Increasing dairy farm profit by maximising forage utilization Edith Charbonneau, Ph.D, agr. Collaborators: M.C. Coulombe M.C. Coulombe R. Roy R. Roy D. Pellerin D. Pellerin

Content  Having high quality forage in quantity – Adjusted yield for quality – Cost per adjusted ton  Forage utilisation – Milk from forage – Its impact – How to increase Milk from forage  Assess forage management and utilization

Importance of forage management  Forage management is a key factor to increase dairy farm’s net income Up to around $ higher net income for farms having more efficient forage management ₋High yield ₋Good quality ₋Low cost of production ₋High Milk from forage (Roy et al., 2008)

$/T DM  Good forage utilisation decreases the need for concentrate feeds  Price in concentrate feeds varies greatly in time Importance of forage management

Adjusted yield for quality  Value of forages estimated from corn grain and soybean meal prices and compositions

Forage value increases up to 50$/T; it’s an increase of 20% Adjusted yield for quality  Value of forages estimated from corn grain and soybean meal prices and compositions

Cost of forage production

Adjusted yield –Correct the yield for the nutrient content (quality) Adjusted cost of production –Cost of forage production /Adjusted yield Adjusted yield eq DM/ha Yield Quality T DM/ha (Coulombe, 2012) Adjusted cost of production

Quality Calculation –Relative quality _ based on energy (RQE) RQE = TDN (%DM) / 1.24 –Relative quality _ based on protein (RQP) Digestible protein (%DM) / 0.32 –Global quality index (RQE+RQP) / 2 Coefficients are calculated using a reference forage: –Weighted mean from average chemical analysis of a mid- mature silage (2/3) and a mid-mature hay (1/3) (Coulombe, 2012) Adjusted cost of production

Quality-adjusted cost of production - relationship with the cost of production - AverageCost Prod. 25% higher Cost Prod. 25% Lower  Adj. cost of production, $/T b 165 a -94 Variable cost, $/ha b 447 a -83 Fertilizer and other improvements, $/ha Machinery cost, $/ha b 588 a -166 Labor cost, $/ha b 188 a -36 Results from 381 herds in AgritelWeb ( ) Results for the adjusted forage cost of production from dairy farms

Quality-adjusted cost of production - relationship with the cost of production - AverageCost Prod. 25% higher Cost Prod. 25% Lower  Yield, T/ha a 6.5 b -1.4 Adjusted yield, eqT/ha a 7.1 b -2.0 NE L, Mcal/kg DM Crude protein, % b 16.9 a +1.1 Area, ha b 81.7 a Results from 381 herds in AgritelWeb ( ) Results for the adjusted forage cost of production from dairy farms

Forage utilisation

 Milk from forage Concept was developed in the 70’s by Agri- Gestion Laval at Université Laval Milk from forage (MF) is an estimation of the milk produced from forage by subtracting milk production theoretically allowed by concentrate from the total amount of milk.

MF average = (MF energy + MF protein ) /2 MF energy = ECM – [Conc NE L (Mcal) - NE L for growth (Mcal) ] 0.75 (Mcal/kg milk) MF protein = PCM – [Conc CP (kg) – CP for growth (kg) ] (kg CP/kg of milk) Milk from forage (Charbonneau, 2002)

Objectives for Milk from forage (kg/cow) Average cow weight (kg) Acceptable Level Target > to < Milk from forage

AverageMF 25% lower MF 25% higher  Milk from forage, kg/cow b a Margin/cow (std), $/cow a 3763 b +495 Feeding cost, $/hL a b -2,79 Milk sold, hL a 4996 b Number of cows a 67.2 b Results from 381 herds from AgritelWeb ( ) Milk from forage – Economic interest

AverageMF 25% lower MF 25% higher  Milk per cow, kg/y a 8580 b +552 Milk fat, % Milk protein, % a 3.34 b Calving interval, d a 422 b -8 Replacement rate, % a 30.3 b -2.1 Results from 381 herds from AgritelWeb ( ) Milk from forage – Animal performance

AverageMF 25% lower MF 25% higher  Feed efficiency b 1.20 a Forage intake, T/cow b 5.46 a Forage crude protein, % Forage NE L, Mcal/kg b 1.35 a TMR, %4857 b 28 a -29 Results from 381 herds from AgritelWeb ( ) Milk from forage – Animal performance

 Farms with high Milk from forage have: Better margin/cow (lower feeding cost and more milk per cow) Forage of better quality Higher forage intake Higher feed efficiency Milk from forage – Summary

 Farms with high Milk from forage and low adjusted cost of production Similar animal performance with even better economic outcomes Lower milk cost of production $/hL Higher income of $/ full time equivalent Milk from forage with inexpensive forage

 Farms with high Milk from forage and low adjusted cost of production Similar animal performances with even better economic outcomes Lower milk cost of production $/hL Higher income of $/ full time equivalent Milk from forage with inexpensive forage Difference of around $ between the farms in our study

 Would decreasing concentrates increase Milk from forage?  When high quality forages are fed, it can be an option… An experiment was conducted to test the concept (Pellerin et al., 2000) Milk from forage – Research

 Cows receiving low concentrates diet Ate 1000 kg  concentrates per lactation  their forage intake by 24%  Targeted difference of 2000 kg per lactation between groups could not be met No significant differences in milk production No difference in milk composition Increase in milk urea for cows with low concentrates Concentrate amount Production performance maybe more related to type of concentrate than the amount

Physical and chemical characteristics of diet associated to Milk from forage production –90 farms (22 with corn silage) –Chemical analysis (ADF, NDF, CP,…) –Particle size of forages –Processing of concentrate feeds Feed characteristics (St-Pierre et al., 2002)

25 Days in milk Milk (kg/d) Relationship between Milk from forage and DIM Milk Milk from forage Feed characteristics (St-Pierre et al., 2002)

Silage-based diet (no corn silage) –Grinding of concentrate increases Milk from forage, mostly in early and mid- lactation –Small forage particle size decreases Milk from forage in early lactation but increases it in late lactation –Forage quality increases Milk from forage for every cow Feed characteristics

Corn silage-based diet –Increasing RDP from concentrates increases Milk from forage –No effect from concentrate grinding, forage particle size or forage quality on Milk from forage Feed characteristics

Effect of carbohydrate degradability on Milk from forage when alfalfa silage is used Cracked corn Ground corn StarchDried whey Permeat Milk from forage (kg/d) MF energy ; P=0.73 MF protein ; P<0.01 MF average ; P=0.09 b b a a b a a b Concentrate type (Charbonneau et al., 2006)

Conclusions

 It is worth working on forage cost of production and their utilization Difference of $ between the top and the bottom groups  To decrease cost of production Machinery cost Yield  Think in terms of yield adjusted for quality Conclusions

 To increase Milk from forage Good quality forages  But its not enough, you have to use them… Increase forage intake Adequate amount of concentrates for each cow Adequate choice of concentrates for the forages in the ration (type, processing,…) Conclusions

 An evaluation tool was developed to assess forage management and utilization on dairy farms  Helps to point out the strength and the weakness in forage management and utilization  Already available in Quebec  Will soon be available in English for all Canadian provinces Conclusions

Thanks!! Questions ?

Rendement ajusté - Quoi viser? - RégionNiveau acceptable (eq t MS/ha) Niveau à viser (eq t MS/ha) Bas St-Laurent4,35,2 Chaudière- Appalache 5,16,1 Centre du Québec 5,87,0 Montérégie6,47,6 Coulombe, 2012

Simplified method: Milk concentrates = Commercial mix (kg AF)x Corn grain, dry (kg AF) x Corn grain, hi-must (kg AF) x Small grain (kg AF) x Commercial supplement (kg AF) x Soybean meal (kg AF) x (Mature weight(kg) x cows nb x culling rate x 0.55) MF(kg) = [Milk(kg) – (Milk concentrates(kg AF) x 2)] Number of cows Milk from forage

 With corn silage degradability of protein in concentrate feed should lead to a better energy utilization  With a mixture of forages (legume and corn silage) the concentrate complementarities needs to be verified in order to fit well with the forages Concentrate type

 Objective: Long term comparison of production performances of cows receiving more concentrates  Methods Split a herd in 2 equivalent halves over a 2 year- period Feed first half of the cows for 9000 Kg milk and the other half for 7000 kg Concentrate amount (Pellerin et al., 2000)

Corn and alfalfa silage trial 1) 85-CC:Cracked corn based diet providing 85% of NRC 2001 RDP req.; 2) 100-CC:Cracked corn based diet providing 100% of NRC 2001 RDP req.; 3) 115-CC:Cracked corn based diet providing 115% of NRC 2001 RDP req.; 4) 115-GC:Ground corn based diet providing 115% of NRC 2001 RDP req.; Concentrate type

 Increasing RDP, with cracked corn  MF protein  Milk yield  Milk Fat concentration  Lower levels of RDP were sufficient for milk production.  Ground vs. cracked corn with high level of RDP  MF protein  Milk yield  Milk Fat concentration  Milk Protein concentration  With the highest level of RDP, grinding corn resulted in better performances. Concentrate type (Charbonneau et al., 2007)