WINTER FEEDING OF DAIRY STOCK INVOLVES MORE THAN JUST KEEPING COWS ALIVE: MUCH CARE NECESSARY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 58, 19 June 1950, Page 5

WINTER FEEDING OF DAIRY STOCK INVOLVES MORE THAN JUST KEEPING COWS ALIVE: MUCH CARE NECESSARY

After a season of reasonable production a cow is often in low physical condition and requires \some building up, especially as she draws near to further drain on her bodily resources at calving. The development of the cald and udder tissues are also of importance and make the greatest demands on the quality- in the rations. Short Rations On drying off, cows may be moved from what good grass the milkers are grazing and put on short Rations of greatly reduced protein quantity. Hough pastures, low quality hay, and pampas are suitable to reduce the milk production which is finally forced to a stop by the pressure in the secreting cells. Only for a short time can this compromise be made between feeding on quality and the economci necessity to clean up pastures prior to late closing for the spring. From this point—about a" month before calving—it is necessary to treat .cows better than is usual. .To give a feeling of contentment there needs to be a fair bulk in the feed of a dry cow, but the actual .feed value can be cut considerably below the ration necessary for rea•sonable production. Except for slow rebuilding ' of body tissues there is little need for protein in the diet and this is recognised in the practice of feeding poorer quality reserves to dry cows. Only about 6-8 energy units are required in a day’s feed for the average cow and this may be given in 14281bs of hay depending on its quality. The lower the quality, of the ;hay the more likely it is that the animals will not be able to eat enough to satisfy their nutrition requirements. In the Bay of Plenty the mild

winters generally allow some growth of grass. Where the herd is not concentrated this provides a welcome addition of high quality protein and accounts for the excellent condition of stock that have been wintered on warm run-off conditions. Where it is not possible to give the stock extensive grazing in the winter—which applies under most intensive farming programmes—it is necessary to take particular care of the quality of the feed. Whereas the early shutting up of two or three paddocks for autumn saved pasture or “A.S.P.” leads to complication in control of Yorkshire fog and depression of clovers; the later shutting of a large proportion of the farm leads to heavy concentration of stock on the remaining paddocks. On these paddocks which Will quickly be grazed bare there will be a heavy concentration of animal manure and after a light harrowing an equally rapid regrowth. It is of course an important complication of management that such paddocks can be grazed only in dry spells if they are low lying or else wintering—to avoid severe poaching —must be confined to dry country. The mobility of the -trie fence with the development of

special standard enables small isoS lated areas to be utilised if suitable. Heavy Burden The calf is not a heavy drain on the cow during pregnancy and the preparation of the udder likewise presents only a small part of her intake. In the last month before calving, however, there is an increase in the size of the milk producing cells which is evidenced by the increased yield towards full term calving. This demands a proportion of high quality feed similar to that the cow will receive after -calving. To take this to the extreme involved “steaming up” which whilst relatively safely pracwith first calving heifers is i generally regarded as fraught with danger in cows. Workers in England have shown that “steaming up” is not only safely practicable, but also is economic when it is allied to pre-calv-ing milking. Until recently this has been regarded as of no value due to the loss of colostrum. Although there is no response in some cases, in others—and as general practice where management is very intensive results fully justify the practice. _ . It has been shown at Ruakura that cows can be fed on a fairly high plane without undue complications at calving. Moreover the extra cost of the liberal feeding is more than repaid in extra production during the season. The feed-

Feeding of dry cows involves more than just keeping them alive. The average New Zealand cow, both dairy and runstock, is -generally made to subsist on rough feed till it is cleaned up and then may reluctantly be fed poor quality hay. The economics of such practices are doubtful, but it should be sufficient to note that such treatment is rarely to be seen on the farms of successful dairymen, writes W. H. Mandeno, Consulting Officer of the N.Z. Dairy Board at Whakatane.

ing simply involves the use of some good silage or A.S.T*. along with the hay. Silage reserves this year will be rather small but with the exceptionally mild conditions in the Bay there should be adequate re • serves of A.S.P. In fact the paddocks closed in April will be excessively long with the risk of yellowing of grass stems and smothering of cloyer so that the use of electric fence or light grazing will pay handsome dividends.