NZ Dairy Summer 2020

26 | nz dairy FEEDSAFENZ » Agrifeeds 10x8 southern logistics (agrifeeds) Capturing the milk in our grass Karen Phelps F armers that have a higher level of control over their pasture utilisation and feed rationing op- timise the feed efficiency of their system, says Agrifeeds national sales manager Greg Aspinall. “Nutrition is all about making the most out of your pasture. “The challenge with New Zealand’s pasture- based system is to stay ahead of the game. With rapidly changing composition and needing to efficiently feed cows, that’s easier said than done. In general in New Zealand we put a lot of focus on growing very good quality grass and then have a relatively low understanding of the fate of those nutrients through a cow. “There is a lot of milk in our grass – we just need to catch it. We have the best grass in the world – we just need to make high-quality milk in a cow not in the paddock,” he says. Greg says that in southern Waikato for example, where he is based, recently there was a surge in grass growth over 100kg DM/ha per day. But the result was lost pasture quality, which had a hugely negative effect on milk production. “Looking at milk test results this occurred around the 20 th of October and again around the 10 th of No- vember. Intakes and production crashed potentially affecting production, in-calf rates and ultimately profitability,” he says. While typical spring pasture is very quickly de- gradable and highly digestible in the rumen, typical summer pasture is not. “While one factor such as NDF should be not be used to predict DMI in isolation, a high NDF sward is less able to effectively support appropriate levels of production. The feed is less fermentable and difficult to break down meaning the rumen bugs are working harder to extract the energy,” explains Greg. Improving Feed Conversion Efficiency (FCE) therefore is a key measure in helping farmers move towards their optimum cost/return structure, he says. “This will not only will reduce emissions but, as the recent MPI Farm Systems Change Dairy initia- tive identified, the top quartile of farmers were up to 30% more efficient at converting the same feed to milk whatever their farming system,” says Greg. “These top performers fed greater volumes than the industry average of high-quality feeds such as the Agrifeeds’ PKExtra range and rumen bypass fats like Forti-Min Hyfat that complemented high quality forages. “This meant that a high proportion of feed went to milk production rather than cow maintenance, which drives increased FCE. This FCE contributed to capital efficiency and return on assets and fewer emissions per KGMS. Cow condition, health and welfare were of a high standard as a result.” • to page 28 For Bulk and Bulk Liquid Transportation in the South Island. Phone Southern Logistics: Proud to be Agrifeeds preferred Cartage Contractor in the South Island