Reducing: “Cow-Rent” Maintenance Charges By Proper Feeding
The more exercise a dairy cow takes, the greater will be the amount of food required for her maintenance, as distinct from production. If a cow is grazing on high-class pasture land and can satisfy her needs in a minimum of time, then her maintenance will be less than it would if she had to hunt for her food on scanty hillside pastures. Maintenance needs are the first call on the food intake, and measures taken to reduce these will influence the efficiency of food utilisat:m. Because loss of body heat increases with falling < temperatures, maintenance is greater in winter. It is probable that the average New Zealand cow needs in the winter 50 per cent more feed' than she would if housed and stall-fed. This latter practice does not pay under New Zealand conditions, but the provision of live shelter does. Maintenance tequirements vary in practice according to the size of the animal, as well as the amount of exercise, and temperature. - A small Jersey cow of 8001 b has only two-thirds of the maintenance requirements of a large Friesian of 13501 b. Because maintenance is an “overhead charge” on production two points are of importance: (a) At the. same level of milk production the small cow is more efficient than the larger cow, and, (b) with cows of equal size the* high producer is the more efficient because of the spread of overhead. Over and above maintenance, feed requirements are proportional to production. Every gallon of milk testing 3.7 per cent requires 2|lb of starch equivalent containing -Hb of digestible protein. Naturally, milk with a higher fat content "requires , more nutrients per gallon, For example, one gallon of five per cent milk requires 31b of starch equivalent containing fib of, digestible protein. A satisfactory diet for a dairy cow must contain sufficient nutrients to provide for the maintenance of the body in normal health, for growth if the animal is immature, and for production if it is in milk. The nutrients will include .sufficient energy food (sugar, starch, fibre, fats), sufficient protein, sufficient minerals and vitamins,' and sufficient bulk to satisfy appetite.
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Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 97, 20 September 1948, Page 3
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361Reducing: “Cow-Rent” Maintenance Charges By Proper Feeding Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 97, 20 September 1948, Page 3
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