Prevent acidosis

Rumen acidosis is common in high yielding cows. When the pH goes down, rumen microbes use more energy for maintenance and less is used for new microbial matter. So acidosis in cows causes less microbial protein to be produced and milk production suffers.

How is it done?

Professors Kohn and Dunlap found that the rumen pH was predicted by a simple equation. It uses how much bicarbonate is present in the rumen. We have used this and other factors to predict the rumen pH of dairy cows:

You can see how well it predicts the pH! Having a pH predictor, lets you manage the diet to reduce acidosis, which leads to happier cows.

Efficient use of Crude Protein

Within the rumen of cows there are micro-organisms that are in the liquid and in the solid. Both need a supply of CP and carbohydrate at optimal levels.

Traditionally, the overall supply of CP is used but maybe the liquid is oversupplied whilst the solid is undersupplied. If so, the solid microbes can’t grow at their maximum rate. pH6+ Dairy monitors the supply of CP and carbohydrate for both the liquid and solid microbes. You can see if the balance is right or if it is not, you can correct it. This leads to happier cows!

Better fertility

Higher ammonia/urea in cows blood has a detrimental effect on cow fertility. pH6+ Dairy enables control of ammonia and urea levels. They can be altered by improving the use of dietary CP between the liquid and solid microbes.

Rumen Raft

Rumen raft is formed by the long particles of feeds, mainly forages, that float on the surface of rumen liquor because microbes are actively fermenting them and producing gas. The small particles are trapped within the rumen raft.

When not enough long particles are there, the small particles escape the rumen raft and a greater proportion are washed through to the small intestine. The small intestine becomes overloaded with material to digest and increasing quantities of it pass to the hindgut. The microbes present in the hindgut ferment it but a large quantity of end products (VFA and lactic acid) are produced and their absorption is slow. So large quantities of water are retained and loose dung results!

The efficiency of digestion reduces as well as the tell tale signs of fermentation amongst the loose dung.

The efficiency of the rumen raft is measured. Above a very soft index, you should be OK. If it is very soft, you should try to add some large particles to the diet.

Reduce veterinary bills

Good overall nutrition is key to maintaining health. pH6+ Dairy provides this minimising vet problems such as…

• Lameness
• Mastisis
• Displaced abomasum
• Loose cows
• Poor yield

pH6+ Dairy will identify the causes of these common problems, and will pinpoint diet changes needed to tackle these problems, leading to higher nutrient supply and improved milk yields.

Higher quality product

pH6+ Dairy is instrumental in predicting diet changes leading to lower or higher milk proteins or milk fats. If you are having problems with low milk fat, we can help you. pH6+ Dairy knows from feeding a certain diet, what protein glucogenic and ketogenic nutrients are absorbed from the gut. It is easy to calculate how much milk protein, milk lactose and milk fat will be produced. Altering the diet can have profound effects on the protein, glucogenic and ketogenic nutrients provided.

We will preferably visit or send out Sample bags to collect forage samples (grass, maize, wholecrop) these will then be sent off for analysis These will be returned and explained to you on an individual basis to determine the right diet formulation specifically for you.

One of the most underused testing facilities, Fresh grass samples are tested for quality, and to determine their suitability to be cut for silage. We can provide weekly reports on grass growth and quality throughout the grazing season.

using data gathered from analysis and on your farm samples and tests we can provide specific nutritionally balanced diet required by the herd

We can create nutritionally balanced nuts and blends, formulated and priced at various mills, this can provide your animals with everything they need to be healthy and efficient.

Forage samples are analysed for their mineral content. They can then be used to determine the best mineral supplement to be used when formulating the diet, or whether a bespoke mineral may be required. Bespoke can sometimes reduce the cost of minerals entering a formulation

Concise monthly or point in time budgeting is so important to your business, we can provide up to date analysis of your farms performance and its margins, using a specialist program to produce tighter costings and budget plans.

Samples are tested and analysed for nutrient content. Recommendations are made with regards to nutrients that may need to be supplemented in order to obtain the best plant health and growth.

technical specialists analyse animal dung from your livestock to determine the quality of feed digestibility, efficiency and recommend any alterations to diet that maybe needed.