ISSUE FOCUS 18 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE March 2022 Improving fibre digestibility to unlock 3 Es in dairy production: EFFICIENCY, ECONOMICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY "Researchers at Ohio State University found that dietary changes can boost the amount of milk cows produce during the lactation period. Changing elements in the diet to improve herd feed efficiency from 1.3 kg milk/kg dry matter to 1.5, lowers the amount of dry matter cows need to consume to produce a certain amount of milk. From an income perspective, this can result in a significant increase in income over feed cost." The decisions dairy farmers make to support their herds’ performance also have a big influence on the economics and environmental footprint of their farm. Improving feed efficiency is a proven strategy for increasing milk yield, improving income, and reducing the environmental footprint of dairy farming. Simply defined, efficiency means producing more without increasing inputs. Recently, the dairy sector has turned its attention toward improving feed efficiency. Given that the cost of feed is the largest contributor to production costs, improving the digestibility of dietary fibre is a key opportunity to drive better feed efficiency. Research conducted by Trouw Nutrition and leading agricultural universities show the benefits of dietary strategies to improve fibre digestibility in dairy cows. Below are excerpts of a conversation with Jac Bergman, Global Programme Manager Ruminants at Selko Feed Additives that addresses how improving fibre digestibility can unlock keys to improved efficiency, economics, and environmental sustainability. What does feed efficiency mean in terms of dairy farming and how is this metric calculated? Viewed through the lens of dairy farming, feed efficiency can be defined as the amount of fat corrected milk yielded per unit of dry matter consumed. In the U.S. dairy cow efficiency is most often calculated by dividing the kg of Energy Corrected Milk (ECM) by the kg of Dry Matter Intake (DMI). This method of calculating feed efficiency can be adapted to fat and/ or energy with various baselines. In the U.S., 3.5% is typically the fat corrected milk measure, whereas in most European nations the standard is 4%. Other ways for defining feed efficiency, include the kg of milk solids per kg of dry matter consumed, kg of milk per hectare (for cows in pasture environments), kg of nitrogen per kg of nitrogen consumed Jac Bergman DVM, Global Programme Manager Ruminants Selko Feed Additives This conversation is based on a webinar broadcasted in collaboration with Dr. Mike Hutjens from the University of Illinois.
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