For dairy farmers on compositional contracts a falling milk price boosts the value of high C16 rumen-protected fat feed products. And with the traditional post turnout milk butterfat dip just a few weeks away, producers should take the opportunity to re-appraise C16 ration inclusions to offset these potential income pressures.
That’s the advice from Dr Alan Reeve at C&H Nutrition who says data from the company’s cost:benefit indicator (CBI) computer model is predicting a positive financial return from higher C16 inclusions over the coming months. The CBI program draws on a database of the different milk contract payment terms to predict the extra margin per cow producers can make from adding the high C16 rumen-protected fat Energizer-RP10 to the milking cow diet.
"Even though milk base prices are now falling, compositional payments on some contracts are not changing much, which means milk butterfat value takes on a heightened significance – certainly for producers on anything other than white water purchase agreements. And for anyone sending milk for cheese manufacture, C16 fat value is very good indeed as we move towards and through the turnout period," he says.
Even with a £200/tonne differential between Energizer-RP10 and calcium soap-based protected fats such as Energizer Gold formulated to primarily lift yield, the high C16 product has the potential to improve cow returns by up to 40p/cow/day for high yielders on compositional contracts, Dr Reeve claims.
With turnout looming, Dr Reeve also points out that improving the feed fat profile of the milking cow ration will help to offset the traditional spring butterfat dip.
"On average, milk butterfat percentage falls by around 0.3 percentage points when cows go out to grass, but the drop can be more significant on some farms. If you are on a compositional contract it pays to counter this dip by feeding higher levels of C16 protected fat," he says.
"Butterfat uplifts of around 0.3-0.4% have been consistently reported when Energizer-RP10 is fed at 400g/cow/day. Producers can also typically expect an extra litre of milk."
Dr Reeve points out that once cows move onto lush green grass, the long fibre content of the ration drops. At the same time, the high sugar content of freshly grazed spring grass makes the rumen more acidic and both these factors combine to reduce milk butterfat level. For this reason, it’s also worth considering effective rumen buffering.
"Failure to maintain optimum rumen pH in cows at grass is a major drag on performance," he points out. "The rumen works at optimum efficiency when the pH level remains steady over time in the range 6.0-6.5. Any variation in this range will reduce the activity of the rumen bacteria, particularly those responsible for fibre breakdown and butterfat production will be adversely affected." He suggests producers talk to their nutritional adviser about the buffering capacity of the whole ration and to consider supplementing early summer grazing diets with an effective rumen buffer, such as Alkakarb, if required.
