Dairy--Feeds and Commodities

DAIRY FEEDING REMINDERS

General

Since most dairymen use silage and since the 1993 silage crop is low in quantity and quality is poor, the following should be considered as part of a wise feeding program.

Estimate closely the amount of silage that you have for the next 6-8 months. You need a minimum of about 30-40 pounds of silage per cow per day (more if available). At the 40-pound level you need 3 tons per day for a 150 cow herd. You need at least 800-1000 tons of silage to feed your herd a minimum amount of silage until next March.
Do not run out of silage in the early part of the feeding season. (Plan your feeding program now.). If you see you are going to be short of silage, start stretching the silage now.
Locate good silage extenders.

Soybean hulls (Soybean mill feed). This is an excellent feed. The fiber is highly digestible and thus has a high TDN. Many dairymen in South Carolina are using 6-8 pounds of soybean hulls per cow per day. This is an excellent silage stretcher. The effective fiber is low and soybean hulls must be used with discretion.
Whole Cottonseed. The use of whole gin-run cottonseed in dairy cattle rations is not new. Dairy producers have used whole cottonseed for many years. Whole cottonseed is a nutritionally adequate and acceptable feed for dairy cattle. They require no processing such as grinding or crushing and therefore may be added directly to the ration.
Whole cottonseed has been used as energy and protein supplements in dairy rations for many years. The energy and protein value for high producing cows in early lactation has been recognized. The excellent fiber content of whole cottonseed has been responsible for their use to maintain milkfat level. Also, seed availability and the competitive price has encouraged many dairymen to incorporate 4-8 pounds per cow per day in total mixed rations.
Cottonseed Hulls. If and when available, cottonseed hulls can be used as an additive to the ration to get more fiber into the ration. However, cottonseed hulls should be used very wisely.

All-In-One (AIO). AIO for dairymen without any roughage, is a possibility. The table below is an example of an all-in-one.

All-in-One (AIO).

	Pounds		Approximate Analysis
Corn Grain-Ground	59.3	Crude Protein		14.52%
48% Soybean Meal	146.9	Bypass Prot.		6.58%
Hominy Feed	629.0	ADF Fiber		20.40%
Cottonseed Hulls	499.9	NDF Fiber		36.11%
Corn Dis Dried Gn.	236.2	Energy: NE		0.70%
Wheat Middlings	400.0	TDN		67.23%
Calcitic Limestone	28.1	Fat		4.59%
Trace Min. Salt	0.0	Calcium		0.62%
Dyna-Mate	0.7	Phosphorus		0.47%
		Sodium		0.16%
		Magnesium		0.29%
		Sulfur		0.19%
		Potassium		0.81%
		Chlorine		0.03%

The use of all-in-one feeds must be done very discreetly and with good management.

Consider a silage extender. Silage extenders are available commercially or you can put together your own. A good silage extender contains equal parts of corn, soybean hulls and cottonseed hulls. This extender would have a nutritional composition of: crude protein 8.6%, crude fiber 30%, acid detergent fiber 42%, TDN (estimated) 70%, calcium 0.21%, phosphorous 0.38%. This is not intended to be a complete feed. It is a silage extender substitute. Ten (10) pounds of this extender can be used to replace up to 20-30 pounds of silage.
Wet Brewers Grain. Wet brewers grains are a satisfactory feed for dairy cattle. They are palatable and well-liked when fed alone or mixed in combination with silage. Dairymen using wet brewers grains must recognize the problems involved and develop systems to handle the product. Wet brewers grains must be competitively priced on the market and preferably, under the price of dried grain. We generally recommend the use of about 20 pounds of wet brewers grain (per cow per day) for larger breeds and 10 pounds for Jerseys and Guernseys. The dry matter content must be considered since most wet brewers grains are only 20-30% dry matter.
Cottonseed hulls plus corn. Five (5) pounds of cottonseed hulls plus 5 pounds of corn grain will replace about 25 pounds of silage.
By-product feeds. Several dried by product feeds (corn gluten feed, hominy, brewers grain, wheat mids, citrus pulp, etc.) are available.