Register      Login
Animal Production Science Animal Production Science Society
Food, fibre and pharmaceuticals from animals
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > AN > EA05357
REVIEW
Contents Vol 46(7)

Profitable feeding of dairy cows on irrigated dairy farms in northern Victoria

W. J. Wales A C , J. W. Heard A , C. K. M. Ho B , C. M. Leddin A , C. R. Stockdale A , G. P. Walker A and P. T. Doyle A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Primary Industries, Primary Industries Research Victoria, Kyabram Centre, 120 Cooma Road, Kyabram, Vic. 3620, Australia.

B Department of Primary Industries, Catchment and Agricultural Services, Kyabram Centre, 120 Cooma Road, Kyabram, Vic. 3620, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: bill.wales@dpi.vic.gov.au

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 46(7) 743-752 https://doi.org/10.1071/EA05357
Submitted: 17 November 2005  Accepted: 4 April 2006   Published: 8 June 2006

Abstract

Milk production per cow and per farm in the irrigated region in northern Victoria have increased dramatically over the past 2 decades. However, these increases have involved large increases in inputs, and average productivity gains on farms have been modest. Before the early 1980s, cows were fed predominantly pasture and conserved fodder. There is now large diversity in feeding systems and feed costs comprise 40–65% of total costs on irrigated dairy farms. This diversity in feeding systems has increased the need to understand the nutrient requirements of dairy cows and the unique aspects of nutrient intake and digestion in cows at grazing. Principles of nutrient intake and supply to the grazing dairy cow from the past 15 years’ research in northern Victoria are summarised and gaps in knowledge for making future productivity gains are identified. Moreover, since the majority of the milk produced in south-eastern Australia is used in the manufacture of products for export, dairy companies have increased their interest in value-added dairy products that better meet nutritional requirements or provide health benefits for humans. Finally, some examples of the impacts of farm system changes on operating profit for some case study farms in northern Victoria are presented to illustrate the need for thorough analysis of such management decisions.


References


ABARE (2002) ‘Australian dairy industry productivity and profit.’ (Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics: Canberra)

ABARE (2003) ‘Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics: Australian dairy industry productivity and profit.’ (Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics: Canberra)

ADC (2002) ‘Australian dairy industry in focus 2002.’ (Australian Dairy Corporation: Melbourne)

Armstrong DA, Knee JE, Doyle PT, Pritchard KE, Gyles OA (2000) Water use efficiency on irrigated dairy farms in northern Victoria and southern New South Wales. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 40, 643–653.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Bauman DE , Baumgard LH , Corl BA , Griinari JM (2001) Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and the dairy cow. In ‘Recent advances in animal nutrition’. (Eds PC Garnsworthy and J Wiseman) pp. 221–250. (Nottingham University Press: Nottingham)

Clark LC, Dalkin B, Krongrad A, Combs GF, Turnbull BW , et al. (1998) Decreased incidence of prostate cancer with selenium supplementation: results of a double-blind cancer prevention trial. British Journal of Urology 81, 730–734.
| PubMed |
open url image1

Cohen DC, Doyle PT (2000) A pasture database for Victorian dairy producers. Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences 13(Suppl. Vol. A), 61. open url image1

Corl BA, Baumgard LH, Dwyer DA, Griinari JM, Phillips BS, Bauman DE (2001) The role of Delta(9)-desaturase in the production of cis-9, trans-11 CLA. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry 12, 622–630.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Dairy Australia (2004) ‘Australian dairy industry in focus 2004.’ (Dairy Australia: Melbourne)

Doyle PT , Stockdale CR (2003) Dairy farm management systems. In ‘Encyclopedia of dairy sciences. Vol. 2’. (Eds H Roginski, JW Fuquay, PF Fox) pp. 672–679. (Academic Press: Amsterdam)

Doyle PT , Stockdale CR , Lawson AR , Cohen DC (2000) ‘Pastures for dairy production in Victoria.’ (Department of Primary Industries: Melbourne)

Doyle PT , Stockdale CR , Wales WJ , Walker GP , Heard JW (2001) Limits to optimising milk production and composition from pastures. In ‘Recent advances in animal nutrition in Australia 2001. Vol. 13’. (Ed. JL Corbett) pp. 9–17. (University of New England: Armidale)

Doyle PT, Ho C, Armstrong DP, Malcolm LR (2004) Feeding system efficiency and profitability of an irrigated dairy farm. Animal Production in Australia 25, 45–48. open url image1

Doyle PT, Francis SA, Stockdale CR (2005) Associative effects between feeds when concentrate supplements are fed to grazing dairy cows: a review of likely impacts on metabolisable energy supply. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research In press 56, open url image1

Dunshea FR , Ostrowska E , Ferrari JM , Heard J , Doyle PT , Walker GP (2005) Functional foods from animal production. In ‘Recent advances in animal nutrition in Australia, 2005. Vol. 15’. (Eds PB Cronje, N Richards) pp. 1–13. (University of New England: Armidale)

Fulkerson WJ , Hough G , Goddard M , Davison T (2000) The productivity of Friesian cows: effect of genetic merit and level of concentrate feeding. Final report -DAN 082 to DRDC. Wollongbar Agricultural Institute, NSW Agriculture, Wollongbar, NSW.

Fulkerson WJ, McKean K, Nandra KS, Barchia IM (2005) Benefits of accurately allocating feed on a daily basis to dairy cows grazing pasture. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 45, 331–336.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Garcia SC, Fulkerson WJ (2005) Opportunities for future Australian dairy systems: a review. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 45, 1041–1055.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Heard JW, Lyttle SM, Doyle PT, Stockdale CR (2002) An annual pasture database for irrigated dairy farms in southern Australia. Proceedings of the Australian Society of Animal Production 24, 307. open url image1

Heard JW, Doyle PT, Wales WJ, Stockdale CR (2004a) Decision support tools to optimise conversion of pasture to milk. Proceedings of the Australian Society of Animal Production 25, 89–92. open url image1

Heard JW, Walker GP, Royle P, McIntosh G, Doyle PT (2004b) Effects of short-term supplementation with selenised yeast on milk production and composition of lactating cows. Australian Journal of Dairy Technology 59, 199–203. open url image1

Heard JW, Francis SA, Doyle PT (2006) Nutritive characteristics of annual species in irrigated pasture in northern Victoria. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture In press 46, open url image1

Hodgson J (1979) Nomenclature and definitions in grazing studies. Grass and Forage Science 34, 11–18.
| Crossref |
open url image1

Kelly ML, Kolver ES, Bauman DE, Van Amburgh ME, Muller LD (1998) Effect of intake of pasture on concentrations of conjugated linoleic acid in milk of lactating cows. Journal of Dairy Science 81, 1630–1636.
| PubMed |
open url image1

Kolver ES, Muller LD (1998) Performance and nutrient intake of high producing Holstein cows consuming pasture or a total mixed ration. Journal of Dairy Science 81, 1403–1411.
| PubMed |
open url image1

Lawson A , Hildebrand K (2003) ‘Renovating irrigated perennial pastures: a handbook for northern Victoria’ (Department of Primary Industries Victoria: Melbourne)

MacRae J (2004) The Underwood Lecture for 2004. ‘Modern Technologies’: 75 years of progress, but what are the future needs of our industry. Animal Production in Australia 25, 373–384. open url image1

Malcolm LR , Makeham JP , Wright V (2005) ‘The farming game. Agricultural management and marketing’. 2nd edn. (Cambridge University Press: New York)

McIntosh GH , Royle PJ (2002) Supplementation of cows with organic selenium and the identification of selenium-rich protein fractions in milk. In ‘Nutritional biotechnology in the feed and food industries. Proceedings of the Alltech 18th Annual Symposium’. (Eds TP Lyons, KA Jacques) pp. 233–238.

Mertens DR (1997) Creating a system for meeting the fiber requirements of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 80, 1463–1481.
| PubMed |
open url image1

Milligan KE , Brookes IM , Thompson KF (1987) Feed planning on pasture. In ‘Livestock feeding on pasture’. (Ed. AM Nicol) pp. 75–88. (New Zealand Society of Animal Production, Ruakura Agricultural Research Centre: Hamilton)

Mould FL, Orskov ER (1983) Manipulation of rumen fluid pH and its influence on cellulolysis in sacco, dry matter degradation and the rumen microflora of sheep offered either hay or concentrate. Animal Science and Technology 10, 1–14.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Pannell DJ (2004) Flat-earth economics: The far-reaching consequences of flat payoff functions in economic decision making. In ‘Proceedings of the 48th Annual Conference of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society’. p. 14.

Pritchard KE (1987) Yield and quality of irrigated summer fodder crops in northern Victoria. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 27, 817–823.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Rearte DH (2005) New insights into the nutritional value of grass. In ‘Utilisation of grazed grass in temperate animal systems’. (Ed. JJ Murphy) pp. 49–59. (Wageningen Academic Publishers: Wageningen)

Standing Committee on Agriculture (1990) ‘Feeding standards for Australian livestock: ruminants.’ (CSIRO: Melbourne)

Stockdale CR (1985) Influence of some sward characteristics on the consumption of irrigated pastures grazed by lactating dairy cattle. Grass and Forage Science 40, 31–39.
| Crossref |
open url image1

Stockdale CR (1999a) The nutritive characteristics of herbage consumed by grazing dairy cows affect milk yield responses obtained from concentrate supplementation. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 39, 379–387.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Stockdale CR (1999b) Effects of season and time since defoliation on the nutritive characteristics of three irrigated perennial pasture species in northern Victoria. 1. Energy, protein and fibre. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 39, 555–565.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Stockdale CR (2000) Levels of pasture substitution when concentrates are fed to grazing dairy cows in northern Victoria. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 40, 913–921.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Stockdale CR, Cohen DC, Doyle PT (2001) Nutritive characteristics of irrigated perennial pastures in northern Victoria and the selection of nutrients by grazing dairy cows. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 41, 601–609.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Stockdale CR, Walker GP, Wales WJ, Dalley DE, Birkett A, Shen Z, Doyle PT (2003) Influence of pasture and concentrates in the diet of grazing dairy cows on the fatty acid composition of milk. Journal of Dairy Research 70, 267–276.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Wales WJ, Doyle PT (2003) Effect of grain and straw supplementation on marginal milk production responses and rumen function of cows grazing highly digestible subterranean clover pasture. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 43, 467–474.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Wales WJ, Doyle PT, Dellow DW (1998) Dry matter intake and nutrient selection by lactating cows grazing irrigated pastures at different pasture allowances in summer and autumn. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 38, 451–460.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Wales WJ, Doyle PT, Stockdale CR, Dellow DW (1999) Effects of variations in herbage mass, allowance and level of supplement on nutrient intake and milk production of dairy cows in spring and summer. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 39, 119–130.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Wales WJ, Williams YJ, Doyle PT (2001) Effect of grain supplementation and the provision of chemical or physical fibre on marginal milk production responses of cows grazing perennial ryegrass pastures. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 41, 465–471.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Wales WJ, Kolver ES, Thorne PL, Egan AR (2004) Diurnal variation in ruminal pH on the digestibility of highly digestible perennial ryegrass during continuous culture fermentation. Journal of Dairy Science 87, 1864–1871.
| PubMed |
open url image1

Wales WJ , Stockdale CR , Doyle PT (2005) Plant and sward characteristics to achieve high intake in ruminants. In ‘Utilisation of grazed grass in temperate animal systems’. (Ed. JJ Murphy) pp. 37–47. (Wageningen Academic Publishers: Wageningen)

Walker GP, Stockdale CR, Wales WJ, Doyle PT, Dellow DW (2001) Effect of level of grain supplementation on milk production responses of dairy cows in mid-late lactation when grazing irrigated pastures high in paspalum (Paspalum dilatatum Poir). Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 41, 1–11.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Williams YJ, Walker GP, Doyle PT, Egan AR, Stockdale CR (2005a) Rumen fermentation characteristics of dairy cows grazing different allowances of Persian clover- or perennial ryegrass-dominant swards in spring. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 45, 665–675.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Williams YJ, Doyle PT, Egan AR, Stockdale CR (2005b) Increasing the intake of highly digestible Persian clover herbage reduces rumen fluid pH and the rate of degradation of neutral detergent fibre in grazing dairy cows. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 45, 1529–1537.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1