Failing to Prepare is Preparing to Fail
“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”
Quote by Benjamin Franklin
What a lead off statement! For this article we reference this quote regarding dry cows. The fall season is coming. This is often a time of year when many dairy farmers would prefer to freshen their herds. Fall and winter milk receives a higher premium for farmers. Why not take advantage of the milk premium for winter milk?
How does “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail” apply to dry cows?
Dr. Robert Von Saun of Penn State University authored a great article for Lancaster Farming January 2021 entitled Dry Cow Nutrition: Most important diet on the farm. I wholeheartedly agree with this philosophy.
When my father, Dave Mattocks, first came to Lancaster County area to work for Fertrell in 1980. He quickly gained in popularity among the plain community and English farmers. The reason for his popularity and many referrals was his success with “Fixing” dry cow problems. Well, it was not really a problem. It was a lack of proper nutrition for the dry cows. His simple fix for most of the farmers was this, he recommended feeding one pound of soybean meal per dry cow per day. When the farmers did this, suddenly cleaning problems, milk fever, and other calving related problems went away. Was it really a miracle or a trick? Certainly not. What my father recognized as do many dairy nutritionist, is dry cows are often neglected. The dairy farmers were not doing it on purpose. Simply put, the dry cows were now out of sight and out of mind. They did not receive the same daily attention as the milking cows. This is a common oversight.
As most dairy farmers have heard repeatedly, the dry cow and close-up heifers are the most important rations on the farm.
Let us consider a few more things as we think about dry cow care. An average heifer will cost between $2500 to $3500 to raise to freshening. I know many folks reading that number will think I have lost my mind. You sit down and do the math.
Calf value, milk fed to the calf, forage cost, feed cost, health care products labor every day to feed and care for the calf or calves, mortgage cost, fuel cost, electricity, and other farm expenses. The heifer price needs to have all those factored in. Heifers are not cheap to raise. If they are, you did not do it right! Other factors to consider are that heifers do not produce as much milk as cows. Heifers can be more of a problem to train to the milking stalls, parlor, feeding system, herd movement and daily processes of the farm. In most cases a heifer has not repaid her cost of living on the farm for 2 year for almost 2 lactations. When it is all said and done, older cows win the economic comparison.
Why are dry cows nutritionally different? They are not milking. Their requirement for calcium is not as high as for a lactating animal. The dry cow is now working hard to form a calf inside of her. Her minerals, protein, dry matter, carbohydrates, and everything are different. How or why should we feed her similarly as milk cows or growing heifers? Back to my father’s teaching me. He always balanced a dry cow ration with a calcium to phosphorus ratio of 1.5 to 1. Whereas a milk cow diet should be 1.7 to 1. More importantly he trained me to keep the potassium level under 2% of the total diet. These same value or ratios have been reinforced to me by a good friend and mentor Robert Patton PhD.
There is much more to consider when formulating a dry cow and close up heifer ration. But if we miss the mark on those ratios nothing else matters. We know that excessive potassium is a leading cause to calving problems such as milk fever, udder edema, and alert downer cows. We also know that high quality phosphorus sources will aid in the repair of reproductive organs post calving. We are learning increasingly that some milk fever cases are due to a lack of phosphorus. All the minerals, both macro, micro and nano play a role in the health and success of calving and starting the lactation. Macros include calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium. Micros including but not limited to zinc, manganese, copper, iron, cobalt, iodine, and sulfur. Nanos are the other 107 known elements on the periodic table that come from properly mineralized soils, kelp meal, and natural trace mineral salts.
Are we really going to leave all of this to chance? Are we really going to gamble with her calving success? Which includes the health of the calf. Are we really going to neglect the biggest opportunity for our farm’s future success and income?
It is up to you. They are your cows, your farm, and your future.
Consider getting a properly balanced dry cow ration formula. Also, consider feeding minerals designed for dry cows and close up heifers.
Thank you, Jeff Mattocks
