Feed Continued from Page 11
fed garlic. They soon relished it. Rollin said he is now hoping for the same result when he introduces some to onions. However, what is used to feed milking cows versus heifers can be quite different, Rollin said. Asparagus, garlic or onions could give a distinctly unfavorable flavor to a cow’s milk. As a result, they are offered only to heifers. For his milking cows, Rollin said he sticks with byproducts that don’t alter the flavor or smell of the milk. When searching for feed byproducts, DeGroff said location matters and so does the product weight. The closer the feed material is lo- cated, the less expensive it is for dairy farmers. Wetter byproducts such as car- rots weigh more and cost more to haul. Drier products such as almond hulls reduce hauling costs. Almond hulls are considered the top byproduct feed, according to DeGroff. He rates canola as the second-most used byproduct by dairies he works with and said dried distillers grains remain the third-most desired. Other byproducts drawing interest for dairy cow diets include soybean meal, cotton seed, rice, wheat, oats, citrus fruit and whey, he said. This month, the commodity barn for
Donny Rollin, shown with his dairy cattle in 2014 at Rollin Valley Farms in Riverdale, now provides nearly two-thirds of feed from agricultural byproducts. All feed additives are reviewed by a dairy nutritionist.
Jack Hamm, owner of Lima Ranch Dairy in Lodi, was filled with feed byproducts, including wheat mill run, canola and corn gluten pellets, whole cotton seed and distillers grains. One week prior, the dairy had used up its rice bran. It had backed off use of al- mond hulls due to pricing. “It changes all of the time,” Hamm said of selections he considers. The dairy used a lot of grape pomace in the fall. At times, it also receives ground- up bakery items, including cookies, cakes
and candies that are not corn-based. While citrus fruit is less available in his area, Hamm said the dairy will use stone fruit byproducts. All the dairy’s 2,000 milking cows re- ceive the same mix, but rations differ be- tween heifers versus newly lactating cows or heavy milkers. Its current feed mix in- cludes alfalfa and oat hay, with about 90% being grown on site. A blend of byproduct commodities is combined with the ranch’s mineral mix and corn silage. Winter grass, corn and
rye grass are also grown at the ranch and used at different times of the year. Heavy milkers receive less fiber in their diet than newly lactating cows and heifers. The dairy’s nutritionist “stays on top of what and how we feed it,” Hamm said. “It’s always a changing environment. We’re always looking out for the health of the cow.” (Nancy Vigran is a reporter based in Placer County. She may be contacted via news@cfbf.com.)
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12 Ag Alert May 24, 2023
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