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AGRI-NUTRITION
CONSULTING, INC.
4095 Gray Road, DeForest, Wisconsin 53532 608-846-2727 800-747-7447 FAX 608-846-3014 |
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by Rob Bailey
President
By incorporating a few rational management practices into your operation, along with working closely with your ANC consultant, many major problems your dairy faces can be avoided. Occasionally, the dairymen I talk to have a habit of blaming their nutrition consultant every time something goes wrong. As a result, consultants tend to give up on customers because of this. In truth, consultants and dairymen need to work together and understand that many things will affect how cows perform.
When troubleshooting one must look at many factors. Read on to learn about what you can expect from your ANC Consultant.
Nutritional Factors: Application of the Ration: Is the ration being followed? It is vital for you as a producer to follow the ration recommendations your ANC consultant provides for you. Rations have been carefully adjusted and designed especially for your herd and the feeds available. If the ration cannot be followed the way it is set up, we will try to make the adjustments necessary so it can be. Because we do not want to sacrifice the health or production of your herd, we will also give you ideas on how you can follow the best ration for your herd.
Transition Feeding and Heifers: Milk cow rations alone will not allow you to reach your goals. Dry cow, prefresh, postfresh, and heifer diets, balanced to produce healthy animals, are vital to accomplish your goals. Are these programs being implemented on your farm in the proper manner? If not, talk to your consultant about how and why they should be done! On-Farm Management Factors:
Farm Labor: It is extremely important that everyone involved in your dairy operation understands why recommendations need to be followed and what is expected of them. We can help you implement these by meeting with your employees or family to help educate them on how implementation can lead to top performance.
Veterinary Concerns: Routine herd checks and vaccination programs are a must on all dairy operations. Many problems that affect your herds production are disease-related.
Air, Light and Environment: Proper ventilation and air movement are other necessities for high milk production. ANC consultants can test and analyze your lighting and ventilation. Light meters are very useful and proper lighting can increase production 3 to 6 pounds.
Cow Comfort: Proper bedding, mattresses and mats, along with exercise and space lead to cleanliness and low somatic cell count. Adequate bunk space is also critical.
Hoof Health: Cows that have trouble walking consume less feed and therefore produce less milk. By installing properly used foot-baths and incorporating a regular hoof-trimming program, herd health can be improved.
Water: Having enough water available, waterer locations, clean drinking stations, and periodic water testing can make or break a good nutrition program. Molds and Toxins: Test for these if necessary and reduce or eliminate them from diets. Proper feed storage and inoculating forages and grains at harvest will reduce problems in this area.
Feed Mills and Suppliers: Proper mixing, accurate addition of ingredients, high quality feedstuffs, timely delivery, and having the necessary ingredients available are all areas to consider in regard to whom your feed mill and supplier should be. Work financing through lenders and not suppliers. Look for cash discounts that will more than pay your interest to a lender!
TMR Mixing and Weighing: Do not assume all mixers weigh or mix accurately! Testing and TMR separators can be used to assess the accuracy of the mixing tools and scales.
Milk Testing and Weighing: It is impossible to measure results based solely on bulk tank readings. Knowing which cows are producing how much at what stage of lactation is information that will make you money.
Milking Equipment Not Functioning Properly and the Presence of Stray Voltage: These management factors can make a feeding program look very bad. Routine maintenance and checks need to be done in these areas.
In summary, when production slips or herd health problems arise, the solution may involve any of the above factors. Teamwork among your nutrition consultant, veterinarian, employees, hoof trimmer, financial people, and equipment dealers is the real key to profit. We sincerely hope we can be part of your management team and help you achieve your goals!
It is our goal to address problems before they arise. Never hesitate to ask your ANC consultant questions about your herd. If they are not able to find the immediate answer to your question, they are in touch with people who know the answers or will promptly do the legwork needed to solve the problem.
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