Symposium: Strategies to improve feed efficiency

In his welcome words, at the symposium which was held in Paris, 27 – 28 June 2019, Cédric Faure, new head of the Ruminant Department of the CCPA Group, said “talking only about performance is not enough” and invited the participants to have “a wider vision of animal production taking into account sustainable development, respect for the environment and animal welfare, without forgetting consumer demand.”

A look at the products and results presented at the symposium:

1. Axion Start

About: A nutritional solution composed of ingredients improving cellular protection, in particular that of the mammary epithelial cells,” said Jean Pascard, Ruminant product manager of the CCPA Group.

Experiment and results: A trial conducted in 2018 with the University of Kansas (USA) with experimental groups of dairy cows (control versus Axion Start distributed for 60 days) resulted in a better milk performance over the first 150 days in both Axion Start groups and persistence of lactation in cows receiving Axion Start.

“In experimental conditions, our tests carried out on seven European dairy farms had resulted in an improvement in milk production of 6%, ie + 2.4 liters of milk per day, for the group supplemented with Axion Start”, said Jean Pascard. In other field observations, carried out in 2015 on 22 farms in the North and East of France representing a total of more than a thousand cows, had resulted in an average response of 1.5 to 2 liters of additional milk per day for the group of cows supplemented with Axion Start.

2. Axion ThermoPlus

About: Aims to limit the impact of heat stress in dairy and beef cattle, with the main benefit being the maintenance of feed intake, leading to an improvement in milk production (+ 1 to 2 liters of milk per cow) and growth performance (+100 to 200 g of ADG for beef cattle).

Experiment and results: A trial conducted in Morocco during the summer of 2018 on a farm of 58 cows at 39 kg of milk at the beginning of lactation resulted in an additional milk production of 1.5 liters/day for cows supplemented with Axion ThermoPlus compared to the control group. “Axion ThermoPlus is not a curative product and helps to mitigate heat stress. Its distribution is recommended before the arrival of heat,” concludes Jean Pascard.

3. VivActiv

About: A range of nutritional specialties of the CCPA Group that naturally increases protein protection in ruminants. “The VivActiv range is available in three products”, concluded Valentine Auroy, ruminant product manager CCPA Group: VivActiv Rumiviv for the protection of proteins, VivActiv Amiviv and VivActiv Turboviv for the valorization of energy.

Experiment and results: Vincent Ballard, CCPA Group ruminant specialist, concluded this symposium with a presentation of trial results on Rumiviv made at the University of South Dakota (USA). The joint experiment conducted with the CCPA Group focused on a group of 24 multiparous Holstein cows divided into three batches: control (soy), Soyplus (soybean protected according to the reference technique in the US) and Rumiviv. The 104 days of the trial were divided into an adaptation period of fourteen days, followed by three treatment periods of thirty days. The 104 days of the trial were divided into an adaptation period of fourteen days, followed by three treatment periods of thirty days.

The results of the trial show a linear decrease in milk yield and dry matter intake over the duration of the treatment, with a parallel increase in the fat and milk protein content. This experiment demonstrates milk production of 37.9 kg / day for the Rumiviv lot against 36.0 for the control group, or the milk efficiency reported as milk/dry matter ingested (3.28 for the Rumiviv lot versus 3.07 for the control group).

Also, the corrected milk production (ECM) was greater for Rumiviv (39.7 kg / d) and Soyplus cows (39.3 kg/d) in comparaison to Soya (37.1 kg / d).