Does feeding a high and low group TMR make cents?
David W. LaCount, Ph.D., PAS, Land O Lakes The most common topic of discussion on farms today is about the milk price. Many producers are looking at various strategies to remain profitable during this financial crunch. There are two ways to improve profitability. One is to increase production. The greater the volume of milk produced the greater the income. If expenses increase less than the added income, the dairy becomes more profitable. That is why more dairy producers are looking at increasing their milking schedules to 3x/day. Table 1. Comparison of high and low group rations). $/ton High group (90 #/d) Low group (65#/day) Corn silage, lb./d 20 40 39 Haylage, lb./d 40 37 36 High moisture shell corn, lb./d 65 15 13.25 Whole cottonseed, lb./d 172 5 5 Low blend, lb./d 192 11 High blend, lb./d 213 13.25 CP, % 18 17.25 NEL, Mcal/lb .78 .77 Forage NDF, % 19.5 20.5 Cost, $/cow/d 3.47 3.02 Savings, $/d .45 The other way to improve profitability is to reduce costs. When milk prices were at
