Milk yield and ration: investigate before adding feed
When milk yield changes, check the measurement, the animal group, feed delivery and water access before deciding that more concentrate is the answer. Update your forage values and animal group in HerdMobile, then calculate the ration using your own feeds. Compare like with like: a changing group or milking interval can make an apparent feeding result misleading.
Compiled from open-access scientific sources.
Are you comparing the same production record?
Check whether the figure is a group total, an individual record or milk sold. Those are different quantities. Note animals entering or leaving the milking group and any change in recording interval or measurement method. Keep measured milk retained for calves and other farm uses separate from the sales entry. Compare the same group and recording interval so production changes can be considered alongside the feeding history. Correct a wrong milking entry with the date and a short note. Mark an unmeasured milking as unmeasured. If a dated weighing result later becomes available, use it to complete that milking entry.
Was the planned ration actually delivered?
Compare the written plan with weighed feed offered, feed remaining and the forage lot being used. Check access, mixing and any interruption in water or equipment. Match the composition analysis to the ingredient lot, and review the analysis when a new lot arrives. The cow’s weight, production stage and milk output are inputs to the ration calculation. In HerdMobile, compare the group’s milk and feed records with the ration you calculated from your own ingredients. For a sudden drop in appetite or signs of illness, contact the veterinarian promptly with the recent feeding history.
How should you follow a planned change?
Record the start date, the group, measured quantities and the reason for the adjustment. Choose a regular day to compare milk, feed use and animal condition, and keep the dated observations together. Keep the preceding record so you can reconstruct the sequence. Avoid changing several unrelated parts of the routine without noting them; otherwise it is difficult to interpret what happened. Review actual production and costs rather than a promised gain. Calculate the ration from your own feeds in HerdMobile. Compare daily feed use, milk quantities and feed costs across the change date to follow the feeding plan on your farm.
Questions from the farm
How do I separate milk production and sales?
Keep production quantities and sales as distinct records with their dates, units and animal or group context. Compare matching periods when reviewing changes.
What should I review before changing the ration?
Check the milking entries, group changes, feed delivered, forage analysis and water access. Update your animal group and feed values in HerdMobile, then recalculate the ration.
How do records help follow a ration adjustment?
Keep the previous plan, the new quantities, the start date and the reason together. Review the production and cost observations from the same animal group afterward.
How HerdMobile helps
Bring your animals, feed stocks and farm accounts together on your Android phone. HerdMobile keeps your daily work moving offline: record events, compare feed quantities and follow sales and payments in one place. Use your own feeds and herd information to prepare a ration, then keep a backup file under your control.
Sources
Continue reading
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