Research suggests that rapid increases in feed intake from calving to 23 days in milk (DIM) drives improved milk production that then carries over beyond the fresh period. In Spring 2020 the team ran an experiment that contrasted feeding maize grain, maize grain with ruminally protected supplemental fat (with ~30% oleic acid) and wheat grain concentrate mixes for cows consuming a low-fibre legume hay with the aim of achieving 20 kg dry matter intake (DMI) per cow by 23 post parturition. Preliminary results show a substantial increase in intake (+8 kg DM) for all treatments from calving to 23 days-in-milk compared with the Spring 2019 Fresh cow experiment (+2 kg DM) when cows consumed a high-fibre forage (pasture silage).

Join West Vic Dairy’s REO Peter Gaffy and Agriculture Victoria senior research scientist Dr Rodrigo Albornoz to ask questions and hear more about the on-farm outcomes from the First 100 Days project

First 100 Days is part of the DairyFeedbase program which is a joint venture of Agriculture Victoria, Dairy Australia and the Gardiner Foundation

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