Getting the proper amount of energy into high-producing dairy cows during the first six to eight weeks postpartum can be very difficult. Slug feeding large amounts of grain or molasses at one time can cause a cow to contract acidosis or fatty liver at a time when she should be most productively lactating.

One of the greatest challenges facing a producer of dairy cattle is effective management of change in feed rations. Cows do not make change easy in their reactions to new feed throughout all seasons, as it takes the average cow 10 to 12 days to build up good bacteria naturally in the rumen to break down new feedstuffs.