1. Unintended Consequences of Dairy Consulting
Good Things Gone Bad!
Martin van der Leek
Production Animal Studies
RuVASA Conference, 2015

2. Maybe There’s More to It?
Large dairies with a time & numbers constraint (animals & employees)
Vet ‘in the moment’ totally focussed on task at hand
Not always having the insight into the ‘big picture’

3. The Law of Diminishing Returns
Good Things Gone Bad!
The Law of Diminishing Returns
When More Ain’t More!
‘As for butter versus margarine, I trust cows more than chemists’
Joan Gussow

4. Fresh Cow Management

5. How Much Time Does it Take?

6. Shots, Pills, Pastes, Drenches & Drips

7. FRESH COWS & NEWBORN CALVES
Provide assistance if no progress is being made after – cows 1hr, heifers 2hrs
Cows requiring assistance are taken to the chute – the vaginal area is cleaned with water & iodine scrub – calving tools (chain, head snare) are placed in bucket with iodine scrub – use plenty of lube – be patient – cow is worth $2,000, calf is worth $200!
Calves are removed from pen 17 immediately
The navel is dipped with iodine ASAP – cut cord as needed leaving 2” - massage the iodine into the navel – keep the scissors in disinfectant
Colostrum is fed within 1hr of birth – at least 1 bottle – more if the calf will drink – mark head with blue chalk
Check pen 17 every hour for cows that have calved or started calving.
Check pen 18 twice per shift

8. Synchronization Programs

9. Will it get done … Right? Protocol Cost Labour Ovsynch Low Medium/High
Double Ovsynch
High
G6G/Ovsynch
Cosynch
Medium
Cosynch + CIDR
12-day Presynch
Resynch

10. Moving Steam-ups

11. Maybe This
Cows are moved from a pre-fresh pen to an individual or group calving pen at the point of calving. ‘Just-in-time-calving’

12. Maybe That
Cows are managed in socially stable group pens throughout the pre-fresh period and calve in the pre-fresh pen. ‘All-In-All-Out’

13. Moving Transition Cows

14. Lactation Length Relationship between lactation curve
and milk revenue.
Milk yield/day
Dry period
Loss
Profit period
Breakeven period
Calving
170
250
250
Days in milk

15. Longer is Better?
For every 1 day increase in average DIM you lose 0.08 kg of milk per cow (Jones, 2013)
Lifetime milk maximised by more frequent calving’s not longer lactations
‘Calving risk’

16. Calf Diarrhoea Outbreaks

17. Time & Trouble
Time for treatments
Spread by fomite

18. ‘Placebo’ Treatments
There is an intense desire to physically ‘do something’
Often leads to inappropriate use of medication esp. antibiotics
Consider the use of a placebo such as Vitamin B Complex?

19. Save a Heifer? Break the Bank! Good Things Gone Bad!
‘A fool looks for dung where the cow never browsed’
African Proverb

20. So What Does it Cost? Holstein R 10 000 to R 14 000 Jersey

21. And When Does it Pay Back?

22. Sell or retain ownership
Now What?
Custom heifer raising
Sell or retain ownership

23. Nutrition The Devil & the Details Good Things Gone Bad!
‘All the good ideas I ever had came to me while I was milking a cow’
Grant Wood

24. Fresh Cow Rations Ration diluted by hay added in TMR
Hay offered outside of the TMR
High moisture rations
Rations often ‘owner adjusted’
Fibre quality/digestibility

25. ‘The Rumen Box’ FORAGE FORAGE FORAGE BYPRODUCT CONCENTRATE CONC CONC
50:50 A
FORAGE
CONCENTRATE
65:35 B
FORAGE
CONC
40:30:30 C
FORAGE
BYPRODUCT
CONC
Typical rations – opportunities & challenges.

26. High Forage Steam-up Ration
Energy Balance

27. Low Producers Almost never profitable to feed a low cow ration
Anything that negatively affects feed intake affects marginal milk
Low milk
Low cow ration
Lower milk!

28. Assumptions Cow’s DMI will stay the same
Does not account for the stress of a pen move
Does not account for higher NDF content
Cow will stay on current lactation curve

29. A Sorted Ration a Good Thing?
In the absence of SARA, the sorted ration might provide the nutrients for milk production.
Better processing ‘forces’ the cow to eat the sorted forage.
Dilutes the ration!
Milk drops

30. Maybe OK

31. Incentive Programs OK, show me the Money! Good Things Gone Bad!
‘I don’t want any vegetables thank you. I paid for the cow to eat them.’
Douglas Copeland

32. SCC

33. Who’s the Best Breeder?

34. Conception Rate PR HDR CR Comment 24.5 70 35 Excellent 17.0 85 20
Overzealous heat detection
18.0 40 45
Selective breeding

35. Why Do We Work? Employer Rank Measure Employee Rank 1 Interesting work5 2
Appreciation 8 3
Being involved 10 4
Job security
Good wages 6
Promotion/growth 7
Working conditions
Loyalty 9
Tactful discipline
Sympathetic help
Higginbotham, 2012

36. ‘Doc, I’m not Selling that Cow’
Good Things Gone Bad!
Culling
‘Doc, I’m not Selling that Cow’
‘Never kick a cow chip on a hot day’
Proverb

37. Cash Flow is King Marginal milk
Why?
Cash Flow is King Marginal milk

38. Stop Complaining About My Cull Rate!
A high cull rate can legitimately be driven by a high pregnancy rate & excess replacement heifers
Cull cows sold as milk cows not for slaughter
Improve health by selling bad traits & chronic disease

39. Better Check Is the facility filled with cows?
Seemingly unprofitable cows contribute
marginal milk.
On a single cow basis is she profitable?
Milk income < Feed cost
Is she disruptive?
What is the overall cull rate?
Limited by replacements

40. Forced/Biologic vs Economic
12%
Cows Leaving
5 749 Herds
Minnesota DHIA
10%
25% in first
60 days! 8%
% Cows Leaving Herd 6% 4% 2% 0% 20 41 62 83
104
125
146
167
188
209
230
251
272
293
314
335
356
377
398
419
440 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 21 42 63 84
105
126
147
168
189
210
231
252
273
294
315
336
357
378
399
420
21 DIM Interval
Godden et al., 2003

41. When is Just One More Too Many?
Good Things Gone Bad!
Overcrowding
When is Just One More Too Many?
‘Condensed milk is wonderful. I don’t see how they can get a cow to sit on those little cans’
Fred Allen

42. TIME FOR ACTIVITY (hrs) Management activities (incl. milking)
Time Budgets
ACTIVITY
TIME FOR ACTIVITY (hrs)
Eating
3 to 5
Lying/resting
12 to 14
Social interactions
2 to 3
Ruminating
7 to 10
Drinking
0.5
Management activities (incl. milking)
2.5 to 3.5
Grant, 2007

43. Applies to both stalls & feedbunk space.
What Counts?
Applies to both stalls & feedbunk space.
Complex interaction between stall numbers, stall dimensions, stall surface/comfort, feedbunk space, water availability, parity
Subordinate cows

44. Takes preference over feeding time
Lying Time
Takes preference over feeding time
Latency!
Each additional 1 hr of resting time increased milk production by 1.7 kg (Bach et al, 2008).

46. Feeding Time
Fewer aggressive interactions with increased bunk space & headlocks
All cows want to eat at once
Fewer meals but eat faster (up to 25%)
4 vs 6-row

47. Repro
For every 1% increase in stocking rate CR decreases by 0.1% (Moore, 2010)
As bunk space decreased from 61 cm to 30.5 cm cows pregnant by 150 DIM decreased from 70 to 35% (Grant 2012)

48. So, What to Do?
Milk cows ≤ 120%
Transition cows ≤ 80%
Dry cows ?

49. It’s All About the Last Cow, Last Bite
Good Things Gone Bad!
Marginal Thinking
It’s All About the Last Cow, Last Bite
‘Opie, you haven’t finished your milk. We can’t put it back in the cow , you know’
Aunt Bee Taylor

50. Dilution of Maintenance
1 kg feed = 2 kg milk
Milk
Maintenance (12 kg)

51. Got Feed, Got Milk!

52. The Rent’s been Paid! 10 cows 540 cows 540 cows Feed Labour
Debt Service
Vet, etc.

53. Marginal Milk Average feed cost almost useless
Average feed cost includes maintenance
We need to know the cost associated with a cow making more milk
Profit for marginal milk is regardless of the dairy making or losing money

54. Holistic Consulting
Take a step back
Get educated
You might be wrong!