Feeding high levels of concentrated supplements in early lactation will ensure that your dairy cow achieves maximum peak yield, which should result in higher lactation yields.

Essential elements of optimising intake include:

  1. The supply of sufficient feed space for every cow (40–50cm);
  2. Clean troughs;
  3. Fresh feed and water;
  4. Knowing your forage quality so diets can be balanced accordingly.

Quinns Elite 19% Dairy pellet is a new addition to the Quinns dairy feed range: A high-energy dairy nut with a UFL value of 0.99.

The Elite 19% Dairy pellet is formulated to balance silage in winter diets. This high-energy pellet includes only high-quality ingredients and is well balanced with Quinns quality RumiPro Winter mineral package.

Key components in the formulation include:

What is Optigen®?

Optigen is Alltech’s non-protein nitrogen (NPN) source for ruminants. It concentrates the nitrogen fraction of the diet, creating dry matter space for more fibre and energy.

How does it work?

Optigen delivers a sustained release of ammonia to the rumen over time, more effectively meeting the needs of the microbial population than conventional protein sources.

Using Optigen can help provide:

  • Increased microbial protein;
  • Increased fibre digestion;
  • Increased energy available for milk and meat production;
  • More milk/meat from the same feed.

Why include Optigen in your dairy feed?

  • When Optigen is included in dairy diets, there is increased energy available for production, leading to increased milk yield, fat and protein.
  • A trial carried out on an Italian dairy farm confirmed that when Optigen was included in the diet, milk protein improved (3.5% vs 3.86%) and fat percentage improved (3.94% vs 4.19%). In addition, milk urea content was lower when Optigen was in the diet.
  • Optigen can act as the peacemaker to provide a consistent supply of soluble protein for microbial protein synthesis. This reduces the risk of under- or over-feeding protein due to variable protein composition.
  • The Carbon Trust has certified that the inclusion of Optigen in a ruminant animal’s diet can decrease the global warming potential of that diet and improve nitrogen utilisation. They also validated that the replacement of high-carbon ingredients, such as soya, with Optigen, significantly reduces the risk of a high carbon footprint.

Carbon footprint

Research has shown a 20% reduction in carbon footprint by reducing the crude protein (CP) of the ration by 1% (20% down to 19%). This was a result of reducing the soybean meal of the diet by 9.4% (22% down to 12.6%) and adding Optigen at 0.8%.

Both rations have the same energy value and the 19% with Optigen has a higher soluble crude protein with a better balance of PDIN and PDIE, meaning less nitrogen waste, therefore less energy wasted by the cow.

Feeding excess protein in dairy cow rations can cause cows to mobilise energy to cleanse them of excess nitrogen, rather than using energy for milk production, and nitrogen that is not utilised by the cow is excreted in the urine.

Optigen acts to provide a stable protein source in the rumen. It makes consistent levels of ammonia available over a sustained period, which is efficiently utilised by the rumen bacteria. Optigen increases the efficiency of rumen nitrogen capture, resulting in less nitrogen excretion.

Further information

For more information, contact your local sales representative, call us on: 059-6481266; or email: [email protected].