A new dry cow management system pays dividends with improved animal health and a good return on investment.

The Myerscough family run a 250 head Holstein herd at Brook Farm in Lancashire. The herd are out at grass from late April to late summer and are housed over the winter period. They calve all year round.

Calving issues came to a head last year, so the Myerscough’s changed their dry cow protocol and have seen some significant benefits. Mark Myerscough, comments, “We were having issues with our dry cows, particularly with milk fever, (we actually had problems with sub-clinical milk fever but couldn’t see it at the time). As a result, we were giving calcium boluses to every third calver. We always seemed to be firefighting and we tried lots of different solutions. We were on a semi DCAD system with Magnesium Chloride which we saw varying success with. Sometimes it was good, then we had a run of real bad performance with it. We looked at dry cow nuts but looking at the raw materials, they didn’t seem value for money. The turning point came when a cow came down with milk fever and it never got up, we lost it and thought this can’t go on.”

Table 1. Cost of Clinical and Subclinical Milk Fever Prior to system change

Annual calvings	238
Clinical milk fever cases (Prior to a change in system)	20
Cost of clinical milk fever per case	£209
Cost of Sub-clinical milk fever cases per cow in herd*	£60
Total Cost	£19,483

The Myerscough’s had been working with Ruminant Specialist, Mark Gorst of Advanced Nutrition, who recommended a change in management of the dry cows, to improve performance and to fit with the recent expansion in the herd at Brook Farm. They needed a solution that worked but one that was also easy to negate any increase in workload.

The focus began with the dry cow groups, as transition management is one of the most critical points in the cow’s production cycle, it was the obvious place to start. This period can be a point where cows succumb to metabolic issues that can affect the cow throughout all her lactations. As the herd had grown fairly rapidly, the Myerscough’s were keen to make sure they were on top of transition management to keep milk fevers and metabolic issues low, so the costs of treatment did not get out of hand. Alongside this they also had the ongoing pandemic to contend with. Staffing levels could change and fluctuate, meaning that any system they did implement needed to be easy for staff to follow. The Myerscough’s had read and discussed a lot about X-Zelit as a central part to dry cow management systems, with other farmers recommending it. After a few months of considered thought, introducing X-Zelit seemed like an obvious thing to try.

Mark comments, “I was reluctant to introduce X-Zelit, purely from a cost perspective. At that point I didn’t fully realise this would be far outweighed by the health benefits, increased production and a reduction in treatment and labour costs.”

DC X-Zel, a nut containing X-Zelit, was introduced to the herd in May of last year. Prior to this, a high straw diet had been used utilising the protein blend on the farm to help the cows through the last 3 weeks of pregnancy and into lactation.

Subclinical hypocalcaemia is the result of low blood calcium at calving. Unlike full blown milk fever, it’s not easy to spot. The correct blood calcium level at calving is the most important factor to ensure good healthy start to the lactation. Calcium levels are crucial for proper muscle function, this aids uterine tone making calvings easier and aids teat sphincter closure. It also pays a pivotal role in supporting the immune system. At calving there is a sudden demand for calcium to produce colostrum, this can drop blood calcium levels which can impair the cow’s health and productivity.

X-Zelit binds calcium in the gut thus stimulating the cow’s own hormonal system to mobilise body reserves creating a perfect calcium balance at calving. The result is a dramatic drop in levels of clinical and subclinical milk fever, as well as increased health, fertility and post calving energy.

X-Zelit also allows for easy dry cow management which was a crucial point for the Myerscoughs’. The DC X-Zel nut which is simple to feed either in a trough or top dressed on the forage. It’s simply fed two weeks prior to calving and suits any type of diet.

The herd was turned out to pasture in late April, housed in early October, and was supplemented with TMR overnight during this period. The dry cows were kept in two groups, far off, grazed and then housed approximately a month from calving, moving onto a low energy density forage based diet, DC X-Zel being added for the last 14 days of the dry period.

Mark comments, “It’s been easy to implement X-Zelit, we just top dress the close to diet with the nuts. The only other change has been to adjust the grouping of our dry cows. This has worked well for us and we just have the near too group next to the milking herd so we can just push them through to next door.”

“Our milk fevers have been significantly reduced and also, what wasn’t obvious before, is that it’s had a major impact on sub-clinical issues. Before they really lost their fizz after calving, now they just get up and go, intakes post-calving are much better. Calving is just easier and really noticeable as we hardly have to assist anymore – it makes a lot of difference especially when you are calving at night - there is a lot less labour involved. We have very few retained cleansings or other metabolic issues and we’ve halved the number of calves that are still born from 8% - 4%”

The benefits also expand into increased milk yields and conception rates, even with good fertility and conception rates prior to X-Zelit, its introduction has shown a positive financial benefit.

Table 2 Milk Yield and Fertility Benefits Post X-Zelit

Fertility	Days	Cost per day	Saving per calving	Annual Calvings		Total
Reduction in calving to conception days	6	£5.00	£30.00	238		£7,150
Yield	Per Cow (Litres)	Lactation Length	Increase yield per cow	No. Cows	Annual Extra Milk (litres)	Total
Daily Yield Increase	2	305	610	238	145381	£40,707

Mark Myerscough comments, “The new dry cow system works really well for us, we’ve got the dry cow grouping right and then they go off into the milking group. Using X-Zelit means that calcium levels are correct post calving to support the subsequent lactation.”

Table 3 Diet Cost Comparison and ROI

	Per Cow	Annual calvings	Total Cost
Cost of dry cow diet prior to X-Zelit*	£95	238	£22,610
Cost of the dry cow diet with X-Zelit*	£114	238	£27,132
Increase in cost of diet using X-Zelit	£19	238	£4,522
Additional income from yield and fertility			£47,856
Net annual gain from using X-Zelit			£43,334

*These costs refer to the costs of the diet for the full dry cow period.

With an 85% reduction in milk fever and sub-clinical milk fever cases and resultant decreases in case costs, the Myerscough’s are looking at a 5:1 return on investment.

Following a year of implementing X-Zelit as part of the dry cow system, the Myerscough’s are in no doubt that the cost of feeding it gives them value for money, especially considering yield and fertility rates were already at a good level.

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