As a dairy farmer, you know the importance of optimizing milk production and herd health. Don’t forget to make sustainable practices part of your management regimen. Doing so can boost milk output and improve the profitability of your operation.
In agriculture, sustainability is primarily associated with environmentally friendly practices such as reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, enhancing soil health and preserving water quality. And while these are all aspects of sustainability, there are others that are particularly relevant to dairy producers — especially those around optimizing feed utilization.
Making feed work harder
Ultimately, dairy production is about converting feed resources into higher-value products. “The beauty of ruminant animals is that they take feedstuffs that humans cannot consume and then upcycle them into higher-quality food such as milk,” says Sara Place, PhD, chief sustainability officer, Elanco Animal Health. “It’s key to think about how that diet conversion happens.”
Having the ability to know and trace the source of the inputs you purchase can be important. And then when feed gets to the animal, the digestibility and availability of that feed, how the feed is processed, and how you can capture the most energy and nutrients from it will be very important in determining how sustainable your operation is.
“We can define sustainable dairy operations as those that are economically viable, practice environmental stewardship and work with others to advance the well-being of society,” says Dr. Place. These three factors need to be in balance in order for an operation to be successful, not only from a sustainability standpoint but also from a business perspective.
Being economically viable
Profitability is the number-one criteria for sustainability, says Dr. Place. “Any dairy producer wants to be profitable in the long-term,” she says, “and the ability of an operation to turn a profit serves as the foundation for any sustainability effort.”
One way to optimize profitability is to use animal-centric ways to improve the conversion of feed resources (likely your main input cost) using the same amount of feed. These animal-centric actions could include improving the health of your herd and decreasing losses due to mortality and morbidity. Positive outcomes like these can be achieved through genetic improvements in dairy cows and using better feeds and feed additives to enhance conversion. In addition to boosting profitability, taking actions that promote animal well-being can help improve sustainability.
Practicing environmental stewardship
Regarding the GHG methane, which is emitted through cow manure and belching, the dairy industry has a system in place to enhance digestibility: feeding cows a mix of forage and grain.
“When cows eat a diet containing more fermentable carbohydrates like corn, they tend to reduce their methane emissions,” says Dr. Place. “They’re more feed efficient. And part of that efficiency is a result of not losing as many feed calories to methane but instead capturing more of them in the animal.”
Largely as a result of genetic improvements, dairies can now produce more milk with fewer cows. “One cow in 2019 in the United States produced as much milk as 5.8 cows did in 1924,” says Dr. Place. “This means today’s dairy producers are able to generate more profit per hundredweight of milk and reduce their carbon footprint at the same time.”
Advancing the well-being of all
Increasingly, society at large is emphasizing sustainability — particularly through reducing GHG emissions. However, dairy producers are not necessarily tracking those improvements on a large scale today.
“As an industry, we haven’t talked much about our sustainability successes and what we’re doing to advance sustainability because most people in this industry are very humble,” says Dr. Place. “They’re not necessarily viewing what they do to care for their animals through a sustainability lens.”
Also, greenhouse gas emissions are currently very difficult to measure and not a “typical” metric that producers are gauging. “I believe that in the future, as we monitor more emissions and other new measures, we’ll get more innovations in those spaces, whether it’s new ways to lower methane emissions from cows, or methane and nitrous oxide from their manure,” says Dr. Place. “There will likely also be new practices in feed production that would lower emissions or increase carbon sequestration.”
Enhancing or adopting sustainability efforts on a dairy operation has the potential to accomplish two things: improve the business over time, thereby making it more attractive to pass on to the next generation; and improve relationships with a broader audience. This audience includes the end users of dairy products who are increasingly interested in what companies and individuals are doing to advance sustainability efforts, as well as institutions that lend dairy producers money, intermediary processors and others.
Dairy industry organizations have recognized the need to advance sustainable practices and have established various stewardship and sustainability goals. For example, U.S. Dairy has set environmental sustainability goals to achieve carbon neutrality or better, optimize water usage and improve water quality by 2050.
Elanco Animal Health has also made a commitment through its Healthy Purpose initiative to create more resilient food systems by enabling 57 million more people to access their annual nutritious protein needs. At the same time, the company will remove 21 million tons of GHG emissions from customer farms while reducing its own impact on the planet.
Improving cow diets
One easy way to improve digestion and efficiency in dairy cows is to include a feed additive in your nutrition management strategy. Rumensin® is a proven management tool that optimizes your investment by giving cows a boost of extra energy* that can increase their milk production efficiency1 † by delivering more milk per pound of feed while maintaining milk’s natural wholesomeness. Early lactation cows crave additional energy to support higher production while late lactation counterparts need less feed to maintain production and pregnancies. Regardless of the feedstuffs for lactating and dry cows, Rumensin helps cows get more energy from every pound of feed.
Rumensin has other benefits, which include helping prevent and control coccidiosis in calves and heifers, and promoting increased heifer weight gain during all stages of post-weaning development.
“This is a sustainability benefit because it means fewer animal mortalities and less feed energy being used to fight an infection,” says Dr. Place. “Animals that are sick are not going to be performing at their best. Rumensin helps enhance the efficiency of the rumen system to get more of the volatile fatty acids (VFAs) that we want from cows and increase the energy efficiency of rumen fermentation.”
Your nutritionist can be a great resource to help you determine practical ways to optimize feed costs, improve milk production efficiency and add to your bottom line. Talk with him or her about what’s most feasible for your situation to achieve optimal cow nutrition and milk output.
Contact your Elanco representative to learn more about how to make your operation more sustainable and how Rumensin can help improve feed efficiency and milk production in your herd.
The label contains complete use information, including cautions and warnings. Always read, understand and follow the label and use directions.
CAUTION: Consumption by unapproved species or feeding undiluted may be toxic or fatal. Do not feed to veal calves.
Feeding Directions
For Dairy Cows: For increased milk production efficiency (production of marketable solids-corrected milk per unit of feed intake)
Total Mixed Rations (“complete feed”): Feed continuously to dry and lactating dairy cows a total mixed ration (“complete feed”) containing 11 to 22 g/ton monensin on a 100% dry matter basis.
Component Feeding Systems (including top dress): Feed continuously to dry and lactating cows a Type C Medicated Feed containing 11 to 400 g/ton monensin. The Type C Medicated Feed must be fed in a minimum of 1 pound of feed per cow per day to provide 185 to 660 mg/head/day monensin to lactating cows or 115 to 410 mg/head/day monensin to dry cows. This provides cows with similar amounts of monensin they would receive by consuming total mixed rations containing 11 to 22 g/ton monensin on a 100% dry matter basis.
Replacement beef and dairy heifers:
For increased rate of weight gain: Feed at the rate of not less than 50 nor more than 200 mg head per day in not less than one pound of Type C Medicated Feed; or after the 5th day, feed at a rate of 400 mg per head per day every other day in not less than 2 pounds of Type C Medicated Feed. The monensin concentration in the Type C Medicated Feed must be between 15 and 400 g/ton. During the first 5 days, cattle should receive no more than 100 mg per day contained in not less than 1 lb of feed. Do not self feed.
For the prevention and control of coccidiosis due to Eimeria bovis and Eimeria zuernii: Feed at a rate to provide 0.14 to 0.42 mg per pound body weight per day, depending upon severity of challenge, up to a maximum of 200 mg per head per day. The monensin concentration in the Type C medicated Feed must be between 15 and 400 grams per ton. During the first 5 days, cattle should receive no more than 100 mg per day contained in not less than 1 pound of feed.
For calves (excluding veal calves)
For the prevention and control of coccidiosis due to Eimeria bovis and Eimeria zuernii: Feed at a rate of 0.14 to 1.00 mg per pound of body weight per day, depending upon severity of challenge, up to a maximum of 200 mg of monensin per head per day. The monensin concentration in Type C Medicated Feed must be between 10 and 200 g/ton.
