Dairy cow nutrition needs place a greater importance on the supply of key nutrients to ensure rations are meeting the correct requirements of the modern dairy cow, according to Dr Andrew Pine, technical and commercial manager at UFAC UK
It’s important for dairy farmers to urge their feed advisors to focus on nutrients, such as starch, sugar and NDF in their dairy cow rations, rather than just the sum of ‘theoretical’ Energy (ME) values provided by individual raw materials.
Those feed advisors still adding up the sum of feed energy contributions have the additional problem for fat supplements of whether to use the ME number suggested by the manufacturer or apply a more realistic value that their ‘head and heart’ knows to be true.
A really good example of this is the energy value allocated to commonly used palm-based calcium soaps.
In the UK, calcium soaps are often listed with an ME value in excess of 33 MJ/kg DM, which when fed at 0.4kg/head should provide enough energy for nearly 2.5kg milk. However, under farm conditions many feed advisors acknowledge this real response to the additional energy to be only 1-1.5kg at best.
So, what is behind this significant difference in response?
An evaluation of these apparent differences was recently undertaken at the University of Nottingham. Cows from the University herd, already averaging 40kg milk/day, were offered rations containing either 0.5kg of a palm-based calcium soap or a high Oleic acid (C18:1) 50% fat supplement.
The results of the study were startling, as the high Oleic acid supplement, Envirolac, generated an extra 1.6kg Energy Corrected Milk (ECM) with higher fat and protein %,” he reports. “There was also a tendency for higher TMR intakes, significantly improved feed efficiency and a reduced ration, as well as a milk, carbon footprint reduction of 11%.
From this study, the lead researcher Professor Garnsworthy concluded that the suggested energy value of the calcium soap at 33.3MJ/kg DM is substantially overestimated and that the real value may be closer to 23.8 MJ/kg DM. Furthermore, the Nottingham research confirmed that the high Oleic acid supplement out-performed their proposed energy values, and their effective ME contents can be considered to be as high as 29 MJ/kg DM.
When thinking of fat supplements, focusing on the provision of key fatty acids in the correct ratio, and in the ideal form, is a better approach for achieving the most efficient and effective ration for the modern dairy cow.
This will have a dramatic impact on the cost of each MJ of energy supplied and, therefore the potential return on investment; an issue very much at the forefront of dairy farmers in 2026.
