Top ten things to do for healthy and productive transition cows

Top ten things to do for healthy and productive transition cows Thomas R. Overton, Ph.D. Professor of Dairy Management Director, PRO-DAIRY Associate Director, Cornell Cooperative Extension Cornell University

Transition period goals High milk production Maintain/minimize loss of BCS Low incidence of metabolic disorders Minimize loss of immunocompetence Control/decrease days to first ovulation and maintain/enhance fertility Low stillborn rate and healthy calves Make $$ Question can a dairy farm meet all of these goals?

Shift in mindset from the transition cow as a disease opportunity to the transition cow as a production and reproduction opportunity!!!

The good news.. There s more than one way to get the job done

Transition cow success can come in many shapes and sizes. Large freestallherds with the ability to group & feed cows in a variety of ways Small freestallherds with limited options on grouping & feeding Tiestall herds that segregate dry cows Tiestallherds that have dry cows in their assigned stalls in the barn, with limited ability to feed them a specific dry or pre-fresh diet Grazing herds that freshen year round (including on pasture) Grazing herds that freshen most everything in the spring for that flush of spring grass

Top ten things to do for healthy and productive transition cows Manage macromineralnutrition/dcad of dry cows, especially in the last 2 to 3 weeks before calving

Mineral status Plasma minerals concentration Plasma concentration (mg/dl) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Control (Ca) Low DCAD (Ca) Control (P) Low DCAD (P) Control (Mg) Low DCAD (Mg) 0-18 -11-4 0.3 0.6 1 2 3 4 5 9 15 Days re lative to calving Ramos Nieves et al., 2009

Hypocalcemiaincidence analysis Clinical hypocalcemia (< 5 mg/dl) Subclinical hypocalcemia (5-8 mg/dl) % of cows on treatment 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 Control Low DCAD 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 Control Low DCAD 0 0 8h 16h 1d 2d 3d 4d 8h 16h 1d 2d 3d 4d Time relative to calving Time relative to calving Ramos-Nieves et al., 2009

Managing macromineralsin close-up dry rations for good postcalvingca and P status Our enemies Potassium (legumes, heavily manured grasses) Sodium (but a little salt is good) Our friends Chloride and sulfur (anionic supplements) Magnesium Calcium DCAD = (Na + + K + ) - (Cl - + S -2 )

Major strategies for application of DCAD for close-up dry cows Focus on feeding low K (and Na) forages and feeds to close-up dry cows Calculated DCAD ~ +10 meq/100 g of DM Urine ph ~ 8.3 to 8.5 Feeding low K forages along with partial use of anionic supplement in close-up ration or one-group dry cow ration Calculated DCAD ~ 0 meq/100 g of DM Urine ph ~ 7.5 Feeding low K forages along with full use of anionic supplement in close-up ration or one-group dry cow ration Calculated DCAD ~ -10 to -15 meq/100 g of DM Urine ph ~ 6.0 to 7.0 need to monitor weekly and adjust DCAD supplementation if < 6.0 Need to also supplement Mg (dietary target 0.40 to 0.45%) during close-up Recommend supplementing Ca (0.9 to 1.0% if low K only; 1.4 to 1.5% if full anionic diet)

Overall goals for energy and metabolizableprotein intake of both far-off and close-up cows Far off cows (dry off until ~ 3 weeks precalving) ~ 15-17 Mcalof NEL per day (0.59 to 0.63 Mcal/lbNEL) 110 to 120% of ME requirements (0.90 to 0.95 Mcal/lb) ~ 1000 g/d of metabolizable protein Close-up cows (last 3 weeks before calving) ~16-18 Mcalof NEL per day (0.64 to 0.66 Mcal/lbNEL) 110 to 120% of ME requirements (~ 1.0 Mcal/lb) ~ 1100 to 1200 g/d of metabolizableprotein Maybe too low??

Energy for Far-Off Dry Cows Ration considerations NE L 0.59 to 0.63 Mcal/lbfor maintenance BCS and controlled energy intake Typical lactating cow forages Corn silage ~ 0.70 to 0.75 Mcal/lbNEL Haylage~ 0.60 to 0.65 Mcal/lbNEL Usually will need to bring in forage with lower energy content than lactating cow forages

Dr. Patrick French regression analysis 18 published transition cow studies (2002 to present) Prepartum MP intake, mmet intake, and mlys intake positively associated with postpartum milk protein yield (when all three in model r 2 = 0.56) Suggest optimum at ~ 1,300 g/d MP, 30 g/d mmet, and 90 g/d mlys

Moderate energy prefresh diet composition (as formulated)

General goals for diet formulation for closeup cows Low K only Full anionic NE L, Mcal/lb ~0.64 to 0.66 NE L, Mcal/kg ~1.40 to 1.45 Metabolizable protein, g/d 1100 to 1200 NFC, % 28 to 32 Starch, % 16 to 19 Dietary Ca, g/d 100 180 to 200 Dietary Ca, % 0.90 ~ 1.5 Dietary P, % 0.30 to 0.35 Mg, % 0.40 to 0.42 Cl, % 0.3 0.8 to 1.2 K, % < 1.3 < 1.3 Na, % 0.10 to 0.15 S, % 0.20 0.3 to 0.4 Added Se, ppm 0.3 Vitamin A (IU/d) 100000 100000 Vitamin D (IU/d) 30000 30000 Vitamin E (IU/d) 1800 1800 Prefer use of more bioavailable trace elements

Keys to feeding management of dry cow TMR Minimize sorting Particle size of straw/hay Longest particles < 1.5 in (4 cm) Moisture content of TMR Target 46 to 48 DM % --add water if necessary

You HAVE to chop the %(*(#*@&# straw/hay 3.5 lbs straw in 26 lb DM package 6 lbs straw in 27 lb DM package

Particle size recommendations using Penn State Particle Separator Screen Lactating cow TMR Dry cow or heifer TMR Corn silage Hay crop silage Straw/dry hay for TMR Top (> 0.75 sieve) 6 to10% 10 to 20% 5 to 10% 10 to 20% 33% Middle (0.31to 0.75 in sieve) 45to 55% 50 to 60% 45 to 65% 45 to 75% 33% Bottom (<0.31 in sieve) < 50% < 40% 30 to 40% 20 to 30% 33% Adapted from Penn State guidelines by T. Overton 9/2013

Commercial farm study prefreshtmr samples from 55 farms (Lawton and Overton, unpublished) 60 50 40 30 20 55 Farms Recommendation 10 0 Top Middle Pan

Top ten things to do for healthy and productive transition cows Manage macromineralnutrition/dcad of dry cows, especially in the last 2 to 3 weeks before calving Control energy intake in both far-off and close-up cows not too little, not too much Make sure supplying enough metabolizable protein before calving Get the feeding management right, every day Clean and comfortable housing and fresh water Manage social interactions/hierarchy Stocking density, commingling cows/heifers, group changes

https://ahdc.vet.cornell.edu/sects/nyschap/

NYSCHAP questionaire stocking density https://ahdc.vet.cornell.edu/sects/nyschap/

NYSCHAP questionaire general environment https://ahdc.vet.cornell.edu/sects/nyschap

NYSCHAP questionaire dry cow nutrition

https://ahdc.vet.cornell.edu/sects/nyschap /

Cooling during the entire dry period increases subsequent milk production (differences in kg/d above bars) + 3.6 + 1.9 + 5.2 + 7.5 + 2.3 + 5.0 + 6.3 + 1.2 + 2.6 Tao and Dahl. 2013. J. Dairy Sci96 :4079 4093

Heat stress during the prepartum period decreases calf birth weight Heatstressed Control % reduction Reference Tao and Dahl. 2013. J. Dairy Sci96 :4079 4093

Top ten things to do for healthy and productive transition cows Manage macromineralnutrition/dcad of dry cows, especially in the last 2 to 3 weeks before calving Control energy intake in both far-off and close-up cows not too little, not too much Make sure supplying enough metabolizable protein before calving Get the feeding management right, every day Clean and comfortable housing and fresh water Manage social interactions/hierarchy Manage cold stress and heat stress High quality forage and fermentable diets for fresh cows

BMR corn silage during the transition period 3 wk Prefresh Conventional corn silage hybrids BMR corn silage > 3 wkspost-fresh Conventional corn silage hybrids BMR corn silage Wks 3.5 15 Conv. CS Diet formulation goal: Keep all parameters the same with the exception of NDF digestibility. Diets formulated with CPM Dairy Stone et al., 2012. J. Dairy Sci. 95 :6665 6676

DMI of cows fed BMR or conventional corn silage during the transition period (Stone et al., 2012) Kg/day 30 25 20 15 10 5 0-25 -15-5 5 15 25 35 45 55 65 75 85 95 105 Days before or after calving BMR Control DMI d -14 to -1 14.3 vs. 13.2, P < 0.03 DMI d 0 21 20.2 vs.18.2, P < 0.001 Stone et al., 2012. J. Dairy Sci. 95 :6665 6676

3.5% FCM of cows fed BMR or Control corn silage during the transition period 55 50 45 Kg/d 40 35 BMRCS CCS 30 25 20 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Week of Lactation Variable CCS BMR CS Wk 1-3 Wk 4 15 SE P- CCS BMR value CS SE P- value Milk, kg 34.3 37.5 1.0 0.03 45.3 47.3 0.90 0.11 3.5% FCM, kg 38.8 42.9 1.5 0.06 46.7 49.4 1.1 0.09 Stone et al., 2012. J. Dairy Sci. 95 :6665 6676

Top ten things to do for healthy and productive transition cows Manage macromineralnutrition/dcad of dry cows, especially in the last 2 to 3 weeks before calving Control energy intake in both far-off and close-up cows not too little, not too much Make sure supplying enough metabolizable protein before calving Get the feeding management right, every day Clean and comfortable housing and fresh water Manage social interactions/hierarchy Manage cold stress and heat stress High quality forage and fermentable diets for fresh cows Strategically use feed additives/nutritional tools (the next talk)

Top ten things to do for healthy and productive transition cows Manage macromineralnutrition/dcad of dry cows, especially in the last 2 to 3 weeks before calving Control energy intake in both far-off and close-up cows not too little, not too much Make sure supplying enough metabolizable protein before calving Get the feeding management right, every day Clean and comfortable housing and fresh water Manage social interactions/hierarchy Manage cold stress and heat stress High quality forage and fermentable diets for fresh cows Strategically use feed additives/nutritional tools (the next talk) Implement cow- and herd-level monitoring programs

Types of monitoring Cow-level Seeking to make a diagnosis/treatment decision on an individual animal Herd-level Periodic (e.g., weekly) evaluation of a representative sample of cows in a sampling window of interest Using as a barometer of the herd

Potential herd level monitors for transition cow performance and health opportunities Most of dairy industry works on averages Challenges related to nutrition/non-nutritional factors cause increases in variation in DMI/performance/metabolism Almost impossible to detect some of these on farms Potential tools for use in monitoring variation in transition cow management and subclinical opportunities BHBA ( gold standard blood ketone) NEFA (best marker for negative energy balance) Calcium (getting renewed attention) Haptoglobin(acute-phase response/systemic inflammation) Rumination monitors? other electronic monitoring? Variation in early lactation milk yield / Transition Cow Index (TCI) Urine ph only if feeding anionic supplements, but can be great monitor of feeding management

Histogram of prevalence of subclinical ketosis (SCK) in 1,717 Holstein dairy cows undergoing repeated testing for ketosis from 3 to 16 DIM. A positive test was defined as a blood BHBA concentration of 1.2 to 2.9 mmol/l McArt et al., 2012. J. Dairy Sci. 95 :5056 5066

Approach for monitoring energy-related blood analytes in transition cows Sample size: ~ 15 to 20 cows Cows to sample Pre-partum: 14 to 2 days before calving Post-partum: 3 to 14 DIM Sample to take Serum (red top) or plasma (green top) Don t shake, keep cool What to do with sample? BHB: Precision Extra Meter for blood; milk Ketotest in US and Canada NEFA: Lab What to do with results Interpret % above cut-point More than 15% above cut-point indicates herd-level problem

Herd-level impacts of elevated NEFA/BHB Metabolite level Herd Alarm Associated with: PRE-Partum NEFA > 0.3 meq/l POST-Partum NEFA >0.6 a -0.7 b meq/l 15% +3.6% Disease incidence -1.2% Pregnancy rate -529 lbs ME305 milk (both heifers and cows) 15% +1.7% Disease incidence b -0.9% Pregnancy rate a Heifers: -640 lbs, Cows: -1,272 lbs BHB >10 a -12 b* mg/dl 15% *20% +1.8% Disease incidence b -0.8% Pregnancy rate b Heifers: -1,179 lbs*, Cows: -732 lbs a *15% of 15 = 2-3 animals Ospina et al., 2010

Prevalence of hyperketonemia-55 dairy farms Lawton and Overton, unpublished 60% 50% 40% Proportion of cows/herd with BHBA 1.2 mmol/l, 3-14 DIM 30% 20% 10% 0% <15% 15-25% 25-35% 35%

Monthly snapshot of herd milk production at test day 120 100 80 60 40 Days in milk at test day

Current field study (Overton, Burhans, and Nydam) Funding partners: NY Farm Viability Institute, USDA Multistate Hatch, Poulin Grain Inc) Objectives: Identify relationships between dry period nutritional strategy, fresh period nutritional strategy, and postpartum outcomes related to health, milk yield, and reproduction. Determine if interactions exist between dry period nutritional strategy, fresh period nutritional strategy, and biomarkers related to the above postpartum outcomes on commercial dairy farms (focus on NEFA, BHBA, and haptoglobin) Identify relationships of nonnutritionalfactors affecting cows during the dry period and early lactation (stocking density, commingling of cows and heifers, pen moves) with postpartum health, milk yield, reproduction, and biomarkers related to these outcomes on commercial dairy farms.

General study approach 72 herds total across four nutritional management categories Controlled energy one-group dry, fresh cows fed high diet Controlled energy one-group dry, fresh cows fed fresh diet first Step up (two-group) dry, fresh cows fed high diet Step up (two-group) dry, fresh cows fed fresh diet first High energy one/two group dry, fresh cows fed high diet High energy one/two group dry, fresh cows fed fresh diet first Follow cohort of cows (24 per herd) through dry period and early lactation BCS, lameness, calving score, blood biomarkers, metabolic disorders, milk production, reproduction TMR analyses and particle size as cows move through different groups/stages

Summary and conclusions Transition success is attainable!!!!! Can get there in a number of ways Sound integration of prepartumdiet formulation and feeding management are critical for success Macrominerals/DCAD in close-up rations Controlling energy intake in rations for far off and close up cows Consistency/managing particle length of prepartum diets Managing nonnutritional factors is critical for success Stocking density, group changes, cow/heifer interactions, heat stress Monitoring tools related to energy metabolism that are associated with clear downstream outcomes (i.e., BHBA and NEFA) can help identify opportunities for improved transition cow management

Thanks!! tro2@cornell.edu