Formulating a

diet for a pen of

cows

Not a single cow

Bill Weiss
Animal Sciences
Wooster
Potential Grouping Strategies
1. Production 4. Repro status
2. Parity 5. Keep pens full
3. Stage of lactation 6. etc.

1. Average and distributions of milk yields

2. Average and distributions of DMI

1. Cow inputs for formulation software

2. DM intake estimates and inputs
 Requirement: A pen vs. A cow

40
35
30
Number of cows

25
20
15
10
5
0
5 40 45 15
50 55 60 25

Requirement X/day
 X
Requirement: A pen vs. A cow
DMI
40
35
30
Number of cows

25
20
15
10
5
0
5 40 45 50 15 55 60 25

Requirement X/day
DMI
 Distributions will differ
(will you even know it?)

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Should (will?) distribution affect

formulation inputs?
 Major Factors Affecting Requirements
BW Milk @
45
1. Milk yield @75 lbs/d 1200 lbs
40
2. BW
35 +64% 900 lbs
3. Milk composition
30 +11% 1500 lbs
3.3 F/2.7P vs 4.2F/3.2P
Mcal or lbs/d
25 50 lbs/d
~+13% NEL and MP
100 lbs/d
20

4. Parity (growth) 15

10
1.6 lbs/d vs 0 +1% +55%
5
~+10% NEL and MP
but also BW difference 0
NEL MP NEL MP
 Major Factors Affecting DMI within a
Herd

Similar to
BW relationships to
Milk yield requirements

Days in milk
- Essentially no independent effect on
requirements
- Huge effect on DMI
 Milk and DMI (>1 Lactation)
CP intake: – 700 g NELI: -6 Mcal
110
100
90
80
Lbs/day

DMI
70
60
+20% 55 lbs
Milk
46 lbs
50
40
30
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Days in Milk

unpub
 Nutrient Requirements
and DMI estimates

Typical within pen ranges in:

- BW: Small effect Use pen/herd mean
- Milk comp: Small effect Use mean
- Parity: Small effect Use mean
- Milk yield: BIG effect Use ???

- DIM: Can have BIG effect Use ???

 When formulating for a pen:
Does the pen include fresh cows
(< 3 or 4 Weeks) ?

If pen is just fresh cows

-intake, intake, intake more than milk
-did I mention, intake, intake, intake
If pen does not have fresh cows
- it’s a lot easier
If pen has both
- Nutritionally inefficient
- Can’t forget early diet effects on peak
 What Milk Yield Should be Used for a
Group of Post-Fresh Cows ?

Formulating to meet requirements for the average

cow usually reduces pen average milk yield

The 11th Commandment:

Don’t formulate for the average
cow !
 Hypothetical Response Function
65
Milk response

63
61
59
57
55
53
51
49
47
45
4.4 4.6 4.8 5 5.2 5.4 5.6 5.8 6 6.2 6.4 6.6 6.8 7 7.2 7.4
% Protein
 Protein Requirements for a Group of
Cows
If you feed the
40
35 You don’t average cow
30 increase milk for
Number of cows

25 the 50% of cows Milk will drop for

20
<average the 50% of cows
15
producing >
10
5
average
0
5 1 2 3 4 15
5 6 7 8 9 25

Protein Requirements
Distribution of Milk Yields in One Pen of
Holstein Cows
110 Cows
Avg = 75 lbs
SD = 13

35 130
lbs lbs
Distribution of Milk Yields in One Pen of
Holstein Cows
If all cows past peak DMI, “avg” diet would meet or
exceed requirements for ~80% of cows

~90 lbs
 For a Pen without Fresh Cows
MP and NEL for Avg Cow is adequate for
about 1.15 X avg milk

If average = 75 lbs/d
Diet will support 75 x ~1.15
= 85 to 90 lbs/d

What about other nutrients?

 Diverse Pens and pens w/o Fresh Cows

1. Minerals and vitamins:

• Not highly dependent on yield
• Use safety factor for uncertainty and
antagonism
• 1.2 to 1.5 X NRC is usually adequate

2. Fiber (NDF):
• Complicated
• First, feed mgmt, NDF/starch source, etc
• Second, pen demographics
• More cows Milk and DIM, then NDF
Rumen Degradable Protein (RDP)
- Important for optimal rumen function
- Relatively inexpensive
- Can stimulate DMI
- Excess may impair repro
- Excess increases manure N
Bacterial requirement, not cow
Function of DMI, not milk
Inadequate RDP can limit microbial growth,
fiber digestion, and DMI
58
56
54
52 All Pens
DMI, lbs/day

50
48 10-10.5% RDP*
46 (slightly more than
44 NRC
42
req’t)
40
7 8 9 10 11 12
Rumen Degradable Protein, % of DM
* Calculated with
NRC model
Cyriac et al., 2008
 Digestible RUP (MP)

Inadequate MP (dRUP) will reduce milk Feed for

(body stores are limited) average
vs. vs.
Modest excess MP inflates feed costs Feed for
and increases N in manure >Avg

Feed
Milk
Environmental
MP specs for a pen with no fresh cows
These Cows will be These cows will be
fed if formulated for fed if MP-allow milk
mean = Mean + 1 SD

Avg = 75 lbs
SD = 13
Avg*1.15 MP-milk = 88lbs

~ 1 SD
 Grouping by production (post-fresh)
reduces pen variation and will reduce
MP-milk targets
Example: Pen average milk = 85 lbs

Pen SD MP-Allow Milk Target

10 lbs 95 lbs
15 lbs 100 lbs
20 lbs 105 lbs

Reflects typical within herd variation (CV=16%)

(Finney et al., 2013)
 Groups without Fresh Cows: Digestible
RUP (MP)
Use pen average DMI
Max MP allowable milk = Mean + 1 SD
If SD not known: Assume SD = < 0.16*mean
May need to lower because feed cost/regulations

Diet For High Pen

Pen DMI = 58 lbs
Pen average milk = 90 lbs
Pen SD = ? (assume 90*0.16 = 14.4 lbs)
MP-allowable milk should = 90+14 = 104 lbs
Diverse Groups without Fresh Cows: NEL

Theoretically, NEL allowable milk = avg. milk

- above average cows will lose BC
- below average cows gain it back

Recommendation
1. At pen average DMI, NEL-allowable milk
should equal ~1.1 X average milk
2. Adjust based on changes in BCS
Distribution of Lactation Stage in One
Pen of Holstein Cows
These guys
don’t fit
Avg DIM = 178
(6 months)

<
 Diverse Pens with Fresh Cows:
Digestible RUP (MP)
Depends on how many fresh cows
Should bias toward the fresh cow

Simulation Results
Assumed 10% fresh cows (<25 DIM)
Assumed typical lactation curve
Use Pen Average DMI
MP-allowable milk should ~Avg+1.5 SD
or Average *1.24 (i.e., 16*1.5)
 Early Lactation Group (< 25 DIM)
Primary Goal: MAXIMIZE DMI

1. Adequate (extra?) RDP

2. Moderate NDF (~30%) and starch (~25%)
3. Highly digestible NDF
4. Lots of bunk space
5. Don’t worry about NEL, get cows to eat
 Summary

- Keep fresh cows (< ~21 DIM) in a separate group

and formulate that pen for DMI

- For pens without fresh cows

•Knowing within pen variation in milk
increases formulation accuracy
•Max MP-allowable milk = Avg + 1 SD
if SD unknown = Avg*1.16
 Summary

- For diverse pens with fresh cows

• Greater overfeeding is necessary
• Increased feed costs
• Max MP allowable milk = Avg + 1.5 SD
or if SD unknown: =Avg * 1.24
 OHIO AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER

http:// dairy.osu.edu