Feeding is one of the important aspects of dairy farming as it largely affects the quality of milk produced by the animal.
Dairy cows require a balanced diet for milk production, body maintenance, and good health. As such, their feed should include proteins, energy, minerals, vitamins, and water.
The feed given to the cow must be digestible so that the nutrients can be absorbed in the body and should not contain toxic substances.
Fodder crops like Napier grass are considered the most important feed in feeding dairy cattle as they provide energy for body maintenance, milk production, growth, weight gain, and reproduction.
How much feed does a cow need to produce 1 liter of milk?
According to sources, a cow needs an average of 1.25 to 1.44 kilograms of feed to produce 1 liter of milk. This translates to approximately 0.63 to 0.72 kilograms of dry matter, which represents the nutrient content of the feed with all water removed.
The exact feed-to-milk ratio depends on factors such as the cow’s lactation stage, breed, health, and the quality of the feed provided.
Australian Red Napier: How this hybrid fodder is revolutionizing dairy farming in Kenya
Experts note that dairy cows experience their highest milk production levels in early lactation, which occurs within the first 100 days after calving. During this period, a cow can produce an average of 40 liters of milk per day.
This means the animal would need 50 kilograms of feed daily, half of which is dry matter, resulting in a feed-to-milk ratio of 1.25 kilograms of feed per liter of milk and a milk-to-dry matter intake ratio of 1.6 liters per kilogram.
In late lactation, typically over 200 days into the milking period, milk production declines to an average of 25 liters per day.
Correspondingly, feed intake reduces to about 36 kilograms per day. The feed-to-milk ratio during this stage is approximately 1.44 kilograms of feed per liter of milk, with a milk-to-dry matter intake ratio of 1.4 liters per kilogram.
Tanalope Consultancy Limited CEO Alex Gathii says for a dairy cow to produce optimally, it needs dry matter equivalent to at least 3 percent of its body weight. For instance, if the cow weighs 600kg then its total feed should amount to at least 18kg of dry matter per day.
Good forages for dairy cows include grasses such as Kikuyu and Napier, Boma Rhodes, lucerne hay, Brachalia, sweet potato vines, desmodium, sorghum, and maize, among others.
On the other hand, good concentrates for dairy cows are dairy meal, maize germ, wheat bran, undiluted molasses, and seed cakes.
