requirement and production are planned 12 to 18 months ahead with the aim of always having maize which has been ensiled for at least 3 months before feeding. Early maturing maize varieties are chosen to allow the following wheat crops to be drilled in good time. We aim to make and manage high D-value 1st and 2nd cut grass silage (mainly grass & red clover leys). The combination of high digestibility grass and high starch maize silages promotes high forage dry matter intakes, reduced concentrate feed rates and a lower carbon footprint. Nutrition: High forage dry matter intakes allow the high genetic merit cows to express their potential utilising forage and then balancing the diet for energy and protein. Dry matter intake (DMI) is key to milk production and every effort is made to promote high intakes. The renovated cow housing has wide passages and feed mangers which encourages intakes with no pushing up of feed. Martin designed and built a tractor mounted feed manger scraper to allow for quick and easy daily trough cleaning. Feed intake is closely monitored and compared to the target diet and diet adjustments are based on regular forage analysis. A single dry cow diet (a partial DCAB diet based on chopped
straw, maize, rapeseed meal & minerals) has been adopted which has resulted in trouble free calving and sets the cows up for their subsequent lactation. The milking herd is fed a single TMR diet based on grass and maize silage with rapeseed meal as the main protein source. Soya bean meal has not been fed for many years. Dairy compound is purchased through The Dairy Group Sourcing to ensure independent competitive buying of this key input. Liz Birkett adds: “Like all dairy farms we are faced with the challenge
of generating a profit margin with the current high cost of production. We have improved the existing cow housing and recently invested in new silage clamps and calf housing. We have also invested in genetic improvement and plan to move to three times daily milking to achieve the full genetic potential of the herd from the facilities now available.”
MILK QUALITY IN ETHIOPIA My colleague Ian Ohnstad was recently invited to help design a pilot milk quality improvement plan in Ethiopia where dairy production is generally a subsistence smallholder-based industry with relatively few small and medium commercial dairy farms. In 2019, close to 6.7 million dairy cows produced an estimated 3.6 billion litres of milk nationally, with over 95% from local breeds such as the Fogera. Milk quality is hampered by poor water quality, a lack of knowledge
of basic hygiene requirements and an inadequate cold chain. Producers often walk six or seven miles to a collection centre where milk is weighed and added to a small reception vessel for onward transport to the dairy. There is no testing of cows or milk at a producer level which makes it impossible to manage the quality of the milk received at the processing site. The project aims to establish basic milk testing facilities at the collection centres, supported by trained technicians who can provide practical advice and support to the producers to help them improve the quality of their raw milk. More about dairy farming in Ethiopia in my next column.
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FEED COMPOUNDER MARCH/APRIL 2023 PAGE 21
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