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Feed Efficiency: Effect of Corn Silage Quality and Hybrid Selection

August 11th, 2010 by Rich Lutz

Feed costs in dairy rations are no doubt the largest single expense associated with milk production, as often they can average in excess of 50% of production costs.  Feed Efficiency (FE), also known as milk production efficiency, is often utilized to benchmark herds in terms of their relative profitability.

Hutjens (2007 and 2010)1, 2 offers practical approaches to feed efficiency and their applications on dairy operations.  With regard to silage quality contributing to feed efficiency, Hutjens points out the following:

  • As neutral detergent fiber (NDF) percent in the ration dry matter increased, FE declined from 1.8 to 1.4 based on Journal of Dairy Science data from 2002 to 2004.  FE values remained constant at 35 percent NDF and above.
  • Currently, with herd FE ranging from 1.4 to 1.7, each change in 0.1 point is worth approximately 34 cents per cow per day.
  • Feeding high-quality forage is a key solution.  Consider increasing corn silage levels in rations as cost per cow per day may drop 15- 30 cents as protein prices remain competitive.
  • Evaluate the use of silages with more effective fiber and high neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD).

For more practical tips on increasing feed efficiency, click here to read the paper.

Additionally, feeding corn silage hybrids with increased fiber digestibility has been shown to significantly increase FE in dairy herds.  Spain and Sampson (2007)3 published findings determining the feed values and ultimate effect on FE utilizing a corn silage hybrid with NutriDense Silage traits:

  • Cows fed NutriDense Silage produced 71.7 pounds/cow/day compared to 70 pounds/cow/day for cows receiving conventional corn silage.Based on dry matter intake, cows receiving NutriDense Silage were 11.4% more efficient than cows fed conventional silage (1.56 vs. 1.4).
  • In related in vitro work, Spain and Sampson observed a 13% increase in the production of volatile fatty acids (VFA) with NutriDense Silage when compared to conventional silage.
  • This positive measurement of fiber utilization supports that NutriDense Silage contains favorable fiber for energy contribution to the overall TMR used in the feeding trial.

More recently, Chase (2010)4 conducted a trial with lactating dairy cows to examine the relationship between corn silage hybrid fiber digestibility, milk production, dry matter intake and feed efficiency.  Results demonstrated that:

  • Cows fed NDS had significantly better feed efficiencies when compared to cows receiving either BMR or conventional hybrid silages.Feed efficiency (kg 3.5% fat corrected milk/kg dry matter intake) was significantly higher for cows fed NDS (1.87) compared with either BMR (1.76) or conventional (1.74) rations (P<0.002).
  • Dairy consultants utilizing FE numbers to evaluate dairy production profitability may wish to consider how silage quality and hybrid selection can affect those values.

Rich Lutz is a forage specialist with BASF Plant Science. You can contact him at rich.lutz@basf.com.

References:

1 Hutjens, M.F.  2007.  Practical approaches to feed efficiency and applications on the farm.  Penn State Dairy Cattle Nutrition Workshop Proceedings.  Pages 1-7.

2 Hutjens, M.F.  2010.  Lessons learned with low milk prices.  2010 NEAFA Dairy Health and Nutrition Conference Proceedings.  Pages 18-21.

3 Spain, J.N. and J.D. Sampson.  2007.  Use of NutriDense corn for corn and corn silage in diets fed to high producing dairy cows.  J. Anim. Sci. Vol. 85, Suppl. 1/J. Dairy Sci. Vol. 90 Suppl. 1.  Page 556.

4 Chase, L.E.  2010.  Milk production and feed efficiency in dairy cows fed corn silage hybrids varying in fiber digestibility.  2010 ADSA PSA AMPA CSAS ASAS Joint Annual Meeting, Denver CO.   Abstract #813.

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Cornell University Feed Efficiency Study Featured in Progressive Dairyman

August 11th, 2010 by Greg Jones

With the dairy industry facing economic constraints, producers are looking for ways to cut costs without sacrificing milk production. One place to look is feed — when feed efficiency increases, producers are able to get the same milk with less feed.

The results of a recent feed efficiency study performed by Dr. Larry Chase, professor and dairy nutrition extension specialist at Cornell University, were featured in the July 1 issue of Progressive Dairyman in an article titled “Improve feed efficiency, increase profitability by selecting high-quality corn silage hybrids.” Dr. Chase revealed results that found NutriDense Silage to be six to eight percent better in feed efficacy, or converting feed to milk, than other high-quality corn silage in the study.

Click here to learn more about the study and how NutriDense stacked up against other hybrids.

Greg Jones is the NutriDense Silage product manager for BASF Plant Science. You can contact him at gregory.jones@basf.com.

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Use Co-Products for Efficient, Cost-Effective Rations

August 11th, 2010 by Jerry Weigel

At BASF Plant Science, we tend to focus our ration discussions around corn silage, which in our opinion should comprise the majority of the total mixed ration (TMR). However, we should spend some time discussing the co-products that can be used to make up the rest of the TMR. Industrially produced co-products, such as corn distillers grains, corn gluten feed, corn gluten meal and soybean hulls, are very important for a dairy cow’s diet.

Here are some of the most commonly used co-products:

  • Distillers grains are popular because they can replace both corn and soybean meal (the standard protein we have in our dairy rations) to a certain percentage. We’ve proven over and over again that corn distiller products are a viable replacement for corn, up to 20-25% of the ration dry matter intake. It won’t fully replace it because of the energy. We know that corn fiber is a very effective energy source and a very safe and effective fiber source. It allows us to displace corn, and sometimes even other forages, and lets us maximize other corn forages such as corn silage as well as then allowing us to bring the inclusion of soybean meal down.
  • Corn gluten feed can be used on a dry matter basis in 15-20% of the total ration.  Corn gluten meal is the protein fraction of the corn that is over 60% protein, and we know it’s a very good source of bypass protein.
  • Soybean hulls are another very important co-product. Soybean hulls are the remaining 8-10% that is left once you pop off the meats (soybean meal). As we know from work we did at Missouri years ago that’s been duplicated several times, you can easily go to 25-30% of the DMI with soybean hulls.

Some producers may view co-products as an added financial expense, but if used correctly, they can actually help save producers money. We urge producers to work with their nutritionists, extension agents or veterinarians to do linear programming to determine how they can displace corn, soy or other potential forage sources like alfalfa in the ration and ultimately bring down costs without any negative effects on feed efficiency. Additionally, we have seen some early work on young growing animals indicating that co-products may improve feed efficiency because it’s allowing the animals to be more efficient at converting this carbohydrate source over to energy. If you are buying wet co-products be sure you know the moisture content of the product and understand that their “shelf life” is shorter than dry products.

One question when determining the use of co-products is, how high can we go with corn silage in the ration? At BASF Plant Science, we have looked at that question quite a bit in our research. In our recent study with Cornell University, we included 5.5% of the ration dry matter soybean hulls with excellent results. If one is looking at corn gluten feed, corn distillers products or soybean hulls, NutriDense fits very well into those programs and allows producers to further drop the amount of corn grain in TMRs. Additionally, we know the effective fiber of NutriDense will give us that safety margin or the rumen ecological advantage that fits very well with corn or soybean co-products.

There are certainly a lot of negatives on co-products out there, but they’re usually driven by a lack of information. Producers who use co-products need to work with their suppliers to make certain they know the correct nutritional specifications, which in turn will allow for proper balancing. If fed and managed properly, co-products will be very profitable to a producer’s operation.

Jerry Weigel is the manager of nutrition and technical services for BASF Plant Science. You can contact him at gerald.weigel@basf.com.

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Sign up for ‘Have You Herd,’ technical dairy e-Newsletter

August 3rd, 2010 by Karlie Justus

Every other month, the NutriDense team puts together a technical e-Newsletter called “Have You Herd.” Tailored to the needs of dairy nutritionists, veterinarians and consultants, the e-Newsletter is a high-level resource on topics such as agronomy, feed efficiency and dairy nutrition. It also includes a roundup of industry news and upcoming events.

Here’s a sampling of some previous Have You Herd articles:

You can now sign up to receive Have You Herd in your e-mail inbox right here on the NutriDense website. Look for the Technical e-Newsletter button on the homepage and blog sidebars, or click on the image above. In addition, check out the full e-Newsletter archives here.

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Consider a foliar fungicide for more tonnage and healthier plants

June 24th, 2010 by Courtney Beck

The use of foliar fungicides in corn grain production has gained favor over the past few years.  As grain prices increased, savvy producers realized that the investment in a well-timed fungicide application could pay huge yield dividends at harvest.  Corn silage, another valuable crop especially when chopped for high-performance dairies, can benefit from a foliar fungicide application as well.  The return on fungicide investment for the corn silage producer can be more tons per acre of higher-quality silage.

Corn growers have learned that the yield increases associated with some fungicides stem not only from a decrease in leaf diseases, but also from a general increase in plant health.  By reducing the incidence and severity of fungal leaf disease, the corn plant is better able to convert light energy into starch, protein and sugars.  Healthy plants are also better able to deal with the environmental stresses often encountered during the growing season. In silage, since the entire plant is harvested, the plant health aspect becomes even more valuable.

Foliar fungicides vary in their formulation and mode of action, and only a few products are labeled for applications to corn grown for silage.  Headline® fungicide, manufactured by BASF, is the fungicide most widely used by corn growers in North America.  Data from research plots and field trials have shown very positive responses to Headline applied to corn silage.  A trial in Plainfield, Wisconsin in 2008 showed an average of 1.62 tons/acre (at 70% moisture) increase from a Headline application over an average of 35 hybrids.  This yield increase translated to an average of 2,837 additional pounds of milk per acre using the standard dairy industry tons to milk calculation.  The results from a trial in Unity, Wisconsin were even more impressive.  Averaged over 21 different hybrids, the Headline application resulted in an extra 3.26 tons/acre and an increase of 3,986 pounds of milk per acre.

Silage quality can also be maintained by a timely application of Headline.  Trials grown in Wisconsin, Maryland and New York showed increases in fiber digestibility and corresponding increases in milk per acre when compared to an untreated check.

Another important benefit of a foliar fungicide application is the increase in “stay green” or late season plant health.  This increase in plant health means a wider silage harvest window.  Whether your customers are large operations with hundreds of acres of silage to cut or smaller operations waiting on a custom chopper, cutting silage at the proper moisture is an important step in harvesting quality corn silage.  Keeping the crop healthy and green for a longer period of time can pay huge dividends in the feed bunk.

After starting with the right hybrid, your customers can help maintain the nutrition potential of that silage crop with a timely fungicide application.  A foliar fungicide such as Headline can be a management tool in your customers’ quality silage plan.

This article was written by Mark Schultz, a sales agronomist for BASF Plant Science. He can be reached at mark.schultz@basf.com.

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In the dairy industry, “agvocacy” is especially important

June 24th, 2010 by Courtney Beck

Beyond the usual sounds of mooing and milking machines, the dairy industry has been making a lot of noise lately when it comes to positively sharing its story with consumers and media.

Now more than ever, it is important for everyone who touches the industry, from farmers and agribusiness professionals to nutritionists and veterinarians, to pitch in by writing op-eds for local newspapers, describing their work to friends and family, organizing meetings and more. These “agvocates” (agriculture advocates) help consumers better make the “farm to fork” connection and promote the importance of dairy to the economy, healthy diets and our farming culture.

One popular communications tool is social media, which encompasses online communications ranging from blogs to Twitter. When it comes to using social media to promote agriculture, the dairy industry is especially active. In fact, many online leaders credit dairy producers who utilize Twitter, Facebook and personal blogs as leading the way for the online agriculture community.

Online agvocacy efforts are ramped up even more than usual in June to celebrate National Dairy Month, as dairy enthusiasts share industry statistics, weather conditions in the field, information for consumers and positive stories from the farm. Even cows have joined in on the fun, tweeting live updates from their milking machines with a little help from radio frequency ID tags.

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Manage fertility to produce high-quality corn silage

April 15th, 2010 by Karlie Justus

High-quality corn silage in the bunker starts with a high-quality corn crop in the field.  The odds of successfully growing a high-quality corn crop are dependent on many factors.  Top producers manage the details they can control and thus, minimize the influence of the details they can’t, such as the environment, on their corn silage production.  One such detail that can be controlled is proper fertility.

Proper fertilization is essential for producing a high-quality corn silage crop.  Since a greater portion of the plant is harvested, the nutrient requirements for silage production are much different than corn grain production.  Under-fertilizing can put a corn silage crop under stress, produce stunted plants and result in lower tonnage and reduced quality.  The stress of poor fertility often leads to increased incidence of foliar and stalk rot diseases, which also have a negative effect on silage quality.  On the other hand, over-fertilizing also has consequences.  Over-application of nutrients, either commercial fertilizer or manure, can lead to off-site nutrient movement by runoff or leaching.  Another more apparent negative is that in the current dairy economy, producers can’t afford to spend money on inputs that don’t provide good return on investment.

A current, accurate soil test is the best place to start a corn silage fertility plan.  Like any journey, knowing where you are starting from is key to reaching your goals.  The three essential nutrients for corn silage growth are nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K).  Nitrogen, the most important of these primary elements, is a mobile nutrient that needs to be supplied to the corn crop annually.  Nitrogen needs for silage are pretty similar to corn grown for grain, ranging from 150 to 200 pounds per acre.  Factors such as yield goals and previous crop are used for determining the optimum nitrogen rate for a grain crop and also hold true for silage.  When determining the rate for a corn silage crop, be sure to take all of these factors into consideration.  When applying manure, remember to start with an accurate analysis and use effective nitrogen rates.

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Managing corn silage in bunker silos

April 15th, 2010 by Jerry Weigel

Maximizing dairy production from a feeding standpoint is highly dependent upon producing and storing quality corn silage.  We spend quite a bit of time talking about proper operating procedures in harvesting corn silage — such as optimum harvest maturity and moisture, particle size, and packing management — but often times forget about feed-out and bunker management.

Today let’s chat about managing the face of the bunker, or what we refer to as feed-out rates.  It is well understood that the removal rate or feed-out rate is defined as inches of silage removed from the face (front) of the bunker. It is our feeling that a minimum of 6 inches per day should be removed during the summer and a minimum of 4 inches per day in the winter. A good recommendation when designing new bunkers is to design the bunker to take twice as much per day off the face, thus making a longer (versus wider) bunker that has a smaller face area.

It is also important to remember that as you open the bunker, you should only uncover the amount of silage you need at that time.  Excess plastic should be cut off each day, and at no time should two days worth of silage be exposed.

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Quality Control Ideas Relative to Total Mixed Ration (TMR) Considerations

February 3rd, 2010 by Jerry Weigel

The terms “quality,” “quality control” and “quality assurance” have all been defined in very narrow and certainly many different ways by the feed industry. The food industry has defined these terms to prevent defective and poor products and services as part of their manufacturing and delivering process. The feed industry also has this philosophy.

In my opinion whether you are talking about making a 16.00% Dairy Mix, producing ice cream or monitoring your total mixed ration (TMR), the words of Shewhart, as written in the Economic Control of Quality of Manufactured Product (1931) and published under the guidelines of the American Society for Quality Control, are important to remember:

Measured quality of manufactured product(s) is always subject to a certain amount of variation as a result of chance. Some stable “systems of chance causes” is inherent in any particular scheme of production and inspection. Variation within this stable pattern is inevitable. The reason(s) for variation outside this stable pattern must be discovered and corrected.

So, as we progress into a more targeted discussion about quality, let’s focus on the dairyman’s TMR. The nutritional advantages of using TMR-based feeding regimes have been written about since the late 1980’s. We know and understand about some of the advantages of TMR’s over separate feeding of forages and concentrates, and they include but certainly not limited to:

• More accurate proportions of forages and concentrates are delivered to the cows
• Ensuring a reduced risk of digestive upsets
• Assuring improved feed efficiency
• Improved response from certain industrial co-products (Hominy, DDGS, Gluten Feed)
• Better utilization of labor

I also realize that it is important to know the terminology around TMR, and those terms are:

• Mixed Partial Ration (MPR) — MPR is often used in combination with TMR but top dressing of grain in the bunk or the use of computerized feeding systems also done. Often times free choice dry hay is used as well.
• Mixed Total Ration (MTR) — A MTR is often used instead of the term TMR so they are the same.
• Partially Mixed Ration (PMTR) — The PMTR is something that needs to be fixed, as the feed is not totally mixed and will be discussed in part within this discussion.
• Totally Mixed Total Ration (TMTR) — The TMTR is the desired outcome of your mix.

In this discussion let us focus on the day-to-day aspect of TMR feeding.

It is my opinion that the success of any TMR and TMTR feeding regime absolutely requires the Herdsman, the person actually doing the feeding, and the Farm Manager or owner pay very close attention to the following areas

• Changes in Dry Matter within the feed. Every dairy should have a moisture tester for their TMR. The TMR should be tested 2 times per week, minimum.

• Add feeding ingredients in the proper order. Add the concentrates, like cereals and soya, first followed by the forages if you are using an auger mixer. Be sure and grind or chop dry forages and add them last, again with an auger system. If you are using a vertical mixer with center augers, add the dry chopped forages first followed by grains, concentrates and lastly the ensiled forages.

• Do not over mix. Mixing time will vary with the type of mixer (auger or vertical), amount of feed in the mixer, size of the power (tractor or truck), and even the condition (old or new) of the mixer. It is recommended that the mixer should run 5 minutes from the time the last ingredient is added. In some vertical mixers the time may be shortened to 3 minutes. Over mixing creates a reduction in particle size and causes you to lose the physical effect of the fiber peNDF. This is why I recommend routinely checking particle size every 3 weeks, unless you see rumen/digestive upsets, with a particle size monitor, such as the Penn State Box. Follow their guidelines but remember that more than 10% on the top screen allows cows to sort feed ingredients.

• Calibrate mixer scales. Check mixer weights at ⅓, ⅔ and full capacity. An easy and effective way to check this is to place a known amount of weight (such as 100 pounds) on each corner of the mixer at the 3 mentioned weight capacities and get your readings.

It is a must that you read in its entirety the manual for your mixer that you use for preparing your TMR.

To make sure your TMR mixer is functioning adequately and, more importantly consistently, sample several different locations within the bunk on a routine basis, say every month or so. Do this at the start of feed discharge, at 25%, 50%, 75% intervals across the feed bunk, and at the end of feed discharge. I have seen cases of digestive upsets in cows where they consume feed at the beginning of feed discharge, due to corn not being totally mixed and or not added at the correct time. Cattle are very dominate eaters and will often consume feed from the same place each day, each feeding.

Encouraging your customers to incorporating these suggestions into their Standard Operating Procedures will help them maximizing feed efficiency as well as the economics of milk production and cow well-being.

Jerry Weigel is the manager of nutrition and technical services for BASF Plant Science. He can be reached at gerald.weigel@basf.com.

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Feeding Tips from the 2009 Penn State Dairy Cattle Nutrition Workshop

February 3rd, 2010 by Courtney Beck

Feed costs and milk prices were top of mind for all dairy producers in 2009, causing many to wonder what changes they could make to increase profitability. I recently had the opportunity to attend the 2009 Penn State Dairy Cattle Nutrition Workshop where Dr. Bill Weiss from The Ohio State University spoke on the topic of “Feeding Cows in Today’s Economy.” A few of the key messages on feed cost control that Dr. Weiss outlined in this presentation were:

• Economic Value of Feeds
• Ration Formulation Specifications
• On-farm Feeding Management Opportunities

Economic challenges have forced producers and nutritionists to re-think the nutritional strategies employed on today’s dairy operations. Dr. Weiss discusses rumen-undegradable protein (RUP) targets for specific lactation groups and what safety factors should be employed in RUP balancing. For example, he says “for a group of cows post peak dry matter intake, the RUP safety factor could be reduced to about 1.15 x pen average milk yield.”

Dr. Weiss and The Ohio State University provide several useful tools for evaluating and analyzing dairy management practices. The Feed Management toolbox provides a wealth of information as well as several calculators. One tool to take note of is the SESAME feed evaluation tool from Dr. Normand St-Pierre. This tool provides an analysis of feed values based on current price levels. The SESAME tool is a good way of using nutritional information to help dairy management determine the good valued feeds from those that are over valued.

If you’d like to learn more, click here to read Dr. Weiss’s paper.

Greg Jones is the NutriDense Silage Product Manager for BASF Plant Science. You can contact him at gregory.jones@basf.com.

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