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A reliable and consistent protein alternative

Starting in December and finishing around February every year, pasture will inevitably increase in NDF percentage and reduce its ME content, as well as drop the crude protein percentage. Milk production can decrease significantly depending on the pasture management, but even in the best-managed pastures, the willingness of the grass to go reproductive cannot be stopped. These conditions are a real challenge for the cows to be able to maintain milk production. In a high pay-out year like this one, avoiding this drop over the summer period is a no-brainer. But how…?

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Inside the rumen, bacteria have specific requirements for ammonia (between 10–15 mg/dl) that need to be supplied constantly over a 24-hour period in order to digest the feed and multiply. By including Optisync™ in the cow’s diet during this short period will help increase the rumen bacteria numbers, which will lead to improved pasture utilization and animal performance. Optisync is a unique, “slow-release,” rumen-degradable protein source designed to safely feed and meet the requirements of the rumen bacteria.

As a consequence, the rumen bacteria will not only effectively digest the grass. It will also increase the bacteria population by 10–20%, supplying the cow with the protein and energy that she needs to keep producing milk, maintain pregnancy and start adding body condition.

Data from a new meta-analysis for ruminants, based on the results of 17 studies carried out in six different countries, showed that Optisync, a non-protein nitrogen ingredient, can replace vegetable protein sources and enable dairy producers to simultaneously improve animal performance, reduce their carbon footprint and increase profitability. Generally, 100 grams of Optisync could replace 0.9 kilograms (or 900 grams) of soya (46% CP) or 1 kilogram of canola (35% CP).

The meta-analysis highlighted how, with Optisync, there was a consistent improvement in feed efficiency (3%) and increased nitrogen use efficiency for milk production (4%) while increasing profitability and reducing the environmental impact.

The rumen bacteria take time to respond, so an adaptation period of 5–7 days is recommended. It also depends on the rest of the diet composition. Generally, one would expect to see improvements in fibre digestion after 10–12 days of using Optisync.

To know more about how the ALLTECH® PROTEIN MANAGEMENT can help your dairy farm business, please contact Matt Cassineri on 027 208 4606 or email matt.cassineri@alltech.com.

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