On-Farm Nutrition Diagnostics

Nutrition Management Involvement Opportunities for Dairy Practitioners

Abstract

Veterinarians are held in high esteem by cattlemen in this country. Rockwood Research, Inc. conducted a study for Church and Dwight of 700 dairymen, asking their preferred sources for information on new nutritional products.¹⁰ Dairymen ranked veterinarians highest of all the sources. (Figure 1). Yet, we as cattle veterinarians, have too little direct involvement with nutrition management (Figure 2), as demonstrated in the 1993 AABP survey of member veterinarians.¹

With feed and forage costs totalling 45-60% of milk checks, dairymen need excellent management control of nutrition to minimize feed cost and to maximize production, reproduction and cow health. Figure 3 shows the categorization of expenses for the most profitable quartile of herds on Northeast Agrifax financial records system.⁹ These herds averaged 116 cows and sold 19,030 pounds per cow per year for the years 1992-94. Crop expense and off-farm feed expense averaged $6.44/cwt on milk that 'Yas sold at $13.61/cwt. Nutrition input costs, $3. 73/cwt for off-farm feed and $2. 71/cwt for on-farm production of forages and grains, dwarf all other expense categories.