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      Feed conversion efficiency as a key determinant of dairy herd performance: a review

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      Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture
      CSIRO Publishing

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          Abstract

          This paper focuses on dairy herd performance in the United Kingdom and southern Australia, where feed costs have been estimated to comprise between 40 and 67% of the total costs of production. The efficiency of conversion of grazed pasture, home grown forages and purchased feeds into milk has a major bearing on farm profit. Feed conversion efficiency (FCE), defined as ‘kg milk of standardised composition with respect to protein and fat concentrations produced per kg feed dry matter consumed’, is a useful measure of the performance of a farm feeding system, but is seldom used by dairy farmers. It could also be defined as ‘g protein plus fat produced per kg feed dry matter consumed’, given that farmers are often paid for these components. The value of estimating FCE on an annual or shorter-term basis is discussed in relation to accepted principles of feed utilisation and dairy cow energy requirements. The implications of feed intake, conversion of ingested nutrients into absorbed nutrients and the subsequent utilisation of these nutrients for milk production or other purposes, as well as the effects of stage of lactation on FCE, are reviewed. Measuring FCE and identifying opportunities for improvement is relatively straightforward in housed feeding systems, but is more problematic under grazing. Hence, approaches and the key assumptions in estimating FCE in grazing situations, as well as possible limitations of these estimates, are discussed. Finally, a case study examining the potential impact of improved nutritional strategies on FCE and on margin over feed costs is presented. It is concluded that, to remain profitable, dairy farmers need to have a sound knowledge of cow nutrition, along with appropriate measures of FCE to monitor the performance of their milk production system. Such indicators of the biological performance of the farming system are most useful when used in conjunction with appropriate measures of economic performance.

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          Prediction of the energy value of cow's milk.

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            Acidosis in cattle: a review.

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              Performance and nutrient intake of high producing Holstein cows consuming pasture or a total mixed ration.

              We compared the intakes of nutrients by high producing Holstein cows consuming pasture or a full nutrient positive control ration (total mixed ration; TMR) and identified nutrients that limited the milk production of cows consuming the high quality pasture. Cows (n = 8) were adapted to an all pasture diet by incrementally reducing the amount of TMR fed over a 4-wk period. A control group of cows (n = 8) remained in confinement and was fed a TMR. The performance of grazing cows differed significantly from that of cows fed the TMR in dry matter (DM) intake (19.0 vs. 23.4 kg/d of DM), milk production (29.6 vs. 44.1 kg/d), milk protein content (2.61% vs. 2.80%), live weight (562 vs. 597 kg), and body condition score (2.0 vs. 2.5). The high quality of the pasture permitted cows to consume the same daily intakes of neutral detergent fiber and crude protein (kilograms per day) as cows fed the TMR, but the pasture provided 19% less DM, organic matter, and net energy for lactation. Predictions using National Research Council estimates and the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System model indicated that the supply of metabolizable energy was first-limiting for the milk production of cows consuming high quality pasture rather than the supply of metabolizable protein or amino acids. Although a daily intake of 19 kg of DM was achieved on spring pasture, the significant mobilization of energy reserves indicated that supplemental energy is required to achieve milk production greater than 30 kg/d from high producing Holstein cows on intensive grazing systems.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture
                Aust. J. Exp. Agric.
                CSIRO Publishing
                0816-1089
                2007
                2007
                : 47
                : 6
                : 645
                Article
                10.1071/EA06048
                b3c47e55-9a47-4c9e-aed6-82879bae8518
                © 2007
                History

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