ISSUE FOCUS 24 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE March 2022 MILK PROFIT: IT CAN ALWAYS BE BETTER Even though global demand for milk is rising, along with a positive outlook for global milk prices, the margins for dairy farmers remain tight. Increasing feed efficiency seems to be the holy grail to improve milk production, fertility and the bottom line for dairies. And there is a dedicated nutritional program doing just that. Demand for dairy has remained strong through 2020 and will continue to be the key driver in dairy markets through 2021 and 2022, impacting higher farmgate milk prices in most dairy regions in the world. In Europe for example, the average European milk price in April this year reached 35.60 Euro per 100kg, an increase of 6% compared to the same period in 2020 (source: Milk Market Observatory). At the same time, dairy farmers are confronted with ever rising feed prices, higher production costs for milk and challenges such as heat stress and fertility issues that might stand in the way of reaching the desired high milk outputs. Not all things can be controlled, but what we feed our cows can be steered. UNDERUSED POTENTIAL OF THE RUMEN All farmers want to get as much out of 1kg feed. But increasing feed efficiency depends on a pallet of factors, including the quality of feed ingredients, forages and silage in terms of digestibility and nutrient bioavailability. But also feed availability (can the cow actually access the feed), dry matter intake, overall farm management and animal health and welfare are key factors to reach high feed efficiency levels. The rumen plays a crucial role in feed efficiency and can perform at its best when the diet is well balanced and contains enough fibre content amongst others. Better rumen function contributes to better digestion of the feed and hence more available energy is available for important things, all related to milk profit. • More energy to spend on milk production • More energy available to be fit for breeding • More energy available to deal with challenges such as heat stress. The rumen is, however, often challenged in high-producing dairy herds, due to high energy/ concentrated diets, not enough fibre content, overcrowding or climate conditions. This can lead to a malfunctioning rumen and associated problems such as rumen acidosis. By better taking care of the rumen, the rumen potential is therefore met, directly reducing nutrients loss while improving both milk yield and quality in the tank. THE PROGRAM MILK PROFIT New nutritional solutions are available to dairy farmers that enhance rumen health, the first step to better performance and breeding success. To achieve this, we have to look at the total lactation period of the cow, from the transition period all the way through the end of the lactation. This is because cows in each Valentin Nenov Global Ruminant Manager Phileo by Lesaffre
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