Types of feed for dairy cows achieve high economic efficiency

Dairy farming is an important and highly profitable agricultural sector if managed intelligently. An important factor to achieve high economic efficiency in this industry is the diet for dairy cows.

Proper nutritional care not only keeps dairy cows healthy, but also improves milk production yield. In this article, we will learn about dairy feeds to achieve optimal economic efficiency.

Forage

Forage plays an important role in the nutrition of dairy cows, especially during the period of growth. To ensure the health and high productivity of cows, proper selection and use of forage is very important. Here are some common types of forage and how to use them effectively:

Natural grass and cultivated grass

Natural grasses include herbaceous grasses such as chicken grass, bamboo leaf grass, and honey grass. They usually grow naturally on lawns, dikes, field banks, in orchards and parks. Natural grass contains a lot of water, is easy to digest and nutritious, making it an ideal feed source for dairy cows.

However, the quality of natural grass can vary depending on the season, where it grows, and the grass composition in the lawn. When using natural grass, hygiene and inspection should be noted to avoid dairy cows suffering from digestive disorders or poisoning.

Cultivated grasses, such as elephant grass, ghine grass and stylo grass, provide a stable and quality source of forage, which is especially important when raising livestock on a farm scale. The choice of cultivated grass ensures there is a source of green feed for cows all year round. The amount of grass supplied to cows needs to be adjusted based on the weight of the cow.

Napier grass is a source of food for cows — Napier grass is a source of green food for cows

Cane tops

Sugarcane tops are a highly valuable source of green fodder for dairy cows. They are harvested after making sugar from sugarcane and make up an important part of sugarcane. Sugarcane emitted by cane tops accounts for 20% of the mass of sugarcane, and this cane tip can be used to feed dairy cows.

However, sugarcane tops contain a lot of sugar and fiber, but are poor in other nutritional components. Therefore, cane tops should be used as a sugar supplement and green grass should not be completely replaced in the long run.

Pineapple peel and tops

Pineapple peels and peels are a valuable source of green food, especially in sugarcane planning areas. However, they contain less protein and fiber, so green grass should not be completely replaced. In addition, pineapple peels contain bromelin yeast, which can cause tongue burning in dairy cows if eaten in excess. It is best to feed the cow a certain amount of pineapple peel and peel every day and divide it into several meals.

Corn crops after harvesting young corn

Young corn crops are a good source of green fodder for dairy cows. The nutritional composition of corn after harvesting young corn is suitable for the digestion of dairy cows and can be used for direct feeding or green compost for storage.

Marinated silage

Marinated silage is a method of preserving forage through the silage process. This process helps preserve food for a long time, especially during periods of natural grass scarcity.

Silage usually has a pleasant aroma, slightly tart taste, uniform color, no mold, and is preferred by cattle.

This type of feed can be used to partially replace fresh grass, about 15-20 kg at a time. For dairy cows, it is recommended to feed after milking to avoid affecting milk quality.

Silage can partially replace fresh grass for cows

Hay

Hay is forage that has been dried or dried and stored in equated or briqued form. This is a simple and convenient way of preserving food.

While the nutritional value of hay is lower than that of silage, it is a major feed reserve during periods of scarcity.

Rice straw

Rice straw is a common food source for cattle and buffaloes and can be utilized effectively. After harvesting, rice straw is dried and carefully stored.

Rice straw can be used to increase the amount of dry matter, ensure gastric displacement and increase the amount of fiber in the diet. Sometimes, people also alkalize straw to increase nitrogen content and improve dairy diets.

Fruit tubers

Fruit food includes types such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, turnips, gourds, squash … They are very attractive and suitable for dairy cows.

However, fruit feed is poor in protein, fat, fiber and mineral salts. They are not suitable for long-term reserves, but can be used to improve the feed ration of dairy cows.

Processed by-products

The following are some common by-products used in cattle breeding that save costs and increase livestock productivity:

Cassava residue

Cassava residue is a byproduct of the processing of cassava starch from cassava root. The distinctive feature of cassava residue is its ability to contain a high amount of starch, about 60%, but is poor in protein. Therefore, when using cassava residues in cow diets, combine it with urea or soybean residues to replenish nutritional qualities.

In addition, you can consider feeding your cow cassava pulp combined with soy flour or mineral flour to create a mixed concentrate mixture. This can partially replace the amount of concentrates in the diet, helping to save costs and improve nutrition for the cow herd. Cassava residues can be stored for a long time because part of the starch in cassava residues ferments and produces pH = 4-5.

Fresh cassava pulp has a slightly sour taste, which is an attractive option for cattle. Consider feeding cattle about 10-15 kg of cassava residues per day, or you can also dry and dry cassava residues to use as a compound feed mixing ingredient.

Soybean residues

Soybean residues are a valuable by-product in the processing of soybean seeds into tofu or soy milk. With its aroma and sweetness, soybean pulp is a delicacy that cattle, especially dairy cows, love to eat. The outstanding feature of soybean residues is its very high fat and protein content, creating a valuable source of nutrition for dairy cows.

Soybean residues are an extremely effective source of protein for dairy cows. Every day, each cow can eat from 10 to 15 kg of soybean residues, which helps ensure their protein supply.

However, when using soybean residues, care should be taken not to feed at the same time as certain types of urea-containing feeds such as nutritional cakes or mixed concentrates. This is for the purpose of splitting the amount of feed to ensure the safety of dairy cows. Raw soybean residues contain urea-degrading enzymes, which, if combined with large amounts of urea-containing food, will lead to rapid degradation of urea, producing ammonia gas that can cause poisoning.

Dried molasses powder

Molasses is a byproduct of sugar processing from sugarcane. With molasses accounting for about 3% compared to fresh sugarcane, it is an important source of energy for cows.

In addition, molasses contains many important macro- and trace mineral elements for dairy cows. Molasses is often used to add sugar when silaging food, as the main ingredient in nutritional cakes or mixed with rice straw.

Due to its sweet taste, dairy cows love to eat molasses. However, limit the amount of molasses molasses per cow, do not give more than 2kg per day to avoid causing diarrhea. To ensure balanced nutrition and avoid sudden drops in rumen pH, spread feeding evenly.

Beer residue

Beer residue are a watery, delicious and nutritious food. In particular, beer residue contain high levels of protein, along with vitamin ranges, especially the vitamin B group. This makes beer residue an excellent option for adding protein to dairy farming.

The digestibility of substances in beer residue is very high, and it also contains appetite stimulants, which enhance the lactation ability of cows raised in tropical conditions.

However, the quality and nutritional value of beer residue depend on the percentage of water in it, storage time and origin. When beer residue are stored for a long time, fermentation can lose some of its nutrients and increase acidity. Therefore, it is common to add table salt at the rate of 1% to extend the storage time of beer residue.

For dairy cows, the amount of beer residue in the ration should be carefully calculated, no more than 1/2 of concentrates should be replaced and no more than 15 kg of beer residue per head per day. Excessive feeding of beer grounds (over 25kg/bird/day) can reduce the digestibility of fiber, nitrogen and cause a decrease in milk quality. It is best to mix beer residue and concentrates, divided into several meals a day to ensure a balance in nutrition for your dairy cows.

Beer residue is used as food for cows — Beer residue helps stimulate cows’ appetite

Oil meal

Oilmeal includes many types, such as peanut meal, soybean meal, cotton meal, sesame meal, and coconut meal, which is an important source of energy and protein for dairy cows.

The protein content and energy value in oil meal may vary depending on processing and starting materials. Usually, soybean meal and peanut meal contain less calcium and phosphorus, so when using, it is necessary to add minerals. You can feed dairy cows with oil meal separately or mix meal with other feeds to form mixed concentrates.

Rice bran

Rice bran is a product that depends on the rice milling process and storage time. This type of feed has a sweet aroma and taste, which is especially attractive for cattle. However, rice bran needs to be stored properly, because when stored poorly, the oil in the bran can oxidize, causing loss of aroma and bitterness. Even rice bran can become moldy and no longer safe to use.

Rice bran provides energy and protein to cows. However, the calcium content of rice bran is low, so it is necessary to add other sources of calcium such as bone meal, oyster meal, and table salt to the diet of cows to ensure balance.

Fishmeal

Fishmeal is a source of animal food with high nutritional quality, prepared from fresh fish or from fish processing industrial products. Fishmeal contains many important amino acids, such as lysine and methionine, which have high nutritional value and are easily absorbed by cows.

Fishmeal has the ability to enhance digestion and speed up weight gain for cows. It can be added to coarse fibrous feeds, which stimulate the development and enhance the absorption of protein in the stomach of cows. With a high percentage of protein escape, fishmeal has the ability to directly supply amino acids in the intestines to cows.

Experiments have shown that the addition of 50g of fishmeal to base diets such as straw can produce a positive effect on enhancing straw digestion and speeding up cow weight gain.

Concentrates

The following are the nutrient-rich concentrates commonly used in dairy farming:

Cornmeal

Cornmeal is an important source of energy in the diet of dairy cows. The distinctive feature of cornmeal is its high starch content, which provides energy to cows. However, you should combine it with other nutritional sources such as bone meal, oyster meal, and table salt to ensure a varied and balanced diet. This is especially important because cornmeal contains less calcium and phosphorus.

Cassava residue powder

Cassava residue powder is produced from tuber cassava after being sliced into slices and dried. It is a source of concentrates rich in sugar and starch, but poor in protein, calcium, and phosphorus. Therefore, when using tapioca, you need to add urea and protein-rich sources of nutrients such as soybean residues, beer grounds, and minerals. This enhances the nutritional value of the diet and helps the cow grow healthy.

An important point to note is that cassava tubers may contain hydrocyanic acid (HCN) that is toxic to cattle. To reduce the HCN content, you should peel the cassava root, soak it in water and change the water several times before slicing and drying. You can also cook cassava root to remove HCN completely.

Dried cassava flour — Dried cassava pulp contains a lot of sugar and starch

Complementary foods

In the care and rearing of cows, the provision of complementary feed is an important factor to ensure the resistance and good development of the cow herd. Here are two important complementary feeds for cows: urea and mineral.

Urea

Urea is one of the important non-protein nitrogen-containing substances widely used in dairy cattle and ruminant cattle in general. Cattle have the ability to use urea by microorganisms present in their grass stomachs, which help convert nitrogen into protein that provides nutrition to the body. There are several ways to use urea:

Mixed into compound feed: Urea can be mixed into the diet of cow feed. Each gram of urea provides an additional 1.45 grams of Easily Digestible Protein (PDIN).
Mix with molasses: To make it easier for cows to eat, you can mix urea with molasses molasses.
Mix with nutritional baking ingredients: Urea can be combined with other ingredients to create an attractive feed for cows.
Mix compost with grass or straw: When using urea, make sure that the grass or straw has sufficient amounts of carbohydrates to assist stomach microorganisms in breaking down urea into protein.

However, several important points should be paid to:

If the cow is new to urea, it takes time to get used to it by adding little by little between 5 and 10 days.
Urea should be used for already large cows, which is not suitable for young cows because their stomach microflora has not developed enough.
You can mix urea with other feeds to ensure the cow eats evenly and provides adequate amounts of nutrients.
Urea should not be mixed into cow drinking water.

Feed mineral supplements

Mineral substances play an important role for the resistance and development of cows. In particular, dairy cows often lack minerals in their diet, including macrominerals and trace minerals. To provide macrominerals, you can use limestone powder or oyster flour. For phosphorus, bone meal, feces or passing calcium phosphate can be used. Trace minerals are often taken in the form of sulfate salts.

Supplying each individual mineral can be difficult, especially with trace minerals needed in very small amounts. Therefore, it is customary to combine many types of minerals together in certain proportions in the form of mineral premix. Mineral premixes can be mixed with concentrates or used in the form of licking stones.

Conclude

In conclusion, the dairy diet is an important factor for high economic efficiency in the dairy industry. By providing the right feeds and keeping a close eye on, you can improve your milk production yield and optimize your profitability.