Feeding management is critical to dairy cattle operations because it is one of the largest expenses and impacts production, profitability, and cow health and well-being.
There are four main objectives of feeding management:
To meet the nutrient requirements of the dairy cows for maintenance, production, and reproduction.
To minimize feed costs.
To optimize milk production and quality.
To improve cow health and well-being.
To meet these objectives, dairy producers need to have a good understanding of dairy cattle nutrition, feed ingredients, and ration formulation. They also need to be able to effectively manage the feed delivery, storage, and mixing operations on their farm.
