Keep milk pumping post peak

The Ashburton-based firm’s extension manager, James Hague, warns many seasonal calving herds experience a sharp drop in milk from peak, sometimes in excess of 4% per week and lasting for 4-8 weeks.

“This drop slows back to a normal 2-2.5% per week but by then the potential for thousands of kilos of milk production in the whole season has been lost. For an average sized herd this could be 25,000 kgsMS which, at an $8.30 payout, would mean more than $200,000 of income that never arrives in the bank.”

With milk prices at record highs, closer attention to a herd’s nutrition can help prevent such losses and extend peak production, he says.

 “We have been tracking farm production data on more than 200 farms with our Tracker system, and for the majority of these farms it is in the post peak drop that the milk potential is lost. Analysis of this data shows that these farms could have produced 27% more milk (worth $203,000 at an $8.30 payout) if the gap between actual production and target was closed.”

Hague also says think about how much of the peak milk came from the cows back. Have cows dropped a lot of body condition to support high output at the peak?

“A cow that milks hard off her back typically has lower dry matter intakes and will suffer a greater drop post peak than a cow whose dry matter intakes are high. Getting dry matter intakes up is essential and so is good feed conversion efficiency.

“This comes from having a balanced diet of fermentable carbohydrates to match the protein in the grass.” 

Starchy and sugary feeds should be formulated to ensure a measured release of fermentable energy in the rumen and some important by-pass starch, he says.

Fermentable energy is required by rumen bugs to multiply and more effectively digest the total diet, so there’s an additive effect. Not all feeds do this, especially oily feeds which can appear high energy, but actually reduce fibre digestion in the rumen.