Long-term customer’s reasons for using Quality Liquid Feeds (QLF) supplements
Kai Yuan & Stephen Emanuele-Quality Liquid Feeds, Inc.
In order to understand how dietary liquid supplements impact milk production and management from dairy producers’ perspectives, we recently conducted a survey of high-producing dairy farms in Michigan. The owners of those herds were long-term customers (at least 5 to 10 years) of QLF products, and they shared their experience and views about using liquid supplements.
According to the dairy owners or their nutritionists, the main benefits of using QLF products are as follows:
Help to condition the ration, and increase TMR consistency and coating;
Help to stick dietary ingredients together and reduce sorting;
Good smell and increase palatability and feed intake;
Help to improve transition cow feed intake and metabolic health;
Help to increase milk and milk component yields;
Help to improve feed digestive efficiency;
Help deliver minerals and protein through liquid with high efficiency and no shrink;
Products are safe and easy to handle, and reduce labor costs;
The overall feed cost is neutral or less by using QLF supplements.
Below are some representative customer answers from the survey:
(Date of Survey: December 22nd to 23rd, 2015)
Dairy #1
Martin, MI
They feed straw to dry cows, and QLF helps to stick the straw within TMR better;
Helps to condition the feed and reduce sorting;
Helps to boost feed intake;
Helps deliver minerals and protein through liquid, which is very efficient and no shrink;
They can use less grain by feeding sugar, and thus save grain costs;
Helps boost milk production and milk components;
Helps to minimize the impact of switching to new forages;
The overall feed cost is neutral or less by using QLF supplements.
Dairy #2
Hickory Corners, MI
Helps to condition the ration, and increase TMR consistency and coating;
Good smell and increase palatability;
QLF product is almost completely digested with very high efficiency, whereas other feeds are only partially digested;
QLF product has no shrink and waste;
Safe and easy to handle.
Dairy #3
Dowling, MI
Increase palatability and feed intake;
The close-up cow diet contains rough corn silage, and QLF helps to condition the feed.
Dairy #4
Portland, MI
Helps to stick feed together, resulting in a uniform diet with less sorting;
Sugar provides important nutrition and energy value;
Helps to improve cow health.
Dairy #5
Westphalia, MI
QLF product makes feed smell better and improves palatability;
Helps to stick the feed together and increase consistency;
Helps to reduce sorting.
Dairy #6
St Johns, MI
Helps to bind TMR better;
Sorting used to be a big issue, and was eliminated after using QLF;
QLF product has no shrink;
Helps to increase milk production.
