“Consumers are not interested in droughts as an excuse for underfeeding cows. You must have a contingency plan for adverse events because there is no excuse for skinny cows.”
With increased stocking rates there’s now no pasture surplus on many farms so sufficient supplements need to be on hand in times of need.
“We’re not saying farmers have to go and buy expensive feeds,” she said.
But farmers needed to get forage sources secured and under their control.
Fellow consultant Bryan McKay said all the farmers they work with plan ahead for the next four to six months and in most cases have contingency plans for the next 18 months.
“It’s pure, simple business planning.”
If lactations were too short because there wasn’t enough feed that compromised the cow’s performance the next season because she lost her milking cow fitness, which Macky described as critical.
Last year when cows were dried off early then gained a lot of condition and had plenty of feed in spring there were many metabolic issues such as ketosis and milk fever.
“There were too many metabolic couch potatoes.”
The cows also lost their condition too quickly after calving.
DairyNZ advice is to dry off to keep a good body condition score, but ideally farmers should have planned ahead and have enough feed on hand to be able to finish milking in or very near calving condition.
At all times cows need water to cool down. At 15C cows will start to breathe faster which means more energy is needed for maintenance and less is available for production. As it gets hotter, they then eat less to reduce metabolic heat production.
“They have a higher blood temperature than people so they feel heat a lot quicker than we do,” Macky said.
“If we are hot they are really hot.”
Their body temperature can also be increased by toxins in endophytes.
Cows need plenty of shade available and access to a number of water troughs in the paddocks, races and by the farm dairy.
Generally more than one trough is needed for mobs of more than 80 cows as dominant cows will control access to that trough, regardless of the water flow rate.
“Submissive cows won’t be able to drink when they need to,” she said.
“They eat even less, yet stay hotter.”
If cows are mobbing up during the day and there’s a paddock with better shade, that’s where they should be moved.
“They’re not eating pasture which is wasted time.”
