When milk prices and dairy profit margins are good, such as 2014, we sometimes get comfortable with production and on-farm efficiency. With today’s low milk prices and rising feed protein prices, now is the time to fine-tune rations to enhance microbial growth in the rumen.

Nitrogen (N) utilization is becoming a central component in ration balancing as dairy producers try to maximize milk protein yields, decrease feed costs and conform to environmental standards. Previously, our nutritional models and research in dairy cows dictated that we feed higher crude protein (CP) levels to achieve optimal performance.

The current world population is 7.4 billion people, and it is estimated we will reach the 8-billion-person mark sometime in 2024. By 2040, we should reach 9 billion people on the planet. Demands for food, and high-quality proteins in particular, will increase dramatically over the next 10 to 25 years due to a number of factors: