Megabite Makes Ration Yummy!

When cows are out at grass it can be hard to get them to eat their entire concentrate ration during milking, particularly if they are fast milkers. And if feed is left behind then this increases wastage as well as compromising milk yields.

This situation was all too familiar for two dairy farming brothers (pictured) from Northern Ireland:

“In previous years when we’ve put cows out at grass we’ve struggled to get them to eat enough compound feed,” explained Stephen Greenaway. “During the summer we don’t buffer feed with a TMR, so we are reliant on compound feed fed through the parlour to provide sufficient supplementation. What we were finding is that cows would typically not consume all their ration during milking, which was impacting on milk production.”

Stephen farms with his brother, Nevin, near Craigavon in Armagh and they milk 60 cows, which calve all year around and average 7,000 litres/year. Cows are grazed all summer and are housed and fed on a TMR during the winter months. To try to address the issues with concentrate intake, this spring the brothers opted to have Megabite added to their compound feed. And the results speak for themselves…

“We haven’t changed anything other than adding Megabite, but this year the cows have eaten all the cake up during milking without any issues,” Stephen said. “We have been really pleased with the way that it has improved intakes and will definitely use it in the future.”

In fact, the brothers have been so impressed that they are planning to continue using Megabite through the winter months, both in their compound feed and possibly through their TMR.

“Using Megabite can prevent sorting in the TMR and drive intakes,” explained Dr Carolyn Preston from Agri-Research. “It also helps ease transitions between different feeds, optimising intakes.”