Leading nutritionists at Carr’s Billington have formulated a new and improved high-performance dry cow feed – TRANSFORM-PRO™ – to better help cows recover, recharge and regenerate during the dry period.
Carefully planning the dry cow period will pay time and money dividends as dairy cows head into their next lactation, says Jimmy Goldie, Chief Technical Officer at Carr’s Billington.
“Our dry cow programme is principally designed to keep things simple without losing effectiveness. We aim to defy the complexities that the dry cow period can typically bring to dairy farmers by achieving optimum body condition, sooner. This centres around achieving the right balance of dry matter intake from forage and concentrate to deliver the optimum amount of energy, whilst also building on reserves of essential micronutrients ready for calving”.
Mr Goldie recommends that liver health status during the dry cow period, is as important as rumen health and gut health. Transform-Pro now exclusively incorporates MecoVit®, which offers a unique combination of rumen-protected microencapsulated nutrients.
“By introducing a higher plasma methionine along with Choline into the dry cow diet, we increase the level of beneficial amino acids and antioxidants in the liver cells, whilst supporting fat synthesis and transportation into the milk produced. The liver is where the first wave of the immune system kicks in, so if we can get the balance right here, we can help to reduce calving inflammation, providing a reservoir for increased and persistent milk production. Liver health is also linked to embryo survivability in the first 3 weeks after insemination”.
Transform-Pro with its highly digestible undegraded protein (DUP) status from AminoMax™, combined with high starch levels and high fermentable energy, continues to promote positive energy balance whilst also providing essential ingredients that support cow and calf health.
“We continue to include precise levels of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamin D3, bioavailable Availa® Zinc, Intellibond® Copper, Safmannan®, selenium yeast, and anionic salts to help boost natural defences against metabolic diseases and diseases that new-born calves are most susceptible to.
“It’s important to note that all the ingredients formulated into Transform-Pro are mutually inclusive in that they work together to promote a high-yielding and low-intervention lactation, as well as a vigorous calf”, concludes Mr Goldie.
Carr’s Billington will be launching TRANSFORM-PRO to the market at Dairy-Tech on April 7.
