Calving pattern in autumn calving herd tightens with feed additive in TMR

The Davenports produce milk from a 500-cow herd at Top O the Town near Nantwich.

Over the last three years they have shifted to an autumn block calving system.

“We had been producing milk on an all year round profile, but after two successive years of getting paid just over 16 pence per litre, we decided we needed to either get out of milk or change the system to make it less monotonous day in day out,” explains Richard, who farms with his parents, John and Jenny, and brother, David.

To get as much value as possible from a litre of milk they are crossing their Holstein herd with Scandinavian Red and Montbéliard genetics.

In the last 12 months, yield per cow has increased by 1000 litres, to 9,200 litres at 4.3% butterfat and 3.5% protein from a concentrate input of 2.3 tonnes per cow.

“We are producing better quality forage and we also changed our diet mixer so that we can provide cows with a more consistent diet,” Richard explains.

But the one aspect of performance that didn’t improve with those changes was cow fertility.

“We knew the cows weren’t happy because the consistency of the muck wasn’t where we wanted it to be,” says Richard.

“We had tried yeast in the past but we weren’t getting the results we hoped for and were keen find another way of moving things along a bit after experiencing a bad month for fertility which is not great in a block calving system.”

In January 2020, they added Panatec Rumen Proof to the TMR; this residue-free feed additive from Mayo Healthcare protects against ruminal acidosis.

“We heard good reports about Rumen Proof so we thought we would give it a go,” says Richard.

The improvements were swift and significant. By day three, daily dry matter intake per cow had increased by 1kg and milk yield by 0.75 litres.

“The change to the consistency of the muck was unbelievable,” Richard reports.

Importantly, there was a major improvement in fertility. Conception rate improved by 5% initially and then by a further 9%.

The herd currently calves from August 1st to mid-January but with improved fertility the aim is to reduce the calving block by a month.

“Everything is working better and the cows are so much more settled,” says Richard.

“It is so clear that the cows are much happier. Because they are fuller, they spend longer laying down and cudding.”

The Davenports are milking a herd of 500 cows, 250 followers and 200 beef cattle.

“Rumen Proof is not a cheap product but you don’t mind paying for something it you see real benefits and those benefits increase productivity and ultimately profitability,” Richard admits.