Top 10 Tips to Improve Peak Milk Yields

(Sponsored Content)

Successfully guiding cows through early lactation is key to their long-term health and production performance. While nutrition and health during early lactation greatly impact peak milk yields, preventing health problems and having good feed practices can actually improve peak milk yields.

What Is Peak Milk? 

Peak milk is the highest recorded test day milk production in a cow’s first 150 days in milk (DIM). Historically, producers used peak milk as a measure of the success of dry period and early lactation nutrition and management. Peak milk indicates how well the cow responds to feeding practices during the dry period, calving and early lactation periods.

Most cows achieve peak milk by 45 to 90 DIM, then slowly lose production over time. Many cite that each added pound of peak milk could lead to 200 to 250 pounds more milk for the whole lactation.

Nutrition and health disorders in early lactation affect peak milk. For example, low dietary fiber diet/sorting can lead to rumen acidosis, which can result in lameness or displaced abomasum. Both conditions can cause reduced peak milk.

Ten Ways To Improve Early Lactation Performance and Peak Milk Yield

1. Start cows with a successful dry period.
Research shows dry period nutrition and management affect health and performance after birth. Thus, evaluate your dry cow program if you’re unhappy with milk cow performance. Key goals for dry cows include:

  • Maintaining dry matter intake (28 to 32 pounds per day)
  • Avoiding overfeeding energy
  • Preventing body condition score (BCS) gain
  • Optimizing comfort
  • Addressing hoof health

2. Prevent subclinical milk fever.
Reduce the risk of subclinical milk fever (low blood calcium) during the first week of lactation. Low blood calcium (less than 8.0 milligrams deciliter) correlates with the following:

  • Ketosis
  • Higher somatic cell count
  • Delayed uterine involution
  • Metritis
  • Depressed feed intake
  • Reduced milk yield

3. Optimize feed intake immediately after calving.

  • Provide 10 to 15 gallons of warm water with drinkable drench.
  • Allow access to fresh total mixed ration.
  • Provide 5 to 10 pounds of alfalfa/grass hay.
  • Keep the feed bunks clean and fresh.

4. Optimize cow comfort.
To optimize cow comfort in the fresh cow group:

  • Use a stocking rate at 80% to 85%  of capacity.
  • Keep cows in a fresh cow group for 14 to 21 days.
  • Provide 30 to 36 inches of bunk space per cow.
  • Reduce social stress (especially for first calf heifers).
  • Prevent cows from separating from the normal herd mates.
  • Invest in cow cooling for dry and lactating cows.

5. Maintain rumen health and prevent ruminal acidosis.

  • Provide a flake of alfalfa/grass hay for the first five days after calving. Early lactation diet should contain plenty of good quality digestible fiber (31% to 35% neutral detergent fiber).
  • Maintain fiber mat with consistent feed intake and avoid empty bunks.
  • Provide free choice buffer, and monitor buffer intake.
  • Minimize the risk of slug feeding or diet sorting that may result in rumen acidosis (low rumen pH, sour stomach).

6. Identify cows with a history of metabolic or health problems.
Cows with a history of milk fever, ketosis or mastitis are likely to face these problems again. Keeping an eye on cows prone to health problems allows you to help prevent these problems.

For example, move cows carrying twins or first calf heifers into the dry group early. Data show a correlation with a 7- to 10- day earlier calving date.  

7. Evaluate BCS.
The target BCS at calving is 3.0-3.25. You should avoid having cows reach a BCS greater than 4. A lower BCS at calving allows for 0.5 to 1.0 units of BCS within herd variation. This provides a safety margin to avoid overweight cows that:

  • Have a higher risk for ketosis and fatty liver.
  • Are often more difficult to breed back.

8. Position feed additives.
Fresh cow groups are most likely to offer a return on investment for feed additives. Studies support the following additives:

  • Ionophores increase glucose availability.
  • Rumen-protected choline improves liver health and function.
  • Protected amino acids meet amino acid requirements without overfeeding protein.
  • Supplemental protected fat increases energy intake.
  • Yeast culture stabilizes rumen fermentation.

9. Avoid anti-nutritional factors.
Anti-nutritional factors include feeds containing mold, wild yeast and poorly fermented feeds. Mold counts over 100,000 colonies per gram likely decrease feed intake and diet digestibility.

10. Feed correct amounts of antioxidants.
Antioxidants (for example, vitamin E and selenium) help reduce the impact of oxidative stress. Oxidative stress could be too much fat mobilization, poor air quality or injury. These all decrease the efficiency of immune system function.
 
 


Headline image courtesy of University of Minnesota

Sponsored by Zoetis
 

 

Latest News

Skills Survey Reveals U.S. Agriculture & Food Industry Workforce Needs and Gaps
Skills Survey Reveals U.S. Agriculture & Food Industry Workforce Needs and Gaps

U.S. employers report challenges in finding suitable job candidates with work-ready skills to fill open roles in ag. The AgCareers.com U.S. Skills Survey offers insights, data and trends to address skill development.

Built Out of Love: How Two Sisters Created a Super-Fast-Growing Yogurt Company
Built Out of Love: How Two Sisters Created a Super-Fast-Growing Yogurt Company

Travel to the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, and you’ll meet Hayley and Stephanie Painter who not only made the Forbes 30 under 30 list, but have also created one of the fastest growing yogurt company in the U.S.

"Boring" Technology Will Reshape Dairy Over the Next 10 Years
"Boring" Technology Will Reshape Dairy Over the Next 10 Years

Once a technology becomes a boring experience it means it has become proven, well-adopted, and easy to utilize. There are three "boring" technologies silently shaping the industry.

Influential Dairy Leaders Awarded World Dairy Expo Recognition Awards
Influential Dairy Leaders Awarded World Dairy Expo Recognition Awards

World Dairy Expo is delighted to announce the recipients of the 2024 Expo Recognition Awards. These individuals have made remarkable contributions to the dairy industry and their communities.

Meat Institute: Properly Prepared Beef is Safe to Eat; HPAI is not a Food Safety Threat
Meat Institute: Properly Prepared Beef is Safe to Eat; HPAI is not a Food Safety Threat

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and USDA food safety experts, properly prepared beef is safe to eat and is not a food safety risk to humans.

BREAKING: Mystery Illness Impacting Texas, Kansas Dairy Cattle is Confirmed as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Strain
BREAKING: Mystery Illness Impacting Texas, Kansas Dairy Cattle is Confirmed as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Strain

USDA says genetic sequencing revealed the mystery illness impacting Texas dairies is the same strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) that's been in the U.S. The virus is carried by wild waterfowl.