The publication from the Rural News Group "more fodder beet safer than less" outlines the benefits and some risks associated with grazing fodder beet. This gives an idea of the some of the issues known from research and anecdotal evidence regarding the grazing of fodder beet. It also outlines some conflicting information published in Dairy NZ News, (June, 2015) that requires further investigation. The publication from the Farmers Weekly "can't beet it" also conflicts with some of the information outlined in the Rural New Group (2015, July 10) publication.
The article states that 'Dairy NZ advice to limit dairy cows to 8 kg DM/head/day of fodder beet is right in the the danger zone' (Jim Gibbs, Lincoln University). Jim Gibbs says limiting intake at that level is highly dangerous because if cows gain access to much more than that, they will eat enough to 'crash' the rumen through acidosis. He stated that a safer approach is to transition cows to a point where they are at or close to ad-lib intakes of fodder beet. Then, should a breakout or serious mis-allocation of feed occur the cows won't eat more than they have been adapted to. "If cows are fed 8 kg DM/day, if they get out they'll easily eat 12 kg but if they're already eating 12 kg/day it's not a problem," he explains. However, according to the farmfact published by Dairy NZ Ltd (2013), the Dairy NZ example suggests cows should be fed 8 kg DM fodder beet to achieve an increase in body condition score (BCS) during the winter of 0.5 BCS units, in addition to feeding 4-5 kg DM other feed (s). The information explained by Jim Gibbs, if cows are fed at or close to ad-lib intakes of fodder beet this will prevent cows from overeating fodder beet if a breakout or misallocation of feed should occur, is actually in agreement with the Dairy NZ example where cows are consuming a total intake of 12.0 kg DM/cow however, it is simply offered in the form of two or more feeds rather than feeding fodder beet alone and therefore, it also a suitable recommendation that shouldn't result in acidosis. More information regarding the management of fodder beet and prevention of acidosis can be found here. The article released from Dairy NZ urging farmers to take care when feeding fodder beet to their dairy herds can be found here. Alternatively, a summary of this article can be found in the blog post here.
Gibbs explained that DairyNZ's June 2 advisory warning against ad-lib fodder beet feeding and to limit intake to 8 kg DM/ha/day plus 4-5 kg DM/day of other feed was unnecessary. However, in the article published from the Farmer's Weekly (Country Wide, 2014) documents Gibbs stated that feeding fodder beet with supplements during the transition period is critical to slowly introduce cows to the fodder beet which is in agreement with the transitioning recommendation published by Dairy NZ Ltd (June, 2015). Gibbs continued on to state "by feeding too much fodder beet too soon puts cows at risk of developing rumen acidosis but once they are over this transition period they can be fed as much as they can eat without any health concern".
While Dairy NZ's senior scientist, Dawn Dalley, acknowledged that there are many experienced fodder beet users succeeding with ad-lib regimes she defended Gibbs recommendation, arguing that where cows are only on beet for 50-60 days over winter during the dry period, the 30 days required to safely transition cows to an ad-lib regime is too long and therefore, cows should remain on a diet of no more than 70% fodder beet and the rest supplementary feed. But Gibbs says the need for such long transitions and high supplement rates is not supported by the experimental data or hundreds of farm experience which shows a 14-day transition is adequate.
Both scientists have drawn valid conclusions however, the different management strategies may be dependent on the farm system e.g. beef finishing (long-term grazing) vs. dairy winter grazing (short-term grazing, 50-60 days). Both articles agree that patience over the transition period is critical because transitioning cows too quickly can be fatal. Therefore, the recommendations made by Gibbs although valid may not be suitable for wintering dairy cows due to the short grazing period which may encourage farmers to 'rush' the transition. As a result, Dairy NZ recommends to feed fodder beet alongside a fibrous supplementary feed rather than increasing the incidence of acidosis if cows are transitioned too quickly.
The article continued to explain the findings of the paper presented by Gibbs at the New Zealand Society of Animal Production conference which can be found here. Alternatively, a summary of this paper can be found in the blog post here.
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. (May, 2013). Fodder beet - feeding to dairy cows (1-73). Dairy NZ Farmfacts. Retrived from http://www.dairynz.co.nz/media/253800/1-73_Fodder-beet_feeding_to_dairy_cows.pdf
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/
Prendergast, S. L. and Gibbs, S. J. (2015). A comparison of microbial protein synthesis in beef steers fed ab libitum winter ryegrass or fodder beet. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 75, 251-256.
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
Credit: Country Wide (2014).
The article states that 'Dairy NZ advice to limit dairy cows to 8 kg DM/head/day of fodder beet is right in the the danger zone' (Jim Gibbs, Lincoln University). Jim Gibbs says limiting intake at that level is highly dangerous because if cows gain access to much more than that, they will eat enough to 'crash' the rumen through acidosis. He stated that a safer approach is to transition cows to a point where they are at or close to ad-lib intakes of fodder beet. Then, should a breakout or serious mis-allocation of feed occur the cows won't eat more than they have been adapted to. "If cows are fed 8 kg DM/day, if they get out they'll easily eat 12 kg but if they're already eating 12 kg/day it's not a problem," he explains. However, according to the farmfact published by Dairy NZ Ltd (2013), the Dairy NZ example suggests cows should be fed 8 kg DM fodder beet to achieve an increase in body condition score (BCS) during the winter of 0.5 BCS units, in addition to feeding 4-5 kg DM other feed (s). The information explained by Jim Gibbs, if cows are fed at or close to ad-lib intakes of fodder beet this will prevent cows from overeating fodder beet if a breakout or misallocation of feed should occur, is actually in agreement with the Dairy NZ example where cows are consuming a total intake of 12.0 kg DM/cow however, it is simply offered in the form of two or more feeds rather than feeding fodder beet alone and therefore, it also a suitable recommendation that shouldn't result in acidosis. More information regarding the management of fodder beet and prevention of acidosis can be found here. The article released from Dairy NZ urging farmers to take care when feeding fodder beet to their dairy herds can be found here. Alternatively, a summary of this article can be found in the blog post here.
Gibbs explained that DairyNZ's June 2 advisory warning against ad-lib fodder beet feeding and to limit intake to 8 kg DM/ha/day plus 4-5 kg DM/day of other feed was unnecessary. However, in the article published from the Farmer's Weekly (Country Wide, 2014) documents Gibbs stated that feeding fodder beet with supplements during the transition period is critical to slowly introduce cows to the fodder beet which is in agreement with the transitioning recommendation published by Dairy NZ Ltd (June, 2015). Gibbs continued on to state "by feeding too much fodder beet too soon puts cows at risk of developing rumen acidosis but once they are over this transition period they can be fed as much as they can eat without any health concern".
While Dairy NZ's senior scientist, Dawn Dalley, acknowledged that there are many experienced fodder beet users succeeding with ad-lib regimes she defended Gibbs recommendation, arguing that where cows are only on beet for 50-60 days over winter during the dry period, the 30 days required to safely transition cows to an ad-lib regime is too long and therefore, cows should remain on a diet of no more than 70% fodder beet and the rest supplementary feed. But Gibbs says the need for such long transitions and high supplement rates is not supported by the experimental data or hundreds of farm experience which shows a 14-day transition is adequate.
Both scientists have drawn valid conclusions however, the different management strategies may be dependent on the farm system e.g. beef finishing (long-term grazing) vs. dairy winter grazing (short-term grazing, 50-60 days). Both articles agree that patience over the transition period is critical because transitioning cows too quickly can be fatal. Therefore, the recommendations made by Gibbs although valid may not be suitable for wintering dairy cows due to the short grazing period which may encourage farmers to 'rush' the transition. As a result, Dairy NZ recommends to feed fodder beet alongside a fibrous supplementary feed rather than increasing the incidence of acidosis if cows are transitioned too quickly.
The article continued to explain the findings of the paper presented by Gibbs at the New Zealand Society of Animal Production conference which can be found here. Alternatively, a summary of this paper can be found in the blog post here.
REFERENCES
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. (May, 2013). Fodder beet - feeding to dairy cows (1-73). Dairy NZ Farmfacts. Retrived from http://www.dairynz.co.nz/media/253800/1-73_Fodder-beet_feeding_to_dairy_cows.pdf
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/
Prendergast, S. L. and Gibbs, S. J. (2015). A comparison of microbial protein synthesis in beef steers fed ab libitum winter ryegrass or fodder beet. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 75, 251-256.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment