Recreating dairy cow management
Re-creating dairy cow management: the 'cow-centric' approach
Published: September 16, 2006
By: BRUCE WOODACRE - Alltech Inc.
Imagine a dairy cow that gave 15,000 litres (33,000 lbs) of high quality milk year, after year, after year, at a high level of efficiency; a cow whose milk had health benefits for the consumer; a cow that got pregnant when you wanted her to; a cow that was highly resistant to infections such as mastitis and whose milk had a consistently low somatic cell count; a cow that never suffered from acidosis and a cow that was never lame. Now imagine a herd of such cows and imagine how profitable it would be!
The reality is, unfortunately, somewhat different. In the United Kingdom, over the last 10 years, the average yield of Holstein cows has increased by nearly 20%, but this has been associated with a 9% fall in butterfat percentage, a 27% reduction in conception rate, an increase in mastitis and general health problems and the loss of nearly 1 lactation in longevity. Some veterinary surgeons believe that nearly all early lactation cows in the UK suffer from subclinical acidosis.
Why is this? Some people see a causal relationship between these issues: ‘High yields cause disease’ or‘High yielding cows are infertile’, but that is confusing a correlation with a cause. I accept that there is a strong correlation between high yield, mastitis and poor conception rates, but I do not believe that high yields cause these problems.
The science of genetics may hold some of the answers; and breeders in some areas are now selecting for disease resistance and longevity. The science of nutrition may be equally helpful, by resolving trace mineral nutrition problems and examining ways of maintaining rumen stability, and we certainly need to re-examine management strategies for the modern high-yielding cow. None of these, however, will alone provide the solution. A holistic re-appraisal of dairy cow management is required – we need to re-create our view of the dairy cow.
Because we have not followed a holistic approach, developments in the different areas have not kept pace with each other. Management has certainly not kept up with genetics. Essentially we have bred racehorses but persist in management techniques more appropriate to ponies. It is a bit like breeding a horse and training it for flat races….and then entering it for the Grand National and wondering why it falls at the first fence!
We need to address a number of problem areas in dairy management:
The reality is, unfortunately, somewhat different. In the United Kingdom, over the last 10 years, the average yield of Holstein cows has increased by nearly 20%, but this has been associated with a 9% fall in butterfat percentage, a 27% reduction in conception rate, an increase in mastitis and general health problems and the loss of nearly 1 lactation in longevity. Some veterinary surgeons believe that nearly all early lactation cows in the UK suffer from subclinical acidosis.
Why is this? Some people see a causal relationship between these issues: ‘High yields cause disease’ or‘High yielding cows are infertile’, but that is confusing a correlation with a cause. I accept that there is a strong correlation between high yield, mastitis and poor conception rates, but I do not believe that high yields cause these problems.
The science of genetics may hold some of the answers; and breeders in some areas are now selecting for disease resistance and longevity. The science of nutrition may be equally helpful, by resolving trace mineral nutrition problems and examining ways of maintaining rumen stability, and we certainly need to re-examine management strategies for the modern high-yielding cow. None of these, however, will alone provide the solution. A holistic re-appraisal of dairy cow management is required – we need to re-create our view of the dairy cow.
Because we have not followed a holistic approach, developments in the different areas have not kept pace with each other. Management has certainly not kept up with genetics. Essentially we have bred racehorses but persist in management techniques more appropriate to ponies. It is a bit like breeding a horse and training it for flat races….and then entering it for the Grand National and wondering why it falls at the first fence!
We need to address a number of problem areas in dairy management:
- The obsession with yield as the goal rather than profitability, in breeding as well as feeding.
- Using margin over feed as a target rather than net profit.
- Dependence on ration formulation computer programs that are really nutritional models dealing with one cow that is assumed to have fixed requirements, rather than the reality of having a group of cows that respond to how we feed them.
- Forgetting that the cow is a ruminant.
- A focus on energy density rather than dry matter intake.
- Reliance on out-of-date mineral allowances rather than absorbed nutrient requirements.
- Management systems that have been developed for the convenience of human beings at the expense of the cow.
You might be able to add to this list. In fact, each ofthese points is a subject for a paper on its own, but the point, however, is that these issues must be dealt with ina co-ordinated fashion. A holistic approach is needed;and in order to do this, we need a framework: a way ofthinking about dairy cows that works for both the cowand the dairy manager.
A new look at the dairy cow cycle
THE CONVENTIONAL VIEW: THE COW’S YEARON OUR TERMS
A good starting point is a paradigm shift in the way weview the cow ‘year’. Figure 1 illustrates the conventionaltextbook view. It does, at least, recognise that the cow’syear is cyclical and implies that problems in one timeperiod may well have been caused earlier in the cycle.Another way of looking at this is: if you mistreat a cowin one period, she will probably make you pay for itlater on. For example, the cause of poor breedingperformance 60-80 days into the lactation is often relatedto incorrect feeding and management during the dryperiod.
The problem with this conventional view is that firstly,the cycle is presumed to be one of 365 days, and secondly,that periods of 100 days mean very little to the cow!
We need to start viewing the cow cycle from the cow’spoint of view. If we want high genetic merit cows toperform to potential and consequently to deliver thefull economic benefits of such ‘improved’ breeding, we must adaptour management of the cycle to workwith the cow, not to arbitrary time divisions that suitour convenience.
Clearly any management system must be practical:we must always compromise when fitting the ideal forone cow to a herd, and to the facilities available. WhatI am proposing could be applied on most commercialfarms as it is essentially an approach or perspective,rather than a system. It is the attitude of mind that focusseson understanding what a cow wants to achieve andhelping her achieve it, rather than forcing her to fitoutdated systems.
THE COW CYCLE FROM HER POINT OF VIEW
The first issue I have with the traditional cycle is “Whyare we fixated on 365 days?” Why is a calving intervalof this length perceived as a good thing? This, I believe,goes back to when we had cows that followed a classiclactation curve, dwindling to very low yields (or dryingthemselves off) at 300 days. Any extension of the calvinginterval of these cows meant extending the days dryand was expensive in terms of lost annual yield. Themodern Holstein has a flatter, more persistent lactationcurve. At 300 days she may still be yielding 30 litres(66 lbs) or more. Why do we dry cows off giving thismuch milk (leaving aside that this could be perceivedas a welfare issue)?
I am not arguing for extending the lactation to 18months; the benefits of this have not been proven, butmerely that we should take the emphasis away fromcalving interval as an objective and certainly as anindicator of herd fertility. This allows us to delay theonset of breeding until the cow has moved out of theextremes of negative energy balance exhibited by highyielding Holsteins into a period when we are more likelyto be successful. Letting the calving interval increase to400 – 420 days is not a problem unless the days dryincreases.
Figure 2 illustrates the second limitation of thetraditionally-defined 365 day cycle. Cows are consideredto be ‘in early lactation’ for 100 days, then we changethe feeding rate and move them into the mid-lactationgroup. Unfortunately, the cow does not realise that sheis supposed to have made a physiological change at 100days after calving.
CONCEPTION MANAGEMENT
For a cow to calve at 365 days, she must be successfullyinseminated at 80 days. Embryo implantation usually occurs 20-50 days after thisand its success will bemarkedly reduced by stress, either nutritional ormanagerial. Yet this particularly sensitive period for thecow coincides with the time when the traditional cyclewould have us change her feeding and management. Isuggest that we replace the term ‘early lactation’ with ‘conceptionmanagement’, because in the natural courseof events, once the cow has completed the transitionfrom pregnancy to lactation, conception will be herprimary objective. This period should last for at least130 days, or in practice until a successful pregnancydiagnosis, and will coincide more nearly with thehormonal status of the cow (Figure 3).
During the conception period: management forintake
The energy status of the cow during the conceptionperiod is well-known to be critical, but this has led inmany cases to an overemphasis on the energy densityof the diet at the expense of rumen function and hencedry matter intake. The only way to increase diet energydensity is to increase the starch and/or the fat content atthe expense of fibre. However the point at which thebalance of the diet is upset is quickly reached and rumenfunction can become impaired. The typical pattern isillustrated in Figure 4.
It is critical to keep in mind that a cow is a ruminant.Optimum health and production are only achieved using diets formulated for optimumrumen function. It is inthis nutritional context that the rumen modifiers suchas Yea-Sacc® have an important role, because it worksto remove one of the practical obstacles to dry matterintake (ruminal forage degradation rate) to achieve thebest energy status of the cow. Other obstacles includewater intake and feed presentation, palatability and management –again,subjects worthy of papers on theirown.
BODY RESERVE MANAGEMENT
Management for intake during the conception period ishighly dependent on what happened late in the previouslactation. Cows must be dried off at the optimumcondition score for calving (3.0-3.5) because we shouldnot attempt to change condition when they are dry.
Gaining condition during this period means‘overfeeding’, and willsimply result in any extra feed being partitioned to the calf or the udder. ‘Underfeeding’to lose condition is equally mistaken during this criticalperiod. In any case, there are more important objectivesduring this period.
Making sure cows are in the right body condition atdrying off means checking condition score 100 daysbefore drying off such that needed changes can beachieved during this last period of the lactation - whichis the next paradigm shift. Rather than using the term‘late lactation’, which implies ‘unimportant’,and seems to mean that we can ignore her, I would prefer the term‘body reserve management’.This term suggests we have something to accomplish during this period. However,it is not just condition score we must consider. It is alsoimportant to think in terms of managing her proteinand mineral reserves.
The ‘dry period’ also needs a new approach. ‘Dry’cows are all too often an area of management neglect.
They are put to one side and ignored until just beforecalving and yet, if we want to achieve high energy statuspost-calving through high intakes, this is the time toprepare the rumen for a rapid response to the actationdiet. There are two stages to this, physical preparationand preparation of the ruminal microbes.
Physical preparation
At the point of calving, a cow contains a 45+ kg calf,plus the placenta and fluids, which crowd the rumenand compress it. Muscle tone can be lost since normalruminal movement is reduced. At calving, there is onceagain (and suddenly) space for a full rumen. To avoid adisplaced abomasum and to ensure a rapid rise in intake,the rumen must immediately fill that space and be readyto go. The way to make sure this happens smoothly isto keep the rumen working in late gestation: keep it fulland physically in tone with diets based on high fibreforages, chopped no shorter than 5 cm. The rest of thediet can be made up with whatever feeds are available,as long as the total ration is balanced correctly for allnutrients including the minerals and vitamins.
Preparing the ruminal microbes
The last part of the cycle, the pre-calving transition or‘close up’ period,involves training the rumen microbes for the task ahead. The population of microbesin therumen takes 12-14 days to adjust to major changes,therefore introduction of a controlled amount of the lactation ration into thediet is needed for the last 2-3weeks before calving. This another point where Yea-Sacc® is of value as a rumen modifier for its ability toreduce stress on the rumen during periods of dietarychange.
During this period, particular attention should be paidto supporting the immune function of the cow. Traceelements should be correctly balanced throughout thecycle but the form and availability are especiallyimportant during this critical time.The management of the cow pre-calving can make adifference of ±3.5 kg dry matter intake immediatelypost-calving! Done correctly, intake and energy statuswill surge and a solid foundation will be established forthe stresses ahead.
‘TRANSITION’ vs ‘PRE/POST-PARTUM’ COW
I use the word ‘transition’ instead of ‘calving’ advisedly.The actual act of calving that we tend to focus on ismerely an uncomfortable event in a process thatencompasses the period 2-3 weeks either side of thatevent. Transition is a critical period, and some dairyfarmers are now managing these cows separately. Thisis not always practical, but we can take steps to make itas successful as possible.There is a case to be made for treating the first 2-3weeks of lactation as an early lactation transition group.Moving recently-calved cows into a separate loosehousedarea provides an opportunity for closeobservation during recovery, however this may not bepossible on many farms.
Conclusions
Figure 5 shows the proposed new way of looking at thecow cycle - a perspective from the cow’s point of view.This approach takes a holistic view of the cycle, withthe cow’s needs foremost at all times and providesframework for re-thinking dairy cow management.
A new look at the dairy cow cycle
THE CONVENTIONAL VIEW: THE COW’S YEARON OUR TERMS
A good starting point is a paradigm shift in the way weview the cow ‘year’. Figure 1 illustrates the conventionaltextbook view. It does, at least, recognise that the cow’syear is cyclical and implies that problems in one timeperiod may well have been caused earlier in the cycle.Another way of looking at this is: if you mistreat a cowin one period, she will probably make you pay for itlater on. For example, the cause of poor breedingperformance 60-80 days into the lactation is often relatedto incorrect feeding and management during the dryperiod.
The problem with this conventional view is that firstly,the cycle is presumed to be one of 365 days, and secondly,that periods of 100 days mean very little to the cow!
We need to start viewing the cow cycle from the cow’spoint of view. If we want high genetic merit cows toperform to potential and consequently to deliver thefull economic benefits of such ‘improved’ breeding, we must adaptour management of the cycle to workwith the cow, not to arbitrary time divisions that suitour convenience.
Clearly any management system must be practical:we must always compromise when fitting the ideal forone cow to a herd, and to the facilities available. WhatI am proposing could be applied on most commercialfarms as it is essentially an approach or perspective,rather than a system. It is the attitude of mind that focusseson understanding what a cow wants to achieve andhelping her achieve it, rather than forcing her to fitoutdated systems.
THE COW CYCLE FROM HER POINT OF VIEW
The first issue I have with the traditional cycle is “Whyare we fixated on 365 days?” Why is a calving intervalof this length perceived as a good thing? This, I believe,goes back to when we had cows that followed a classiclactation curve, dwindling to very low yields (or dryingthemselves off) at 300 days. Any extension of the calvinginterval of these cows meant extending the days dryand was expensive in terms of lost annual yield. Themodern Holstein has a flatter, more persistent lactationcurve. At 300 days she may still be yielding 30 litres(66 lbs) or more. Why do we dry cows off giving thismuch milk (leaving aside that this could be perceivedas a welfare issue)?
I am not arguing for extending the lactation to 18months; the benefits of this have not been proven, butmerely that we should take the emphasis away fromcalving interval as an objective and certainly as anindicator of herd fertility. This allows us to delay theonset of breeding until the cow has moved out of theextremes of negative energy balance exhibited by highyielding Holsteins into a period when we are more likelyto be successful. Letting the calving interval increase to400 – 420 days is not a problem unless the days dryincreases.
Figure 2 illustrates the second limitation of thetraditionally-defined 365 day cycle. Cows are consideredto be ‘in early lactation’ for 100 days, then we changethe feeding rate and move them into the mid-lactationgroup. Unfortunately, the cow does not realise that sheis supposed to have made a physiological change at 100days after calving.
CONCEPTION MANAGEMENT
For a cow to calve at 365 days, she must be successfullyinseminated at 80 days. Embryo implantation usually occurs 20-50 days after thisand its success will bemarkedly reduced by stress, either nutritional ormanagerial. Yet this particularly sensitive period for thecow coincides with the time when the traditional cyclewould have us change her feeding and management. Isuggest that we replace the term ‘early lactation’ with ‘conceptionmanagement’, because in the natural courseof events, once the cow has completed the transitionfrom pregnancy to lactation, conception will be herprimary objective. This period should last for at least130 days, or in practice until a successful pregnancydiagnosis, and will coincide more nearly with thehormonal status of the cow (Figure 3).
During the conception period: management forintake
The energy status of the cow during the conceptionperiod is well-known to be critical, but this has led inmany cases to an overemphasis on the energy densityof the diet at the expense of rumen function and hencedry matter intake. The only way to increase diet energydensity is to increase the starch and/or the fat content atthe expense of fibre. However the point at which thebalance of the diet is upset is quickly reached and rumenfunction can become impaired. The typical pattern isillustrated in Figure 4.
It is critical to keep in mind that a cow is a ruminant.Optimum health and production are only achieved using diets formulated for optimumrumen function. It is inthis nutritional context that the rumen modifiers suchas Yea-Sacc® have an important role, because it worksto remove one of the practical obstacles to dry matterintake (ruminal forage degradation rate) to achieve thebest energy status of the cow. Other obstacles includewater intake and feed presentation, palatability and management –again,subjects worthy of papers on theirown.
BODY RESERVE MANAGEMENT
Management for intake during the conception period ishighly dependent on what happened late in the previouslactation. Cows must be dried off at the optimumcondition score for calving (3.0-3.5) because we shouldnot attempt to change condition when they are dry.
Gaining condition during this period means‘overfeeding’, and willsimply result in any extra feed being partitioned to the calf or the udder. ‘Underfeeding’to lose condition is equally mistaken during this criticalperiod. In any case, there are more important objectivesduring this period.
Making sure cows are in the right body condition atdrying off means checking condition score 100 daysbefore drying off such that needed changes can beachieved during this last period of the lactation - whichis the next paradigm shift. Rather than using the term‘late lactation’, which implies ‘unimportant’,and seems to mean that we can ignore her, I would prefer the term‘body reserve management’.This term suggests we have something to accomplish during this period. However,it is not just condition score we must consider. It is alsoimportant to think in terms of managing her proteinand mineral reserves.
The ‘dry period’ also needs a new approach. ‘Dry’cows are all too often an area of management neglect.
They are put to one side and ignored until just beforecalving and yet, if we want to achieve high energy statuspost-calving through high intakes, this is the time toprepare the rumen for a rapid response to the actationdiet. There are two stages to this, physical preparationand preparation of the ruminal microbes.
Physical preparation
At the point of calving, a cow contains a 45+ kg calf,plus the placenta and fluids, which crowd the rumenand compress it. Muscle tone can be lost since normalruminal movement is reduced. At calving, there is onceagain (and suddenly) space for a full rumen. To avoid adisplaced abomasum and to ensure a rapid rise in intake,the rumen must immediately fill that space and be readyto go. The way to make sure this happens smoothly isto keep the rumen working in late gestation: keep it fulland physically in tone with diets based on high fibreforages, chopped no shorter than 5 cm. The rest of thediet can be made up with whatever feeds are available,as long as the total ration is balanced correctly for allnutrients including the minerals and vitamins.
Preparing the ruminal microbes
The last part of the cycle, the pre-calving transition or‘close up’ period,involves training the rumen microbes for the task ahead. The population of microbesin therumen takes 12-14 days to adjust to major changes,therefore introduction of a controlled amount of the lactation ration into thediet is needed for the last 2-3weeks before calving. This another point where Yea-Sacc® is of value as a rumen modifier for its ability toreduce stress on the rumen during periods of dietarychange.
During this period, particular attention should be paidto supporting the immune function of the cow. Traceelements should be correctly balanced throughout thecycle but the form and availability are especiallyimportant during this critical time.The management of the cow pre-calving can make adifference of ±3.5 kg dry matter intake immediatelypost-calving! Done correctly, intake and energy statuswill surge and a solid foundation will be established forthe stresses ahead.
‘TRANSITION’ vs ‘PRE/POST-PARTUM’ COW
I use the word ‘transition’ instead of ‘calving’ advisedly.The actual act of calving that we tend to focus on ismerely an uncomfortable event in a process thatencompasses the period 2-3 weeks either side of thatevent. Transition is a critical period, and some dairyfarmers are now managing these cows separately. Thisis not always practical, but we can take steps to make itas successful as possible.There is a case to be made for treating the first 2-3weeks of lactation as an early lactation transition group.Moving recently-calved cows into a separate loosehousedarea provides an opportunity for closeobservation during recovery, however this may not bepossible on many farms.
Conclusions
Figure 5 shows the proposed new way of looking at thecow cycle - a perspective from the cow’s point of view.This approach takes a holistic view of the cycle, withthe cow’s needs foremost at all times and providesframework for re-thinking dairy cow management.
BRUCE WOODACRE
Consulting Nutritionist, Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK
Consulting Nutritionist, Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK
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23 de julio de 2015
?? ???? ????? ??, ?????????? 100 ??? ?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ?? ???? ??? ?? ???? ????? ??.
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22 de septiembre de 2006
Our system is more closely aligned with your propsal rather than the traditional cow cycle. We have delayed mating too soon and average calving interval is out to 400 - 420 days. We find this boosts a cows fat and protein production yield over a lactation. In late lactation they are often returning similar kg of milk solids to cows more recently calved and doing it with less stress on their bodies!
The cows are in very healthy condition when dried off and do not seem to need a 60 day dry period. They can calve back in 5 or 6 weeks and not miss a beat in the next lactation. They generally get lead feed for 2 weeks before calving, depending on whether they will eat it as they are on pasture.
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