Feeding the ProCross cow – is it different?

Back in July I joined a farmer trip to Sweden, courtesy of Viking Genetics UK, to take a closer look at herds that were milking ProCross cows, with the intention of speaking to a fellow nutritionist, about feeding ProCross cows, while I was there and was it any different.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t make it the morning we were supposed to catch up, due to the needs of a client but we have caught up since, via email & TEAMS to discuss if there are any differences for feeding ProCross cows, compared to a Holstein.

I was then asked by Viking Genetics UK to speak at a farm walk they held at the end of August, in Somerset, and so before I did, I also spoke to a few people in the USA to get their opinion, given that this was where the ProCross breeding programme began.

From the conversations I had and the information I found, I found it was hard to be able to offer a different message than people would have already heard before. Let me explain.

In the US there had been a study conducted by the University of Minnesota that found ProCross cows are more feed efficient when fed a less “traditional” diet, but what does this mean to us here in the UK?

The study compared a traditional “USA TMR”, which compared to what most would feed here in the UK, is higher in starch and lower in fibre, so drives liquid milk production and not solids.  The comparison diet was what they considered to be a “Higher Fibre, Lower Starch TMR”.

However here in the UK, and here in the South West with many local cheese producers, and milk processors wanting milk solids, we would, or should be, feeding what they considered the “Higher Fibre, Lower Starch TMR” anyway.  You might feed a higher starch diet if you were on a liquid milk contract, as starch drives milk production.

The “Higher Fibre, Lower Starch TMR” diet in the US uses corn & alfalfa silages and less concentrates. We are obviously using grass & maize silages and/or wholecrop.

When comparing starch & NDF levels in these diets they are comparable to where I think a diet, if chasing solids, should be anyway, so less than 20% Starch and a minimum 34% NDF. Both diets in the study where 16.8% CP (Crude Protein).

Therefore, is this study really relevant to UK conditions?

The first question must be is your diet right at home anyway? If the basics aren’t right, then nothing else you do is going to work! I ask this as I’ve been asked to visit farms in the past where they were feeding 15kg/cow/day in the parlour!  We are feeding ruminants not monogastrics!

So having looked at this study and how I feel it closely reflects what I believe we should be feeding in the UK I spoke with colleagues and contacts in the US and Sweden and the general consensus was:

“There was no big secret for the answer to this question, it was that there wasn’t any real difference between feeding a Holstein and a ProCross cow, provided the diet is correctly balanced to start with.”

The ProCross cow is a more robust cow, it doesn’t need some of the “extras” that some Holsteins need and has the ability to eat more forage. So really it came down to the production of quality forages so that you can feed more of that with less supplementation, hence why I found it was hard to be able to offer a different message than people would have already heard before.

So, we are back to the message we’ve all heard before that we all need to produce more quality forage! This is why I struggled with what to say before the farm walk, as how do you retell a message that has been said time and time again?

So therefore, do you know what your forage DMI is this winter? You should be looking at a minimum 65% of your outside diet so a minimum of 14-15kg DMI from forage. While I’ve had higher yielding Holsteins at nearly 17kg DMI from forage, I’ve had a ProCross herd feed up to 19kg DMI from forage, but this is because we had a mixture of quality forages! Grass, Maize and Wholecrop!

It costs you to produce quality forage, but what is it costing you to produce sub-standard forage? Probably about the same, and then you have to add the extra concentrates on top!

Rather than repeating myself why not read my article from March 2023:

How do I grow more quality forage?

Then for advice on reseeding why not listen to the podcast from July 2022:

Chewinthecud Podcast | ChewintheCud Season 1: Episode 1 - Grass Reseeding

Updating one of the calculations from How do I grow more quality forage?

"The difference in Yield and ME between varieties is vast and only the best performing varieties get on the recommended list. For example, the highest grazing ME Intermediate perennial ryegrass tetraploid on the list produces 128,520 MJ/Ha whilst the lowest produces 111, 860 MJ/Ha which translates to a potential difference of 3,143 litres of milk! At a milk price of 35p/l this equates to £1,100 extra milk, per hectare if you choose the higher performing variety! When there is only usually only about £25-£40/Ha difference in the seed price, between the top and the bottom on the recommended list is this not worth the extra investment?"

Once you’ve established a new reseed, are you fertilising it correctly, to ensure the best growth when 84% of UK grassland is short of sulphur.

Chewinthecud Podcast | ChewintheCud Season 1: Episode 9 - Grassland & Sulphur

Using Sulphur improves the NUE (Nitrogen Usage Efficiency) of nitrogen but also is required for protein production as it is a limiting factor for amino acids such as methionine.

Once you have the grass you need good harvesting management, be it grazing or ensiling.

For grazing, measure regularly with a plate meter and record to be able to make decisions for your grazing management. I always have a plate meter in the car, and can help set up AgriNET, and offer advice on maintaining your grazing wedge.

When ensiling, ensure it is harvested correctly, including rolled correctly, use an additive where appropriate, especially if a heavy clover ley. Then make sure its sheeted correctly, ideally with an oxygen barrier sheet.

For more on additives why not listen to another of our podcasts:

Chewinthecud Podcast | ChewintheCud Season 1: Episode 10 - Silage Additives: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Then once ensiled ensure correct clamp management, keeping a clean face. With regular sampling to ensure a correctly balanced diet.

Could you consider wholecrop over maize as this has advantages of more fibre with less starch, when you don’t need the starch of maize, if you are wanting solids? It could be grown with some protein i.e. peas or vetch, harvested and be ready to use at the beginning of winter, better for reseeds (particularly clovers) however the biggest disadvantage is you don’t get the same yields as maize per acre.

To aid with more forage one suggestion repeated frequently would be the inclusion of molasses to the diet, as this helps intakes and the large majority of UK dairy diets are short on sugars anyway.

A cow at grazing will be ingesting sugars of up to 20% DM, a level at which the rumen microbial population is evolved to utilise. When we ferment grass into silage we reduce the sugar content considerably, resulting in many housed cattle diets with a total intake of only 2-3% DM sugar. Just as in the soil, sugar has a vital role for stimulating microbial growth which in turn has an effect on rumen efficiency. Microbial growth is directly linked to microbial protein production, thus allowing a reduction in the need for expensive bypass protein sources. The amino acid (AA) balance in microbial protein is more suited to the production of milk and meat than AA supplied by soya or other plant-based alternatives – again a biological process we can look to maximise when farming regeneratively.

Cows and sheep supplemented with 6% DM sugars in the diet show increased fibre digestion and dry matter intake, without negatively affecting rumen pH. Milk solids are also positively affected by sugar supplementation, a result of improved rumen health, leading to improved herd health. Find out more by either reading the article on feeding molasses, or listen to our latest podcast on feeding sugars:

Should I feed my dairy cows molasses?

Chewinthecud Podcast | ChewintheCud Season 2: Episode 03 - Sugars - Improving Rumen Health

One of my US contacts believes:

"ProCross  represents a type of cow that metabolically performs like an older era of Holsteins."

 ProCross genetics are closer to how the cow was designed to eat and function (i.e. eat roughage that humans don’t and make milk which is nutrient rich food for humans).  They also believe the shorter stature, but similar weight when compared to Holsteins, could be related to a larger rumen and a greater total digestion area for absorption of nutrients.

This comes back to my comment earlier that we are feeding ruminants and not monogastrics.

So, to sum it up there are some subtle differences between feeding a ProCross & Holstein cow, but this relies on you producing quality forage and giving her the opportunity to maximise her production.  If you don’t produce the quality forages, you will still need to supplement to ensure a correctly balanced diet.

While we’ve been talking nutrition it is worth remembering that “As nutritionists, even our best diets can only influence at most 25% of the production potential of your herd, it is the accompanying advice in relation to water, light, air, rest, comfort & space that cows require which makes up the other 75%.”  - This is a quote from me as a CowSignals® Master

Therefore, ensure your cow’s environment is as comfortable as possible as this will benefit your cows and therefore you! For example, every extra hour lying is an extra litre of milk!

What can CowSignals® do for me? I am now running CowSignals® courses over the next couple of months, with more planned in the new year. So if you’d like to join the waiting list, please let me know to be kept up to date with news & dates for future courses.

If you would like to discuss anything in this article further, please contact FAR registered Beef & Dairy Nutritionist & CowSignals® Master Andrew Jones on 07534 684782 or click the "Contact Us Now" button below.