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Lactation Options For The Modern Dairy Cow

The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Ellinbank will be hosting an Extended Lactation Field Day on Tuesday 28 June (10:00 am - 12:30 pm) that will explore options for improving lactation systems for modern dairy cows.

By Department of Primary Industries - 15th June 2005 - Back to News

Contemporary dairy cows look very different to dairy cows of the past.

This has been caused by increased amounts of overseas Holstein-Friesian genetics changing the characteristics of today 's cows, so that conventional farming systems may no longer be the ideal way to manage them.

Traditionally, cows have calved each spring and had one calf per year.

Some high-yielding Holstein-Friesian cows are not well suited to seasonal production systems because of prolonged negative energy balance after calving, and consequent low fertility.

It has been increasingly difficult to get cows ‘in calf’ in time to maintain a 12-month inter-calving interval.

The pressure on seasonal dairying has led to an increasing percentage of Victorian herds (more than 60%) supplying milk for 52 weeks in the year.

There are some potentially positive aspects of longer lactations that provide opportunities for:

• spreading labour requirements and cash flow more evenly across the year;
• enhancing reproductive performance;
• extending cows’ lifetimes;
• making greater use of artificial insemination (AI);
• minimising the need for induced-calving;
• reducing problems with cow health and welfare; and
• improving milk quality.

To help solve these problems, research trials are underway at DPI Ellinbank that investigate the use of extended lactations in systems with inter-calving intervals from 12 to 24 months, allowing cows more time to get in calf.

The research investigates which cows are suited to longer lactations, how long should they milk, how should they be fed, and is it profitable?

The project also studies reproductive performance and the suitability of milk for manufacturing. The information gained will help dairy farmers and their advisers to decide if there is a better production system for modern dairy cows and which cows are suited.

The Gardiner Foundation, ADHIF, GippsDairy and Keenans Pty Ltd are supporting the project.

Speakers at the Extended Lactation Field Day include Jock MacMillan, The University of Melbourne, who will provide an insight into the reasons behind poorer reproductive performance in modern cows and how extended lactations may improve reproduction.

Martin Auldist, DPI, will present the results of Ellinbank research that shows cows with 15 and 18 month lactations produce similar amounts of milk solids per annum to the traditional 300 day lactation, due to the extra days in milk.

However, it should be noted that not all cows are likely to be suited to extended lactations.

Chris Grainger, DPI, will outline how cow genetics influence milk production and persistence.

For further information, contact Greg O’Brien at DPI Ellinbank on Tel: 5624 2288.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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