Some information/ideas on TMR use, mixing and balancing the mix for dairy cows (part 2)

8.       Palatability of the feeds included.  Some Feeds are more palatable than others.  Blending well will prevent sorting the feeds of less palatable feeds.

 

9.       Type of TMR mixer and whether it can adequately mix the feeds available.  (The term “batch” is used to designate total kg amount to be put in the mixer for each individual mixing.)

a.       The mixer must have accurate, reliable scales that are consistently used for each and ever ingredient addition for each and every batch mixed.

b.       Be sure that the farm/company has sufficient energy (e.g., adequate size tractors, motors or electricity) to operate the mixer.

c.       Using a TMR mixer requires some type of equipment with a front end loader to place ingredients in the mixer.  This front end loader must be able to lift the ingredients to an adequate height to easily drop the ingredients into the mixer.  (For example, if the mixer is 3 meters tall, the loader must be able to lift ingredients higher than the 3 m. to adequately fill the mixer.)

d.       The mixer capacity should be selected to meet the minimum and maximum batch size (total kg amount to be put in the mixer for each mixing).

e.       Most mixers do not work well when absolutely full of feed.   Most work best when about 70% full of feed.   Check with the manufacturer’s instructions.

f.        Be sure that the mixer is capable of mixing and doing some type of chopping of long particle size forages (e.g., long hay not previously processed, long grasses).

g.       If the mixer is not capable of chopping long stem forages, some other machine will be required to chop long stem forages.

h.       Talk with the manufacturer on how much dry long stemmed hay (% or kg of lach batch) the mixer is capable of mixing.   Some long stem dry grass hays are difficult to mix.

i.        There are many good TMR mixers.   The size of mixers, energy required for mixing, type of mixing augers, ability to chop/cut long forage, and many other factors 

   

10.       Effective mixing of the feeds by the TMR mixer.

a.       Accuracy and uniformity of a batch is important and care should always be given to the scales (weights of different ingredients) and other factors that go into the mix.

b.       Wet products (e.g., wet beer or pineapple residues) are more difficult to get accurate amounts of the dry matter in the mix.  Monitor the moisture and vary the amount so as to obtain the correct amount of DRY Matter of the ingredient.

c.       Do not over fill the mixer’s capacity (see above).

d.       The mixing protocol of a TMR is important and more attention should be given to the protocol. The protocol includes

                                           i.     Fill order or order of the ingredients placed in the mixer.  Current recommendations is to include the dry energy ingredients first (grains, cassava) followed by supplements (protein, minerals, vitamins, additives) followed by dry hay and then wet feeds.   However, give attention to

1.       The manufacturer’s recommendation for the order for your mixer. 

2.       Experiment with the protocol (order of fill and mixing time) to see if a better mixture is obtained.

                                          ii.     Mixing time.   Too often the mixer is run too long and the forage particle size becomes too short.   The mix should be mixed long enough but not too long and that may be a tough decision!    Current recommendations are to avoid the mixer running between adding ingredients unless all ingredients are near by.   A good mixer should mix adequately in 3-5 minutes.   The mixer should not be run between the last mix and unloading if the amount of time is excessive.   Again, consider the manufacturer’s instructions and experiment with the results. 

e.       Monitoring uniformity, particle size and mixing effectiveness.  

                                           i.     The farmer of company mixing can monitor their own mixing by adding easily identifiable tracers or feed sources.  For example, a set amount of whole corn grains can be added and then identified in the mixture to see if the mix is consistent.  Other tracers such as whole cotton seed or mini carrots have been used.

                                          ii.     The effect on particle size of forage can be monitored by comparing a small hand mixed amount to the final TMR mixture.   Particle size separators are available that help determine the effect of mixing on particle size reduction.   If the mix has a good number of 5-7 cm hay particles available, the mix is probably O.K.  

 

11.       Storage and bunk life of TMRs.

a.       If dried feeds only are used, storage life before placing in the bunk could be several days up to a week. 

b.       TMRs using dried feeds should be fed twice daily and refusals cleaned from the bunks daily.   If there are excess refusals (5% of offering), either the cows are receiving too much feed or the ration is not balanced or the ingredients are not satisfactory.

c.       If wet feeds are fed, the TMR should be fed out within the day.   Feed twice daily and clean the bunk even more rigorous than for a dry TMR.

 

12.       SUMMARY:  All of the above makes it look as if making a TMR is a hard, difficult job.   It takes some thought, but making the mix is NOT as difficult as this makes it appear.   A company can provide a great service to the dairy industry by providing TMRs for the producers. 

 

13.       APPLCATION.   A couple sample rations for high and medium producer as well as for a dry cow are included in with this information.   I have used several of the feeds you mentioned, but it is difficult for me to be accurate as I do not know the ingredient prices, some of the nutrient content and other factors outlined above to be specific about the mix.  

 

I recommend that the individual obtain the services of a trained dairy nutritionist to assist her with balancing the TMR and other aspects of the program.   She has much to offer the Vietnam dairies with her endeavor and she should be encouraged to continue her efforts. 

 

The information in the table below is approximate values as the specific nutrient content of the feeds are not known.   Analyses of the different feedstuffs are recommended.   Some values in the tables are rounded off to whole numbers. 

 

 

 TABLE 1.  Ingredient Content in a 1000 kg Mix for different Diets.

  

                              Diet 1:   30 Kg Milk                 Diet 2:     20 kg Milk               Dry Cow**

                              Kg/mT     Kg/mT DM               Kg/mT     Kg/mT                    kg/mt       Kg/mT

                              As Fed         DM                      As Fed     DM                         As Fed       DM

Alfalfa Hay              273          243                         140.4       125                         0             0

Ground Corn            103          90                          98.3          86.5                       18.8         16.5

Cassava meal          55           49                          28            25.3                       12.5         11.3

Pineapple Res.         205          112                         210.5       115                         175          96

Wet Beer Prod         342          77                          280.8       63.5                        213          48

Soybean meal            14          12                          21.0        18.7                       15            13

DiCal Phos                  2.7          2.6                           2.1          2.1                       1.25         1.25

Rumen Buffer Bicarb   2.8          2.7                           2.8           2.7                       -              -

Mg/K Sulfate              3.4           3.4                           3.4           3.4                       0             0

Salt                            1.0          1.0                            .8           .8                         .2            .2

Trace Mineral &

     Vitamin Pak             .2           .2                          .2           .2                          -              -

 

Grass Straw

   Or Grass Hay             0             0                         42            37.5                      63            56

Elephant Grass              0             0                       168.5         33.7                     500          100

 

Total                       1000 kg    595.2 kg                  1000        516                         1000        340

 

 **  This diet is very wet, so a true TMR could be difficult to mix.   Consider mixing dry feeds and some wet feeds to top dress with the Elephant Grass. 

TABLE 2.   Estimated approximate  Nutrient Content and approximate amount to feed per cow per day.

 

                               Diet 1: 30 Kg Milk Diet            Diet 2: 20 kg Milk                    Dry Cow

from Table 1                           from Table 1

Dry Matter, %           59.5                                     51.6                                       27.5

Net Energy-L

     Mcal/kg                  1.6                                     1.57                                       1.44

Crude Protein             16.5                                     15.0                                         13.0

Kg/cow/day

Of Diet 1 to be

Fed per day per cow

for  30 kg milk            33.4 kg                               35                                          36.4

(As Fed)

Dry Matter                  19.9 kg                               15.2                                       12.5