The one-ton dairy cow is not a description of the body weight for our dairy cows. One ton is the measure of performance of a dairy cow’s ability to produce 2,000 pounds of milk fat and milk protein in a single lactation.
Historically, dairy farmers were paid for pounds of milk and little economic benefit from milk fat and milk protein. As consumer demand has shifted from drinking milk to eating more cheese, ice cream, butter and protein drinks, the milk pricing to dairy farmers has shifted to pounds of milk fat and milk protein.
Federal order 33 regional milk fat percentage has increased from 3.65% in the year 2000 to 4.30% in 2025. Milk protein during this same 25 years has increased from 2.98% to 3.28%. The dairy farmer’s milk check now is weighted to payment on pounds of milk fat and milk protein. Dairy farmers can continue to improve farm income by managing their dairy herd to efficiently and economically produce more milk fat and milk protein.
Well-managed top Holstein herds are producing bulk tanks of 4.8% fat and 3.5% protein. Elevated milk components are attributed to improvements in genetics, nutrition, forages, feeding and housing. This article highlights strategic opportunities with forages and nutrition that can yield a ton or more of milk components.
The author has summarized key results presented at the recent Cornell Nutrition Conference held in Syracuse, New York, Oct. 21-23.
One-ton milk components
How does a dairy cow produce one ton of milk components? Some simple math will show evidence. A Holstein cow that produces 85 pounds of daily milk (about 27,000 yearly) at a 4.2% butterfat and 3.2% milk protein will make 6.3 pounds of daily components.
A lactation length of 320 days (45 dry days) will calculate to 2,000 pounds of combined milk fat and milk protein annually.
A Jersey cow producing 67 pounds of daily milk (about 22,500 yearly) at a 5.5% butterfat and 3.7% milk protein over a 320-day lactation will generate 2,000 pounds of components. A high production 3,800 cow NY Holstein herd with a 4.3% milk fat and 3.2% milk protein and a tank average of 100 pounds is producing 7.5 pounds of daily components (2,400 pounds annually). Proof that high milk volume and high components can occur. An average dairy herd producing 5.1 pounds of daily components produces 1,600 pounds per year.
What is the economic benefit to the dairy farmer of improved milk components? The economic value of 400 additional pounds of components results in increased gross yearly revenue of around $100,000 per 100 cows based upon $2.50 per pound for components.
The increased revenue for a specific farm will depend upon the farm pay price for components. The return on investment to improve milk components can range from 10:1 to negative. Each farm must calculate their potential investment to increase components.
Use the marginal return ROI with your farm advisory team to determine the best management practice to implement to increase milk components on your farm. The “lowest hanging fruit” concept for ROI is implementing the fastest, easiest and most cost-effective investment for a return. Realize that genetic, housing and nutrition investments require several months to experience the full return as milk components increase slowly.
Dairy farmers, ask your management and trusted advisor team to evaluate the “lowest hanging fruit” on your farm.
Top component herd nutrition
How do dairy herds achieve higher components? Three factors were discussed at the Cornell conference to achieve high components. Number one was feeding high levels of highly digestible forage. Home-grown highly digestible forage not only reduces purchased feed but also increases component yield when properly formulated in the ration.
Highly digestible forage starts with correct soil fertility along with proper harvest techniques. For alfalfa and grass forage, this means wide swath mowing, correct chop length, dense bunker silo packing, timely bunker oxygen barrier covers and prayers for proper harvest weather. That last one requires some hand folding and head bowing!
Bunker drive over piles with center peak, 1:3 slope, and perimeter rainwater exclusion channels provides best practice forage management. Bunker-walled silos with high-quality grass, alfalfa and triticale forages are best stored with inverted centers for many high-component farms.
Bunkers with inverted centers have high edges and lower centers. Inverted bunkers are easier to pack along the sidewalls thus increasing silage density. In addition, inverted bunkers prevent rainwater from creating spoiled bunker wall edges and reduces mold and toxin growth.
The lack of visible mold on the bunker wall edges does not indicate that mold is not present. Mold becomes visible after it has grown to extremely high levels of 100,000 CFU/gram.
Low levels of mold and toxins in the TMR are detrimental to rumen function. Poor rumen function prevents rumen microbes from growing, and they are key nutrient sources for herds that are producing high components.
High component farms segregate the high digestible alfalfa, grass and triticale forage in storage. This highly digestible forage then exclusively is fed to early lactation and peak production cow groups and primarily during the summer months. High digestible forages fed in summer months reduces the normal component hot weather component slump.
Small grain forage, alfalfa or grass forage or corn silage harvested with high maturity or harvested under poor weather conditions must be stored separately and fed to late lactation cows or replacement heifers.
Highly digestible forage can be identified pre-harvest with scissor-field cut or during harvest with the NIR quick lab test to determine fiber digestibility. Traditionally, grass, alfalfa and triticale or small grain forages are evaluated based upon relative feed value and crude protein.
Modern methods of forage digestibility include 30-hour neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility, undigested NDF at 240 hours and 7-hour starch digestion. Quality corn silage will have 30-hour NDF digestibility above 63, undigested NDF 240 values below 9, kernel processing above 72 and 7-hour starch digestion over 70.
Small grain and triticale forage will have 30-hour NDF digestibility over 70 and undigested NDF 240 values below 8. Alfalfa silage will have 30-hour NDF digestibility above 55 and undigested NDF 240 below 15.
Amino acid nutrition
High-yield component herds have amino acid balanced diets as a second important factor discussed by Mike Van Amburgh at the Cornell conference. Amino acids are the building blocks for protein synthesis.
Proteins are foundational for proper growth, milk production, reproduction and health. Amino acid-balanced diets contain the proper levels of both non-essential (synthesized from another amino acid) and the required 10 essential amino acids. Essential amino acids must be supplied in the diet.
The first limiting amino acid is the essential amino acid that first becomes deficient in the animal and will be the limitation to the cow’s udder to produce additional milk protein.
Consider a simplified farm example. A 100-horsepower tractor is buried in the mud. A larger tractor (150-horsepower) is brought to pull the stuck tractor. The 24-foot tow strap available is a tied-together combination of one 8-foot bungee cord, one 8-foot nylon rope and one 8-foot log chain that are tied end to end. As the large 150-horsepower tractor pulls on the tow strap, the bungee cord breaks.
The bungee cord is replaced with an 8-foot log chain and attached to now the rope and chain. The rope again breaks. The rope is replaced with now three 8-foot sections of log chain. The large tractor can efficiently pull the stuck tractor from the ditch.
Similarly, a deficient amino acid in a dairy cow restricts the high-genetic dairy cows’ (high-horsepower tractor) ability to produce milk protein. The cows are stuck like the tractor and unable to move forward and produce more milk components.
Adding the first limiting amino acid to the cow diet improves performance. The cow production moves up slightly until the second limiting amino acid becomes deficient. When that next amino acid is balanced, then the entire chain of amino acids is sufficient and the high-genetic dairy cow can perform to maximum capacity.
The three most limiting essential amino acids in U.S. dairy cattle diets are lysine, methionine and histidine. Van Amburgh’s research shows that supplementing the most limiting amino acid also improves yield of milk fat in addition to milk protein therefore amino acids are important for both butterfat and milk protein.
Cows host a coliseum of billions of beneficial microbes in their rumens that digest quality forage. These microbes reproduce every few minutes and daily produce billions of “kamikaze microbes” that get digested by the cow in her fourth stomach. These microbes contain all the essential and non-essential amino acids. The priority is always feed the rumen first.
Fatty acid nutrition
Lastly, the proper formulation of fat in the ration of dairy cows is critical for high components. Fats in forages, grains and ingredients contain various fatty acids which when properly balanced in the dairy cow diet results in improved butterfat. Butterfat is made up of a combination of three types of fatty acids: denovo, preformed and mixed.
DeNovo fatty acids are small fatty acids primarily manufactured from fiber digestion in the rumen in the form of acetate and butyrate. Preformed fatty acids from long fatty acids include corn or soy oil, feed fat or body fat. The third milk component is mixed fatty acids that are medium-size fatty acids and sourced from denovo and preformed fatty acids.
The majority of milk processing plants test bulk tank milk for denovo, mixed and preformed fatty acids. Consult your milk plant manager to gain access to milk fatty acid data. This milk fatty acid data is valuable information to improving milk components.
Forages contain low levels of fatty acids. A TMR formulated to increase components includes supplemental fatty acids from grains and ingredients. Examples of ingredients that contain high levels of preformed fatty acids are roasted soybeans (high oleic), whole cottonseed, prilled fats, palm fat, calcium salts of fatty acids and animal tallow.
Ingredients with moderate to lower levels of preformed fatty acids are distiller grains, extruded soymeal, solvent soybean meal and canola meal.
TMR diets balanced properly for the fatty acids of palmitic (C16), stearic (C18), oleic (C18:1), linoleic (C18:2), linolenic (C18:3) and omega 3, 6 fats will show improved butterfat content. High oleic (Plenish) roasted soybeans show high promise in improving butterfat.
The Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein Ration Balancing System is a valuable ration analysis and formulation tool to balance the proper level of digestible fiber, amino acids, fatty acids and the other 62 nutrients for dairy cattle.
Top component herds
The current genomic trends in U.S. dairy cows with selection for improved milk fat and milk protein shows that what took decades to achieve genetically can now be achieved in a few short years. Modern dairy cows today have the genetic ability (high horsepower) to produce in excess of 9 pounds of daily components (3,000 pounds yearly).
Feeding and management is advancing rapidly where dairy farmers, forage agronomists and qualified nutritionists must apply the advances in soil fertility, forage genetics, forage harvest management, proper bunker management, amino acid balancing and fatty acid nutrition to continue to achieve profitable outcomes.
Consult with your qualified nutrition advisor for a complete evaluation of your herd rations.
