September 5, 2017 at 3:32 p.m.
Heieie herd production soars with quality feed, cow comfort
The Heieie family milks 120 cows near Brooten, Minn. They are pictured, front row, from left, Max (7), Gunner (7) and Annika (9). Back row, from left, Sara, Todd and employee, Delmar Wengar. The Heieies’ herd average last year was 30,237 pounds of milk.<br /><!-- 1upcrlf -->PHOTO BY MISSY MUSSMAN
Brooten Minn.; Stearns County
126 cows
What is your current herd average, butterfat and protein? The herd's production is 30,237 pounds of milk, 1,191 pounds of fat and 925 pounds of protein.
How many times a day do you milk? If you don't milk 3x a day have you tried it in the past? Explain. We milk three times a day; we have been doing it for six years now.
Do you use BST? If so what is your protocol? We do use BST. If a cow has any history of mastitis or high somatic cell counts she is kept off the list, otherwise we start them on BST after they have reached their peak milk and have dropped off in milk by 10-20 lbs. I like them to reach their peak milk naturally and not push them over that. They are taken off BST three weeks before they are dried off.
Do you contract your milk? Has it been successful for you? We don't currently contract milk. We have tried it with mixed results.
Describe your housing and milking facility? Cows are milked in a double-8 parallel parlor and housed in a compost bedding pack barn. They are divided into two groups - a high and low producing group.
What is the composition of your ration? What has been one of your most recent changes that has been successful for you? The cows are fed a TMR mix once a day. five pounds of dry hay, one pound of straw, haylage, corn silage, dry corn and a protein/mineral mix that is put together by our nutritionist. We tweak it some but mainly try to keep it pretty consistent all year long. We saw a pretty big jump in production when we started using BMR corn about four years ago. Last year, because of the very late spring, we planted an early variety conventional corn instead of the BMR and we have been down at least five pounds a cow since we started feeding it. This spring we went back to the BMR.
Through the years you've been farming what change has created the biggest jump in your herd average? Milking three times a day.
What is your herd health program? We vaccinate cows with Bovishield after calving, Scour Guard and a Clostridium vaccine at dry off and J-5 once a year. We do preg checks monthly with DHIA and also once a month with our veterinarian. The hoof trimmer comes out every 9 months.
What does your dry cow and transition program consist of? Cows have a 50 day dry period. They are all in one group getting a TMR mix of straw, grass hay, corn silage and mineral. Fresh cows go directly to the high group pen, they don't start off milking a lot but we have very few problems and in a week's time they are usually milking well.
What role does genetics play in your production level and what is your breeding program? We AI all our animals; we've never had a bull on the farm since maybe the 50s. I pick bulls with good type and positive components. I don't worry much about the milk pounds; cows have been bred to milk for so long now that I think if the nutrition and environment are good they will produce milk. If a cow hasn't been bred by 65 days she is put on an ovsync program and timed bred. They also get a GNRH shot a week before their preg check and if they are found open they will get Lutalyse and be time bred again.
What would you say are the three most important factors for you that helped you attain your current herd average? It always takes good feed and a balanced ration for one. Cow comfort is very important; with our compost bedding pack the cows are very comfortable and have very few feet and leg problems. We also have very good reliable help - we all try to pay attention to details and take good care of the animals. Every year, we try to do something to help the comfort and ease stress on the cows. The last two years we have added sprinklers in the holding pen and the feed alleys which has helped reduce heat stress on them a bit. This year we put rubber mats in the parlor to make it easier on their feet as they turn in the parlor.[[In-content Ad]]
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