Feeding the dairy herd at Morsan involves the use of as many locally grown feedstuffs as possible, supplemented with commodities and additives that make economic sense. At Morsan we respect the five pillars of profitable production-management, environment, genetics, health and nutrition.
Simply put, there is no magic in achieving high milk production-breed good cows, take care of them, feed them what they need and they will respond. With this philosophy in mind rations are built around farm raised forages which are strategically fed to appropriate groups in a manner such as to maximize their use.
High quality forage is the start of a good feeding program.
At Morsan over 2,000 acres are dedicated to growing the highest quality forages possible from those varieties most suited to the area. There are 300 acres of alfalfa (starbuck), 800 acres of fall rye (prima) and 1,200 acres of barley (vulcan). We expect to harvest 7-9 tonnes of alfalfa per acre depending on whether we get 2 or 3 cuts per year. Alfalfa is harvested at 20% flower to achieve optimum yield, quality, and fibre. Barley is normally seeded the middle of May and harvested when the kernel is in the dough stage to maximize digestion. Approximately 800 acres are utilized for double cropping. This land is seeded to fall rye in September and harvested in June. The rye grain silage is harvested to fall rye in September and harvested in June. The rye grain silage is harvested as soon as it heads out to maximize digestion and protein content. Following the rye harvest the land is then directly seeded to barley which is harvested in September, again at the dough stage.
Forages are harvested to achieve good yields without sacrificing quality. Once a quality forage product is harvested it needs to be properly stored. At the dairy there are 6 bunker silos that each hold 2200 tonnes of barley silage and 3 bunker silos that each hold 1600 tonnes of haylage. Dry hay for the dairy is sourced locally and stored ina 130ft x 50ft shed with a capacity of about 450 tonnes. At the young stock facility there are 5 bunker silos, 3 that hold 1200 tonnes each and 2 that hold 3,000 tonnes each.
All rations fed at the dairy and young stock facility are Total Mixed Rations.
A modern computerized mill at the dairy is used to mix non forage ration components for each group at the dairy. These non-forage components are added to the TMR mixer in a mixed state. The mill has two 6000 bushel bins, four 4000 bushel bins, two 1,000 bushel bins, two 500 bushel bins and tote storage for 30 bags. This mill allows the timely purchase, storage and utilization of individual feed commodities. Having the ability to add and remove individual commodities optimizes the economics of milk production and animal health.
To achieve maximum growth and production all the cattle at Morsan farms are grouped according to a combination of age, size, body condition score, reproductive status and stage of lactation where applicable.
Calves are born in the maternity area where they are delivered in a clean and dry environment. After receiving 2 feedings of colostrums within a 2 hours of birth, they are moved to a controlled environment facility where they are house in individual pens. Calves are fed pasteurized milk and free choice calf starter in this facility. To control contagious calf-hood diseases an all in – all out stocking model is used. Calves are weaned at 6-8 weeks of age and are moved to a separate young stock rearing facility where they will remain until 7 months of gestation. At the young stock facility calves remain on calf starter to which the lactating TMR ration is added. After about 7 weeks calves are switched exclusively to the lactating TMR and remain on this ration until they are 6 months of age. At 6 months, calves are fed a breeding heifer TMR until they are confirmed pregnant at which time they are then switched to a pregnant heifer TMR. Even though there are only 3 main rations at the young stock facility there are 14 groups to allow grouping by size so that competition is minimized and growth maximized.
There are 4 rations fed at the dairy, dry cow TMR, fresh cow TMR, lactating cow TMR and pre-dry cow TMR. Dairy cows have different requirements depending on their stage of lactation and by providing diets that are balanced to meet their needs, health, reproduction and production are optimized. Social stress is always a factor when switching groups, therefore diet changes for energy and protein are minimal so that nutritional stress is negligible.
All feed at Morsan is delivered by a modern trick-mounted TMR mixer. A professional feeder operates the truck and carefully monitors intakes and refusals. Feestuffs and TMR mixes are periodically analyzed to insure proper balance. There is also continual monitoring of the cattle for body condition score, production, health, reproduction and economics by the farm manager and nutrition consultant. Any performance outside of normal is analyzed and changes are made to the ration if nutrition is considered to be a factor.
Ration balancing at both facilities is done by Dr. Jack Reeb of Selkirk, Manitoba. Dr Reeb has over 30 years of experience in dairy cow health and reproduction. Dr. Reeb also owned and managed a 100 cow dairy herd for 7 years where he gained a lot of practical experience in feeding dairy cows. Using a team approach to nutrition monitoring Dr. Reeb works closely with the staff at Morsan to insure optimum performance in all areas. Involving the staff at Morsan in the nutritional decision making process insures compliance of nutritional changes and prompt reporting of nutritional inadequacies. Dr Reeb’s guidance has allowed cattle at Morsan to achieve consistent performance with excellent health and reproduction.
Dr. Reeb also delivers embryo transfer services to Morsan. Dr. Reeb has been performing embryo transfer in dairy cattle since 1980 and his business, Central Canadian Genetics Ltd., is certified by the Canadian Embryo Transfer Association and Accredited by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Dr. Reeb offers on farm embryo sexing and export processing. Dr. Reeb periodically visits Morsan, to collect and process embryos gives him a chance to closely inspect the cattle and their performance. At each visit a visual assessment of the herd is made and problems relating to nutrition are discussed and solutions formulated.
