An article published by Dairy NZ News urged farmers to take care when feeding fodder beet. This pre-caution was released in response to increased anecdotal evidence that dairy cows were becoming ill or dying when being fed fodder beet. Scientist Jim Gibbs was not in agreement with this advisory warning and advised that farmers can feed fodder beet at quantities larger than 8 kg DM/cow/day in his paper Gibbs, (2011).
The article published by Dairy NZ explains that while fodder beet is an excellent source of metabolisable energy, there is a concern that some cows are being over-allocated fodder beet. Dr Jane Kay reported that farmers have been offering cows unlimited access to fodder beet however, due to the high concentration of water soluble carbohydrates, fodder beet should not be fed ad-lib. "The high sugar content can result in an increase in lactic acid production in the cows rumen which can cause acidosis," says Dr Waghorn. More information regarding acidosis in cows fed fodder beet can be found in here.
The article states that a transitioning stage for introducing cows to fodder beet is critical to ensure that cow health and nutritional value of fodder beet are optimised. This is in agreement with the article published by Rural News Group, (2015, July 10) however, while Gibbs recommended a transition period of 10-14 days the article published by Dairy NZ Ltd, (June, 2015) recommended transitioning over 14-21 days. Dairy NZ's recommendations for transitioning cows onto fodder beet can be found here. It was also recommended by Dairy NZ Ltd, that cows should not be fed high levels of fodder beet in the diet (> 70%). Dr Waghorn stated that "cows vary in the rate that they adapt to a new feed type and in the amount that they can eat. Move too quickly or feed them too much and you will kill some of them". In agreement with this statement, ancedotal evidence from farmers John and Rachel suggests that not all cows transition well to the diet and therefore, animals that aren't coping with the crops are dropped out and wintered on grass (Country Wide, 2014).
In addition to transitioning cows properly Dr Waghon said that it was critical to ensure that cows were also offered a long fibre source in the diet in the form of silage, hay or straw before feeding the fodder beet, to slow down their intake of fodder beet and thereby prevent acidosis. This is about 8 kg DM/cow/day in fodder beet, and 4-5 kg DM/cow/day of other feed(s). To prevent over-allocation of the fodder beet it is recommended that the farmer accurately measures crop yield so that feed allocation is accurate within each break.
Country Wide (2014). Can't beet it. Country Wide 2. Retrieved from https://farmersweekly.co.nz/article/cant-beet-it?p=71
Dairy NZ Ltd. (June, 2015). Caution urged over fodder beet intake. Dairy NZ News. Retrieved from http://www.dairynz.co.nz/news/latest-news/caution-urged-over-fodder-beet-intake/
Gibbs, S. J. (2011). Wintering dairy cows on fodder beet. Conference Proceedings of the South Island Dairy Event. Lincoln, E.d. Lincoln University.
Rural News Group (2015, July 10). More fodder beet safer than less. Dairy News. Retrieved from http://www.ruralnewsgroup.co.nz/dairy-news/dairy-general-news/more-fodder-beet-safer-than-less
The article published by Dairy NZ explains that while fodder beet is an excellent source of metabolisable energy, there is a concern that some cows are being over-allocated fodder beet. Dr Jane Kay reported that farmers have been offering cows unlimited access to fodder beet however, due to the high concentration of water soluble carbohydrates, fodder beet should not be fed ad-lib. "The high sugar content can result in an increase in lactic acid production in the cows rumen which can cause acidosis," says Dr Waghorn. More information regarding acidosis in cows fed fodder beet can be found in here.
The article states that a transitioning stage for introducing cows to fodder beet is critical to ensure that cow health and nutritional value of fodder beet are optimised. This is in agreement with the article published by Rural News Group, (2015, July 10) however, while Gibbs recommended a transition period of 10-14 days the article published by Dairy NZ Ltd, (June, 2015) recommended transitioning over 14-21 days. Dairy NZ's recommendations for transitioning cows onto fodder beet can be found here. It was also recommended by Dairy NZ Ltd, that cows should not be fed high levels of fodder beet in the diet (> 70%). Dr Waghorn stated that "cows vary in the rate that they adapt to a new feed type and in the amount that they can eat. Move too quickly or feed them too much and you will kill some of them". In agreement with this statement, ancedotal evidence from farmers John and Rachel suggests that not all cows transition well to the diet and therefore, animals that aren't coping with the crops are dropped out and wintered on grass (Country Wide, 2014).
In addition to transitioning cows properly Dr Waghon said that it was critical to ensure that cows were also offered a long fibre source in the diet in the form of silage, hay or straw before feeding the fodder beet, to slow down their intake of fodder beet and thereby prevent acidosis. This is about 8 kg DM/cow/day in fodder beet, and 4-5 kg DM/cow/day of other feed(s). To prevent over-allocation of the fodder beet it is recommended that the farmer accurately measures crop yield so that feed allocation is accurate within each break.
REFERENCES
Dairy NZ Ltd. (June, 2015). Caution urged over fodder beet intake. Dairy NZ News. Retrieved from http://www.dairynz.co.nz/news/latest-news/caution-urged-over-fodder-beet-intake/
Gibbs, S. J. (2011). Wintering dairy cows on fodder beet. Conference Proceedings of the South Island Dairy Event. Lincoln, E.d. Lincoln University.
Rural News Group (2015, July 10). More fodder beet safer than less. Dairy News. Retrieved from http://www.ruralnewsgroup.co.nz/dairy-news/dairy-general-news/more-fodder-beet-safer-than-less
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