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Take care if switching from soya - dairy farmers advised.UFAC press release: August, 2009Milk producers looking to cut their feeding costs have been warned by a dairy nutritionist to take care if considering switching protein sources. "With milk prices falling and soya prices rising, many dairy farmers are considering reducing the cost of protein supplements. But when assessing alternatives it is important for farmers to remember that soya provides more than just crude protein," says Dr Donald Lawson, of Ufac-UK. For most dairy cow diets in the UK, soya is the major source of digestible undegradable protein (DUP), or bypass protein, and this is required for both milk yield and milk protein. Supplying less will impact on both. Any money saved on the diet formulation could easily be lost in lower milk yield and protein levels. In a typical dairy cow diet using 2 kg of soya, almost 44 per cent of the cow's daily DUP requirement comes from the soya, points out Dr Lawson. He says that soya is about £80 per tonne more expensive than a year ago. This adds 16p per day to the cost of a cow's daily ration and 0.6p per litre of milk produced. Protected soya products - such as Promega from Ufac-UK - can contain almost twice the level of bypass protein. By reducing soya to 0.4 kg, adding rapemeal at 1.1 kg and including the protected protein at 0.5 kg, the cost of the ration can be reduced by up to 6p per cow per day while maintaining the same level of DUP Producers would be well advised to consult with their supplement supplier to formulate the most cost-effective option while maintaining production, he suggests.
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For further information contact UFAC-UK... Note to EditorsUfac-UK Ltd is the leading specialist UK manufacture of energy, protein and omega 3 supplements. The company has been supplying nutritional supplements to the animal feed industry for over 35 years.
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