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Increasing dairy farm profit by maximising forage utilization

Increasing dairy farm profit by maximising forage utilization . Edith Charbonneau, Ph.D , agr . Collaborators : M.C. Coulombe R. Roy D. Pellerin. Content. Having high quality forage in quantity Adjusted yield for quality Cost per adjusted ton Forage utilisation

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Increasing dairy farm profit by maximising forage utilization

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

  2. 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

  3. Importance of forage management • Forage management is a key factor to increase dairy farm’s net income • Up to around 50 000$ 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)

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

  5. Adjustedyield for quality • Value of forages estimated from corn grain and soybean meal prices and compositions

  6. Adjustedyield 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%

  7. Cost of forage production

  8. Adjustedcost of production Yield Quality T DM/ha • 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 (Coulombe, 2012)

  9. Adjustedcost 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)

  10. Quality-adjusted cost of production- relationship with the cost of production - Results for the adjusted forage cost of production from dairyfarms Results from 381 herds in AgritelWeb(2009-11)

  11. Quality-adjusted cost of production- relationship with the cost of production - Results for the adjusted forage cost of production from dairyfarms Results from 381 herds in AgritelWeb(2009-11)

  12. Forage utilisation

  13. 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.

  14. Milk from forage MFaverage= (MFenergy + MFprotein) /2 MFenergy= ECM – [Conc NEL (Mcal) - NELfor growth (Mcal)] 0.75 (Mcal/kg milk) MFprotein= PCM – [Conc CP(kg) – CP for growth (kg)] 0.088 (kg CP/kg of milk) (Charbonneau, 2002)

  15. Milk from forage

  16. Milk from forage – Economicinterest Resultsfrom381 herdsfromAgritelWeb (2009-11)

  17. Milk from forage – Animal performance Resultsfrom381 herdsfromAgritelWeb (2009-11)

  18. Milk from forage – Animal performance Resultsfrom381 herdsfromAgritelWeb (2009-11)

  19. Milk from forage – Summary • 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

  20. Milk from forage with inexpensive forage • 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 10.40 $/hL • Higher income of 20 132 $/ full time equivalent

  21. 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 10.40 $/hL • Higher income of 20 132 $/ full time equivalent Difference of around 55 000$ between the farms in our study

  22. Milk from forage – Research • 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)

  23. Concentrateamount • 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 Production performance maybe more related to type of concentrate than the amount

  24. Feed characteristics • 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 (St-Pierre et al., 2002)

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

  26. Feed characteristics • 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

  27. Feed characteristics • Corn silage-baseddiet • Increasing RDP fromconcentratesincreasesMilk from forage • No effectfromconcentrategrinding, forage particle size or forage quality on Milk from forage

  28. a 14 a 12 b 10 b a a 8 Milk from forage (kg/d) b 6 b 4 MFenergy; P=0.73 MFprotein; P<0.01 2 MFaverage; P=0.09 0 Cracked corn Ground corn Starch Driedwhey Permeat Concentrate type Effect of carbohydrate degradability on Milk from forage when alfalfa silage is used (Charbonneau et al., 2006)

  29. Conclusions

  30. Conclusions • It is worth working on forage cost of production and their utilization • Difference of 55 000$ between the top and the bottom groups • To decrease cost of production • Machinery cost • Yield • Think in terms of yield adjusted for quality

  31. 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,…)

  32. 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

  33. Thanks!! Questions ? edith.charbonneau@fsaa.ulaval.ca

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