Why should we feed QLF liquid supplements with today’s milk prices?
Kai Yuan & Stephen Emanuele-Quality Liquid Feeds, Inc.
Many dairy producers have already experienced the pain of low milk prices, which are just at break-even cost of production levels, but there is still hope on the horizon. The good news is our milk fat price is still strong, and cows with good milk components can certainly help producers generate more profits.
Numerous studies have shown that dietary liquid sugar supplementation is a feasible way to help increase milk component yields. A meta-analysis by Dr. Charles Sniffen, Dr. Mary Beth de Ondarza, and Dr. Stephen Emanuele was performed on a database of 24 published scientific research trials. The study found that dietary sugar supplementation increased milk fat and protein yields, and the optimal response was observed when total dietary sugar is between 6.75 to 8% of DMI. Specifically, cows producing more than 74 pounds of milk had 0.18 pounds increase of milk fat, 0.2 pounds increase of milk protein, and 4.7 pounds increase of 3.5% FCM.
In July 2016, the component prices are $2.41/lb. and $1.48/lb. for milk fat and protein, respectively. Below is an illustration of how might sugar supplements increase value of milk complements, based on the above meta-analysis results.
Feeding sugar supplements to cows producing more than 74 pounds milk are expected to have $0.43 additional profits for fat (0.18 lb. increase of milk fat x $2.41/lb. fat = $0.43) and $0.3 additional profits for protein (0.2 lb. increase of milk protein x $1.48/lb. protein = $0.3), which is a total of $0.73/cow/day profit ($0.43 + $0.3 = $0.73).
If we feed sugar liquid supplements while replacing some other ingredients such as protein or fat sources, the additional cost for liquid supplements should be less than $0.10/cow, considering also the cost for increased DMI at $0.16 (1.32 lb. increase in DMI x $0.12/lb. DM = $0.16), which is a total cost of $0.26/cow/day ($0.10 + $0.16 = $0.26).
Therefore, by considering merely the increased value of milk complements, feeding sugar supplements in cows producing more than 74 pounds milk can help generate an additional net profit of $0.47/cow/day ($0.73 – $0.26 = $0.47). The actual profit would be much higher because we have not considered the increased milk volume, improved cow health, enhanced feed conditioning, and reduced feed shrink in this calculation.
In short, feeding QLF liquid sugar supplementation is a feasible way to help increase milk component yields and values, especially in today’s tough milk market. QLF sugar supplements are expected to generate a net profit of 47 cents per cow per day for medium to high producing dairy cows.
