Out-of-parlour feeders may still have their place after all

he last decade has seen a rise in the use of TMR systems, firstly because of the health benefits of feeding little and often; secondly the reduced price of straights and blends against compounds; and thirdly the increasing use of mixed forages on farms.

More recently, we have experienced rapidly rising machinery costs, volatile fuel prices and increasing difficulties associated with sourcing and keeping reliable farm labour. As a response to these pressures, we are seeing increasing interest in out-of-parlour feeders again. Out-of-parlour feeders allow concentrates to be targeted to individual cows and fed little and often. A further benefit is the ability to feed two types of dairy cake, either via a combination of OPF and parlour feeding or through dual out-of-parlour systems.

By this means, early lactation cows can be fed a higher proportion of a lower protein, balanced energy cake to minimise rumen pH depression and control peak yield, with the aim of helping to improve fertility, long term yield and longevity. Later lactation or ‘lazy’ cows, on the other hand, can be fed a higher protein cake to slow milk yield decline in mid and late lactation. The growing use of robots also encourages such systems because cows fed largely on TMR have little incentive to visit the robot when fed diets above M+25 litres. Milk yields respond to milking frequency, which is in turn linked to cows’ drive to eat palatable and relatively easily available concentrates in the robot feeder.

Our dairy costings suggest OPF customers are often among the most profitable when measured using margin over purchased feed because, although they have a higher concentrate feed cost per tonne, this is usually offset by their significantly lower feed rates.

This does not take into account the higher fixed costs associated with extra power, machinery and labour required in the more complex TMR system compared to a simple trough-fed silage and OPF system. Contrary to popular belief, cows are not particularly good at eating to maintain a neutral energy balance. Many herds with a one-diet TMR have too many cows that over-eat in late lactation, which can lead to overfat cows at calving and increase average concentrate use per litre. This could be avoided by having milkers managed in two or more feeding groups, split according to yield/stage of lactation. But for many small-to-medium sized family farms, this may not be practical or cost effective.

To look closer at the economics, we have produced a costings model comparing 150 cow OPF and TMR units (see table below). Feed costs are based on those prevalent last autumn and may look high with reducing raw material costs, but the differentials would still be valid – even now.

For the TMR model, we have used three bins to hold such things as crushed cereals, beet pulp and a soya/rape mix. This would be cheaper than costing in the erection of a building for straights storage. For the OPF model, the silage is taken directly to the cows with a tractor and grab. Most data shows larger farms can be more profitable because of economies of scale with labour and machinery. The more litres you send the more you can dilute your fixed costs (power and machinery costs average between 1.5 and 2ppl more for herds with under 100 cows compared to herds of 300-plus). Costings models also show that, with herds of over 200 cows, TMR systems really come into their own and can be as profitable as OPF. It is fair to say the larger the herd, the more attractive TMR becomes. Two farmers who are having particular success with OPF are Derek Haworth and Ian Blamire. Derek Haworth lives at Rose Farm, Pilling, Lancashire and achieves good yields while maximising milk from home-grown forage.

Good milk quality is vital because the milk is sold to Butlers, a local cheese processor, which is why he has a mixed Holstein and Ayrshire herd. Currently, cows are averaging 29 litres per day, and annual yields are 8324 litres per cow at 4.47% fat and 3.37% protein. The concentrate feed rate is 0.27kg/litre with 4022 litres achieved from forage.

Out-of-parlour feeders allow each cow to be treated as an individual in Derek Howarth's mixed Ayrshire/Holstein herd where yields average 8324 litres at 4.47% fat and 3.37% protein. The concentrate rate is 0.27kg/litre with 4022 litres taken from forage.

In winter, 25kg grass silage and 18kg maize is fed through a forage box, a 21% cake is fed in parlour balanced with a 20% compound in the OPFs. Each cow is treated as an individual and is fed to yield.

As soon as conditions allow, Derek will zero graze any time from March through until November, even some times in summer if he believes grazed forage intakes are not being maximised.

Ian and Gillian Blamire farm at Mid Whinnow, near Carlisle, and have lifted rolling annual milk yields to 9723 litres per cow at 4.02% fat and 3.15% protein. This winter, the ration consists of 33kg grass silage, 5kg wholecrop and 2kg crimped wheat or barley fed in a trough. Three kilos of 21% protein cake is fed flat rate in the parlour and a 14ME 16% protein cake fed to yield in the OPF. The cows are averaging 33 litres per day and the 16% diet has been introduced to contain peak yields and help fertility. Typical annual feed rates are around 0.35kg/litre with 2500 litres coming from forage, although this year the feed rate is slightly higher at 0.37kg/litre with 2005 litres produced from forage thanks to a short grazing season.

Many herds producing such yields on TMR systems have feed rates between 0.4 and 0.45kg/litre.

In summary, there are plusses and minuses for both TMR and OPF systems and both can work well. Larger dairies, particularly in good crop-growing areas and with plenty of storage options, will enjoy success with TMR. Small-to medium-sized family farms, and those with limited feed storage and labour availability, could benefit more from adopting OPF systems to minimise fixed costs and maximise cow performance from this simple system.

IMPORTANT - The copyright of this article resides with the Dairy Farmer magazine.

This article was first published in the March 2009 issue of the Dairy Farmer magazine. It has been reproduced here with their kind permission.

For more information on ATL out-of-parlour feeding systems, please contact ATL using the Contact Us page or by telephone on 01638 731212.