Ruminants are fascinating creatures. What sets them apart from monogastric organisms with one simple stomach, is that they possess a huge fermentation chamber – the rumen. The rumen is full of a microbial population made up of bacteria, protozoa and fungi. This microbial population is able to break down forage and raw materials, that aren’t edible for humans into essential nutrients that can be used for body function and performance. When we think about feeding the cow, we are actually feeding the rumen bugs, the rumen bugs will then feed the cows. As dairy producers we must make full use of t ..read more

We are coming out of one of the toughest winters in terms of forage stocks in recent memory and although the grass is not blowing in the wind quite yet, there is light at the end of the tunnel. It is time to be planning forage stocks. There are many options when it comes to bolstering your feed stocks for the future, but some are far more costly than others when all is considered. We are entering a time where it is going to be harder and harder to run dairy farms with high stocking rates, due to ammonia legislations and proposed phosphorus regulations. This, combined with ever more competition ..read more

When we think of feeding calves, the first thing that comes to mind is often milk. As Calf Specialists, we have often focused on the pre-weaned calf. The milk feeding stage is of great importance, and sets the calf up for life. However, the weaning and post weaning phase also requires attention. The first 60-70 days of life are a golden opportunity to exploit the genetic potential of your calves. The weaning period and the days following are also an opportunity that we need to make the most of. Weaning Calves begin life as a simple stomached animal – essentially a monogastric. They will howeve ..read more

An annual pattern of milk composition has been well recognized on dairy farms across the world for years, with the highest milk fat and protein concentration in milk observed during the winter and lowest occurring in the summer. This trend is manipulated solely by season, and impacts housed and grazing cows similarly. So, when we get to spring, and then turnout for some, and milk butterfats start to decline- how do we know if this is real milk fat depression or not? Is it simply a seasonal response which we have little manipulation over, or are we seeing changes which can be regulated by the f ..read more

For the last few years, the industry has been advising grass silage producers to cut little and often to maximise the energy and protein yield form their silage ground. Cutting every 4 weeks from the last week of April has seen to be the holy grail of silage making, creating many small cuts of ‘rocket fuel’ silage, high in metabolisable energy (ME) and crude protein (CP), low in NDF and as much or even more yield than the traditional three cut method across the season. With more opportunities to apply slurry, a shorter harvesting operation and more consistency in the final product, it seems a ..read more