On-farm interventions with Polygain assists dairy cows to recover from milk production drops

Summary

• Significant production drops occur in dairy cows in cows from time to time.

• As part of regular monitoring on working Australian dairy farms, Polygain was included as an intervention option.

• After adding Polygain to the diet, milk production returned to prior levels.

Background

Robotic milking systems record daily milk production volumes for each cow. As part of the ongoing monitoring of cows, farmers are alerted when there is a sudden drop in milk production. The cause of these drops are not often known, but farmers assess a range of options to care for cows.

Polygain was distributed to farms with a robotic milking system following successful work on other Australian dairy farms. Farmers assessed whether Polygain was a suitable intervention based on cow management best practice. If approved by the farmer, Polygain was added to the cow's diet and milk production changes were noted.

Examples

In many instances, the addition of Polygain was enough to restore milk production to prior levels. See below for two examples of Polygain supporting a recovery in milk production.

Polygain dose given on 17, 18 & 19 September (shown by green dots)

Polygain dose given on 29 September (shown by a green dot)

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