Boosting sustainable dairy farming through improved feed efficiency and probiotics

Contrary to popular belief, modern dairy farming produces less waste and utilizes fewer resources per kilogramme of milk than low input dairy systems did in the 1940s. Improving milk and crop production efficiency between 1944 and 2007 in the US, for example, resulted in a 90% reduction in the land area needed to produce 1kg of milk (Capper and al., 2009). This was due to genetic improvement, developing artificial insemination, the evolution of management practices and increasing our knowledge of cow physiology and nutritional requirements. As a result, modern animal feed is nutrient-rich and diversified while improvements to feed and diet formulation software have delivered significant economic and performance gains.

Feed efficiency remains difficult to measure in dairy farming, however. This is due to large fluctuations in the energy balance of cows during lactation and a lack of individual intake data. There is also a high variability of feedstuffs’ availability and quality which will only get worse with on-going climate change. Nevertheless, this is creating opportunities for the development of precision feeding and innovative nutritional strategies. Indeed, ruminants are unique animals, being capable of harvesting the nutrients from complex feedstuffs that humans cannot digest. Rumen microbiota plays a major role in extracting those nutrients and are key to high feed use efficiency.

Understanding the digestibility of key feed components plays a vital role in formulating diets that maximize nutrient absorption and utilization. However, to fully ensure this effect, the rumen microbiome needs an adequate and stable environment in which to thrive.

Phileo’s expertise relies on securing healthy ruminal conditions and positively impacting the microbiome. Actisaf® Sc 47, a yeast probiotic derived from a specific strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has been a ground-breaking advance in dairy farming in this respect, being developed to optimize rumen health, while also enhancing feed digestibility, animal growth, fertility, well-being, and overall performance.

Research developments and numerous scientific trials have demonstrated the efficacy of Actisaf® Sc 47 in relation to improving these various aspects of rumen health.

Incorporating Actisaf® Sc 47 into the diet has a stabilizing effect on ruminal pH levels post-feeding, effectively preventing lactate accumulation. This positive change to the rumen environment increases both the proportion and activity of fiber-digesting gut bacteria. The resulting enhanced digestive efficiency not only leads to improved nutrient assimilation in the gastrointestinal tract but also promotes more effective forage utilization, ultimately delivering increased feed efficiency.

To support the on-farm evaluation of feed efficiency, Phileo developed a service called Digescan. Used in more than 20 countries, this is an easy-to-apply method to monitor feed efficiency by analyzing the size of particles found in cow feces. A meta-analysis, featuring 95 trials (Salah et al., 2023), in which Actisaf® Sc 47 was given as a feed supplement, revealed an important decrease of undigested particles in the dung, in comparison to control animals. The reduction in undigested matter, from 35% to 28%, not only indicated enhanced feed digestion but also pointed to the cattle concerned benefitting from more efficient nutrient utilization. This conclusion was further supported by a recorded reduction of nutrients in the feces after Actisaf® Sc 47 supplementation, suggesting a more complete absorption and assimilation of nutrients from the diet had taken place.

Another study, carried out to evaluate the impact of Actisaf® Sc 47 on milk yield and ECM production in dairy cows (Salah et al. 2023), drew data from 22 trials, located around the world. Analysis from this study revealed that Actisaf® Sc 47, given at 5g, was effective in enhancing milk production in dairy cows under a variety of conditions. Specifically, cows supplemented with Actisaf® Sc 47 produced, on average, an additional 1.72 kg /day of milk and 2.45 kg /day of ECM compared to a control group.

Actisaf® Sc 47 supplementation plays a crucial role in increasing milk yield and improving the fat and protein content of milk through enhanced nutrient utilization. Actisaf® Sc 47 not only boosts productivity by promoting efficient digestion and nutrient absorption but also contributes to the overall health and reproductive performance of the herd. Moreover, it contributes to sustainable dairy farming practices by decreasing the carbon footprint per kg of milk by up to 5%, mainly through increased milk production and feed efficiency.