Performance without compromise
Pushing for yield without compromising the health of the cow. That’s the key to success when feeding high yielding cows, according to Paul Turnock, who runs the 300 strong Jeffrons Heys herd of pedigree Holsteins on his 540 acre farm near Audley in Staffordshire.
The cows are milked three times a day and average 10,200 litres with 4.1% butterfat and 3.3% protein.
To achieve these impressive figures Paul feeds a 60:40 grass silage to maize TMR that also includes bread, potatoes, trafford gold and rolled barley. A homemade blend comprising soya, rape, protected fat, minerals, salt, limestone and Actisaf is added and cows are topped up with a small amount of cake in the parlour.
Paul has been including Actisaf in his ration for the last four years on the advice of his nutritionist. He says, “Feeding high yielders is all about fine tuning and attention to detail. Adding Actisaf to the ration ensures good rumen health and it fits well into our feeding regime, giving us highly productive yet healthy animals.”