Well-fed cows form the basis of Darling Downs dairy farmers Ricky and Tammy Gill’s high performance herd.
The Gills, who milk about 110 principally Holstein cows on their farm at Roxburn near Pittsworth, say their goal of maximising of milk production by providing the best possible diet is also directly contributing to the exceptional health of the herd.
The herd is averaging about 30 litres/cow/day with milk solids of 4.02 per cent fat and 3.28pc protein.
Most impressive is the low somatic cell count of the milk. That count is consistently below 110, and significantly less than the still acceptable 200 SCC levels found in many herds. The low SCC has also generated ongoing milk price premiums from processor Parmalat.
The cows are fed 8kg/day of grain-based pellets produced at Riverina Stock Feeds mill in Warwick. The formulation of the pellets is adjusted according to the make-up of nutritional values of available pastures and silage.
“We’re talking regularly with Glen Whitten at Riverina about any changes we notice in the herd and what adjustments we can make to fine tune the performance of the cows,” Mrs Gill said.
“Often there is some feedback on what is happening on other farms which helps provide some guidance on how the ration should be adjusted.
“The beauty of a dairy farm is the performance of the cows is always being monitored and we can make adjustments as required.”
Mrs Gill also attributed the health of the cows to the inclusion of bioplex six pack. The Alltech product is a combination of organic minerals, yea-sac 1026 and Sel-Plex in pellets. Sel-Plex is an organic form of selenium produced from yeast that improves the metabolism of the animal.
“We feed them well and expect them to milk well,” Mrs Gill said.
“We are looking for maximum production from each cow. The organic selenium certainly adds to the health of the cows, and it’s no secret that healthy cows are more productive and more robust.
“It’s all about getting the rumen functioning at its most efficient because that is essentially the engine of a cow.”
The Gills run their herd on some 600ha of country, including the 100ha home farm Gilbrae. The operation is mainly run under a dryland system, although there is some irrigation.
At present the Gills are working flat out baling and wrapping some 1300, one tonne round bales of forage sorghum as stored feed.
“Usually we’ve been able to make about 800 bales,” Ricky Gill said. “This season we’ve had a better season and have been able to cut about 14 bales to the acre. It’s a great feeling having this reserve of feed.”
The herd is milked through an eight a side herringbone dairy.
Natural animal nutrition company Alltech showcased its innovative products at producer evenings in Oakey and Kenilworth last week.
On show were Alltech products aimed at managing heat stress in both dairy and beef industries.
The products included the controlled-release nitrogen source Optisync, Yea-Sacc, Bioplex minerals, the organic selenium source Sel-plex, and Micosorb A+, which is used to control potentially dangerous mycotoxins in feeds.
Alltech nutritional advisor Toby Doak said heat stress could result in 5-10pc drops in milk production. Cows used more energy on maintenance and reduced dry matter intake.
“Alltech’s suite of products enable cattle to better cope with the combination of higher temperatures and humidity,” Mr Doak said.
