Feature Article
How buffer feeding helps Irish farmers control costs and maximise herd performance
Farmers are being prompted to look for ways of controlling the variables which influence the cost of producing milk on their farm. They also need to focus on milk solids and optimising fertility in their herd. Specialist Nutrition has seen a rise in enquiries from farmers looking to understand how they can reduce their exposure to fluctuating grass resources and milk prices with buffer feeding and Eornagold.
Strategies to bridge the gap Buffer feeding allows farmers to complement the available grass resource to meet the cow’s nutritional requirements throughout the year while keeping the cow’s diet balanced, so that rumen function is at its optimum performance. “We aim to bridge the nutritional gap with a cost- effective, well-balanced feed,” says Specialist Nutrition ruminant nutritionist, Rachel McCarthy. “Simply adding silage and availing of more parlour compound might suffice, but it will not help optimum performance at the best value for cows. It is important to be aware of the limitations of high forage diets. “For example, if a cow is milking 28l, her intake is c.21kg Dry Matter (DM). At grass in April, she will intake c.16kg DM leaving a shortfall of 5kg DM. Our objective is to fill this gap.”
“For those farmers buffer feeding now alongside grazing, it is about adding slow-digesting fibres and starches to complement lush grass and provide extra energy to the cow in the run-up to breeding and the onset of peak milk. “The buffer diet should include ingredients such as soya hulls, beet pulp, barley, maize meal, beet, moist feeds and home preserved forages,” says Rachel. “The ability to buffer feed can make up the shortfall in overall DM intake targets to perform consistently, achieving good milk quality and production. “Using only compound feed to buffer feed cows is not only costly but depending on the formulation, can result in overfeeding of expensive minerals, which also adds to the danger of acidosis and creates a further imbalance to the cow’s diet.
40 | Moist Feed and Forage Specialists
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