Flexible Feed Systems Offer Options
Published: November 27, 2007
Source : Dairy Australia
Dairy Australia’s Grains2Milk project manager Steve Little said farmers with little or no pasture needed to consider the range of feed ingredients available to them and how their system could minimise feed costs while maximising milk production.
“High feed prices are worrying a lot of dairy farmers who are being encouraged to keep feeding for production,” he said.
“It might be tempting for some farmers to cut back on grain feeding, or start using lower quality feeds, once the cows have peaked as a way of reducing costs.
“This is a high-risk strategy because the cows can dramatically drop production – which can be hard to recover.
“If the cows drop in milk then more of the money spent on the feed will be going to maintenance rather than generating income. This can be a risk to the farm business,” Dr Little said.
He said a flexible feeding system gave farmers the opportunity to source a range of feed components and have greater control of the herd’s diet.
This meant large cow feed intakes were possible and could result in greater milk production and a higher profit margin, given good milk prices.
But this was dependent on quality feed ingredients being used to produce a diet which was nutritionally balanced and palatable, cow health issues being well-managed and heat stress being minimised, he said.
Dr Little said feed systems could range from low-cost temporary systems, which could cost less than $50 a milker for the feed-out area, through to purpose-built feeding systems using complex mixed rations and costing more than $200 a cow. These estimated dollar figures did not include the costs of associated equipment such as a cart, mixer wagon or tractor.
“The simplest system is a very basic set-up, using a front end loader combined with old tractor tyres or hay rings, or feeding out forages or mixed rations straight onto the ground,” Dr Little said.
“This can be quick and cheap to set up and moved if necessary, but feed wastage can be very high – up to 30 per cent – which adds to total feed purchase costs.
“The next option is a semi-permanent system using a designated feed-out area on a compacted surface, with low cost troughing such as second-hand water troughs or conveyor belting. This type of system costs more – about $50-100 a cow for the feed-out area – but can reduce feed wastage considerably,” he said.
Dr Little said farmers looking at a permanent feed system that was basic and functional were spending about $100-200 a cow on their feed-out facility. This usually involved concrete feed troughs or a narrow cement strip and electric wires. A mixer wagon was usually used. Feed wastage was generally lower with this system – between 8-15 per cent.
“Farmers wanting to have the greatest control over their diets and minimal feed wastage are spending more than $200 a cow to build a permanent, purpose-built feed-out facility which may also include loafing areas for cows, a roof, and more extensive feed storage facilities and equipment,” he said.
Dr Little said it was important farmers talked to specialists in dairy nutrition before easing off on their feeding strategy.
“Before making any major ‘system change’ farmers should perform a detailed analysis of their farm business’ current financial position and operational infrastructure and assess the impact of a new or upgraded flexible feeding system on their farm’s profitability, cash flow and physical operations. They need to speak with appropriate advisors to do this,” Dr Little said.
Grains2Milk, through the feed.FIBRE.future program and with funding from the Geoffrey Gardiner Dairy Foundation, will provide information for farmers using flexible feeding systems.
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