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When it comes to perfecting the pre-fresh diet for transition cows, it’s all about getting the recipe right. But, recipes are more than just the nutritional ingredients. A recipe includes all of the ingredients plus the steps to prepare it, evaluation of the final product and the results delivered.
As outside pressures continue to limit production and cow numbers, dairies across the country are striving for maximum efficiency across their organizations. When we're limited by these factors, we must attempt to put the most profitable cows in every slot we have available. With component-based pricing, profitable cows are the ones with the highest levels of component efficiency (CE) and not necessarily the ones producing the most pounds of milk.
In dairy cows, the transition from gestation to lactation results in a sudden large demand for calcium due to the production and secretion of colostrum and milk.
The role of the transition cow in robotics is no different than in any other milking system. A good transition program minimizes calving difficulties and metabolic and infectious diseases.
The transition to lactation is a metabolically challenging time in the life cycle of a dairy cow. Nutrient requirements to support milk production exceed nutrient intake, and the cow is at increased risk of metabolic and infectious disorders.
Often, when I visit a farm to troubleshoot an incident of poor transition cow performance, I hear the comment, “Things had been going so well until now. What might have changed with my anionic supplement?”
As a dairyman, are you looking to improve the way your fresh cows transition, take off, peak and breed back? Are you looking to improve rumen health, rumen function, overall health, digestion, feed efficiency and YOUR BOTTOM LINE??? If so, then “RECALIBRATE WITH RECAL”.
What is the best ration to feed to your dairy cows? An excellent question and one that has confounded dairy producers forever. We tend to focus largely on what is fed to the lactating herd since this is the main revenue source.
Having focus is a good thing, but being singularly focused to measure profitability is not.
We know with some certainty, herds which produce more milk or higher components have higher profitability.
“My dad taught me that if we take care of the cows, they take care of us,” says Chris Heins, sixth-generation dairy farmer in Lafayette County, Missouri.
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