher yielders. He has calibrated the meal feeders in the parlour to make sure that parlour feed is not wasted.
Farmers present were encouraged to calculate their own figures for comparison.
Wallace Porter with Michael Garvey and a group of local farmers.
