Reflecting on the challenges we have faced over the last year, it cannot be emphasised enough how important farmers are in the food supply chain. COVID-19 has highlighted the need for such resilient food systems. Feed production capacity directly correlates to the amount of food available for human consumption and general food security....
A decline in butterfat percentages can be common during the spring months, when cows are grazing lush grass that is low in fibre and high in oil and sugars, among other reasons. The Alltech nutrition team focus on four key areas to combat a drop in butterfat, including: nutrition, rumen health, grassland management and genetics....
It is not uncommon to see a butterfat drop of up to 0.5% over the spring–summer period in grazing dairy cows. This can occur in the absence of significant signs of acidosis and lameness, so, over the last number of years, we have begun to examine the relationship between the cows diet, how it reacts in the rumen and its effect on butterfat...
With the “back broken” in the calving season, attention now turns to getting cows to grass, and early-season management of this will pay dividends in the long run. Feed prices have not been kind to us this year, so getting some higher-protein forage into the cows will be a welcome reprieve when supply and conditions allow us to do so....