Forage replacements, changing rations, stretching feed… this is what nutritionists are helping dairies with today during a difficult growing season.
Drew Johnson is an independent dairy nutritionist with K&S Dairy Consulting, working out of Cashton and serving the surrounding counties in Western Wisconsin. He says cottonseed is coming back into rations this summer.
“We’re looking at forage replacements. Cottonseed, maybe two or three weeks ago, was one I started bringing back into rations,” he says. “I had not said cottonseed for a few years because we had plenty a forage and I didn’t feel like it was a value — the price wasn’t where it needed to be to be included in the rations. But now we’re looking at brining cottonseed back in on a few farms.”
The other option that Johnson lays on the table is thinning the herd. You can stretch your forage supply by lowering the amount of mouths to feed. And he says it’s an attractive time to do that as cattle prices rise.
He recommends culling the lower producing cows and reducing the amount of heifers in the herd.
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