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. / Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Canadian Dairy Commission, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, OMAFRA, Canadian Foundation for Innovation, Ontario Research Fund
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:OGU.10214/6580 |
| Date | 25 April 2013 |
| Creators | Sova, Amy |
| Contributors | DeVries, Trevor |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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