Associations between herd-level feeding and housing management practices, ration characteristics and production of free-stall housed dairy cows

Abstract

A cross sectional study of 22 commercial free stall farms was conducted to investigate associations between feeding and housing practices, ration variability, and measures of productivity of group-housed dairy cows. Farms were visited for 7 consecutive days in both summer and winter to collect measures related to management, milk production, environment, and ration characteristics. Feeding 2x/d compared to 1x/d was associated with greater group-average milk yield, DMI and less sorting against long particles. Provision of increased feed bunk space was associated with increased milk fat% and lower group-average SCC. Higher daily variability in energy content and % long particles in the ration was associated with lower group-average milk yield and efficiency of milk production. Overall, these results suggest that herd-level feeding and housing practices which increase access to consistent feed can improve group-level productivity and ultimately improve herd profitability.