Feed Technology In The Milking Parlour

There are two ways in which the use of feed management technology in the milking parlour can have a considerable impact on profit margins.

- Izak Hofmeyr

This is according to Frans Alexander, technical manager at DeLaval South Africa.

On the one hand, you can use less feed to produce the same volume of milk, and on the other you can use the same amount of feed but produce significantly more milk. Either way, the effect on your profit margins will be significant.

The focus of this article is on feed technology in the milking parlour. Traditionally, cows on grazing are fed concentrates in the milking parlour, while cows in a total mixed ration (TMR) system are fed elsewhere. “It is all about effective measurement, identifying individual cows, and the correct ration,” says Frans.

“Although different types of milking parlours have different requirements in terms of how cows are fed, the concept is the same. With a rotary parlour, for example, you only need one centrally located feeder, while in a herringbone or tandem parlour you need several. However, the computer software is the decisive factor.”

Cow nutrition technology

DeLaval software can divide cows into different feeding tables without having to physically move cows to each subsequent group. The first group uses days in milk (DIM) as a measure, then milk volume, number of days until calving, peak milk production, fresh-in-milk, and seven-day production average.

Cows are transitioned to each of these groups based on their needs, the aim being optimal nutrition so they can reach their potential.

Seven days and peak production

“As far as the seven-day production average is concerned, the computer automatically adjusts the feed allocated to the cow based on average production over the past seven days. As production increases, feed allocation increases and vice versa.