On farm dairy cow feeding systems

Question 1

What are different feeding systems for lactating cows?

Answer 1

• Grazing vs housing
• Traditional = silage at barrier, cake in parlour (grazing in summer)
• Total mixed ration (TMR) = all food at barrier 24hrs/d ad-lib
• ‘Hybrid’ = partial mixed ration at barrier + cake in parlour
• Buffer feeding = TMR / forage supplement to grazing in summer

Question 2

What are advantages of hybrid feeding?

Answer 2

• Accurate rationing.
• Resources focussed on peak yielding cows
• Can feed enough energy to very high yielders.
• Don’t overfeed low yielders as base mixed ration can be less energy dense than full TMR

Question 3

What are disadvantages of hybrid feeding?

Answer 3

• If fed in parlour – eats less at barrier = Substitution
• If eats less at barrier – gets less long fibre.
• Less rumination and buffering of rumen
  = “Double whammy”!!
  = SARA
  = Reduced DMI – ”bellyache”