CSR measures the balance between supply and demand, calculated as live weight (LWT) per hectare versus annual feed available, with a good target being 75-85kg LWT per tonne of dry matter (tDM).
TAKING ACTION
What you can do
Use Comparative Stocking Rate (CSR)
Monitor and check
Regularly check your feed budget and adjust based on how your cows are doing to avoid wasting money where it's not needed.
What you can do
Balance feed supply and demand tools such as CSR to get the best outcomes for your cows.
Provide quality forage
Give your cows access to high-quality forage (fresh, leafy pasture or good quality crops or silage). Balance their pasture intake and energy needs with supplements or concentrates as required.
Provide water
Make sure the herd has easy access to plenty of clean, fresh water at all times – this helps them to digest their feed and absorb its nutrients.
Give cows room and rest
Provide your cows with plenty of time and space for feeding and rumination, and suitable surfaces for lying down. This will help them to save their energy for making more milk.
Manage BCS
Healthy cows with good Body Condition Scores (BCS) tend to have better DMI. A farm advisor can assist you with feed planning and management so you can optimise DMI.
What you can do
Ensuring your cows meet their body condition score is the best start you can provide. Striving for a BCS of 5 makes a big difference in reproductive outcomes.
Keep cows eating
Your key goal is to maintain their appetites during the crucial transition period three weeks before and after calving. Managing their nutrition and DMI well during this time sets the ceiling for the following season, in relation their production, reproduction and health.
Know the complexities
Your herd’s ability to maintain their DMI intake pre- and post-calving is impacted by interrelated, complex factors, which can also have an effect on each other. Some of these factors are listed below.
- BCS and BCS loss rates at calving.
- A cow’s nutritional demand and appetite
- Feed allocation and efficiency.
- Rumen health, fitness and capacity.
- Cow comfort and management.
- Metabolic diseases (such as hypocalcaemia/milk fever, ketosis, immune function, inflammation and other diseases).
Get advice and plan
Consult your veterinarian or a nutritionist for advice and to plan the best transition management approach for your herd.
What you can do
You can use DairyNZ’s tools to identify, monitor and improve BCS scores.
Build herd productivity and resilience
Your efforts to achieve well-grown dairy heifers is your opportunity to build a productive and resilient herd. They’ll be more likely to produce higher milksolids over their lifetimes and have improved fertility. This in turn supports your farm’s long-term sustainability.
Next-Gen success
At 60 days pre-calving, heifers should be 90% of the herd’s mature cows’ live weights (6-8 year olds). Frame size match mature cows. Keep accurate calving and mating records to determine Breeding Worth (BW).
What you can do
Read about the traits of highly efficient cows, how to identify them in your herd, and the value of accurate animal evaluation in building your herd’s resilience.
Ensure optimal growth
Good nutrition and regular monitoring and weighing is the key – by you, and/or by your grazier. It’s a good idea to make sure grazing contracts include weight targets and a requirement to provide regular weighing reports, so adjustments can be made along the way.
What you can do
Weigh your replacement calves and heifers every 6 - 8 weeks from birth to ensure targets are being achieved. Adjust feeding as required to ensure mating and first-calving target weights are being achieved.
Ensuring efficient feed year-round
Your herd’s nutrition needs not only depend on their age and health – they also change with the seasons.
What you can do
Keep an eye on rising temperatures or adverse weather and adjust cows’ feed requirements as needed.
TOOLS AND INFORMATION
From other farmers and industry experts
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- Farmers
- On farm experts
- Industry tools
BENEFITS
What's the opportunity for your farm?
Productivity
Better nutrition helps cows turn their feed into more milk. Even a small improvement of 1% can boost milk production by 25kgMS/cow (6kgMS/kgLWT) for an average herd in New Zealand. Cows that are fed well are also healthier, more productive, live longer and are less vulnerable to disease and infection.
Profitability
Increased feed efficiency helps to reduce the cost of feed per kilogram of milk solids (kgMS). If the same amount of feed can be managed, while achieving better quality nutrition for your herd, your inputs will be better targeted to produce more milk (without the requirement for extra feed). This leads to better margins and profitability.
Sustainability
More milk produced per cow without extra inputs will help to lessen emissions per kgMS. Reduced wastage of feed has positive benefits for the environment too. But there are other flow-on benefits, including improved reproduction, and healthier, longer-living cows.
Get in touch
Have a question? We’re here to help
Talk with your vet or herd improvement company to make a plan on the best approach to achieve feed efficiency on your farm.
Or call our Farmer Support Team on 0800 65 65 68 for more options.