Farm Rations Evaluation Form

This service in available at a charge of £250.00 payable by cheque to: Greenlands Nutrition and forwarded to: Liz Russell, Greenlands, Jepps Lane, Barton, Preston, PR3 5AQ. The Diets supplied are based on the information supplied. The more detailed the information provided, the more accurate the rations will be and the more outstanding the results on your farm. A farm visit is also available and is charged on an hourly basis + mileage at 34p per mile.

Rations usually need to be reviewed at turn out in the Spring and Late Summer, (August/ September) when Dry Matter Intakes are known to fluctuate and silage needs to be buffer fed to maintain intake to support consistent yields. Rationing at this time prepares early for winter feeding which can be established at the same time ready for the cows lying in.

Where rationing is concerned, always try to be one jump ahead of the cows and prepare early.

Six months projection from (insert date)
Cows in herd
No. of cows milking
Current annual yield
Annual yield estimated potential
Heifers age at calving and size (kgs)
Cows average size (kgs)
Describe calving pattern
Percentage heifer replacements p.
Acres or hectares available to milking herd
Describe grass leys and reseeding policy
Grazing methods – during summer months also describe grass length, quantity and quality.
Silage – type, grass, maize, whole crop- Submit analysis. This is essential for an accurate ration.
Type of feeding system. Please describe in detail e.g. Trough feeding, self feed, ring feeders, Grouping of cows, include any other relevant details.
Farm, land type, height above sea level, directions i.e. facing north, south etc.
Concentrate feeding facilities, e.g. parlour, out of parlour feeders, all TMR.
Storage facilities for bought in feed, e.g. load sizes, bins, any facility for bulk wet feeds.
Please indicate blend preference i.e. straights bought individually, or access to bought in mixed blends etc.
Social grouping of cows e.g. cows & heifers together or separate, highs, mids, lates, dry cows.
Any preferences for amount to milk to feed for in the trough for the different groups.
Milk quality required and dairy supplied.
Dry Cow facilities, Summer/Winter e.g. are they split off. Are they in a far off dry cow group and a near to group (21 days to calving)
Indicate procedure after calving.
Indicate any problems arising after calving or on calving as this affects projected appetite and speed at which cows reach peak yield.
Parlour feeding, if relevant – can you slowly build up cake via computer feeding.
Describe silage physical quality, e.g. chop length, any heating at the face or waste – is this offered to cows.
Silage intakes per cow per day – a reasonable estimation is helpful.
Cow type, e.g. holstein, friesian, jersey.
Any other relevant information which will increase accuracy of diet.
Are any of the following disorders apparent in your herd: Looseness after calving, retained placenta, twisted stomach, appetite problems after calving, milk fever, slow fever, high cell counts, mastitis, dermatitis, or other metabolic problems – please list.
Name
Address
Post Code
Telephone Number
Fax Number
Email