DHI: Your Cows Are Talking To You

"Oh No. I don't need another report!" How times have changed from the days of the single report from Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) on one large sheet of blue paper. With new and improved computer programs, it seems there is a report or chart or graph available for everything one can measure about a herd or cow on test day.

Maybe we should look at the information gathered on DHI test day as the cows' monthly opportunity to communicate with "the boss".

For an attentive herdsman, cows can communicate a lot of information. Sometimes they communicate better than others. This is especially evident when the water supply quit at midnight and nobody had a drink by the time the morning milking rolled around; or you are a few minutes late opening the door that is the signal they are to go out for their morning exercise. Cows can be pretty vocal in their communication!

DHI comes into the picture for the more subtle points of communication. Some things cows just are not vocal about and the signs are harder to recognize. DHI reports help.

Production

Use production information for all its worth! Start with the average daily production for mature cows and for first lactation. Are this averages up or down or the same as last test? Which cows have dropped, or increased, the most. Has the level of components: fat and protein % changed since last test? If so, what groups of cows are affected? Has there been a feeding change? If this is the case maybe you should call your feed rep to have the ration re-balanced.

Changes in production by groups such as stage of lactation or lactation number are important in managing the milking herd. Differences between first lactation and later lactation cows for example may point out problems in feeding management or feed delivery. First lactation cows are less aggressive at feeding, have proportionately lower intake than mature cows and sometimes show signs of feeding and management problems before the rest of the herd.

Somatic Cell Count

Individual cow Somatic Cell Count is a must for managing a herd for low herd SCC. Many producers agree with this as 95% of those enrolled on DHI take the SCC option. Individual cow SCC allows you to rank cows from highest to lowest or according to each cow's contribution to the bulk tank. In the long term, it is more important to manage the herd's SCC. Using DHI reports, you can tell if the SCC is increasing, whether certain groups of cows, stage of lactation, first lactation or later lactations are more affected than others. Different types of mastitis problems have a different pattern in the herd and this can be very useful in managing the herd for a low SCC.

MUN

Milk Urea Nitrogen gives an indication of how efficient cows are digesting the nutrients in their feed, especially the balance between protein and energy. High MUN's indicate that digestion is not as efficient as it should be, especially digestion of nitrogen. Diets high in soluble nitrogen, low in energy or a combination of both can give higher than normal range MUN. Lower than normal range MUN can mean however that there is too little soluble nitrogen in the diet and the cows are being fed at less than the optimum rate. Because MUN is not that accurate for individuals, look at groups of cows and the MUN value for the group and trends from one test to the other. This is important in herds that sample only one milking per test (AP herds)as MUN varies according to time of the day the sample was taken in also in relation to the herd feeding times.

Combinations of pieces of information

Can be very powerful in monitoring a herd or in solving problems. For example: Milk yield, fat and protein %, MUN, and Body Condition Score on test day may be a pretty good predictor of energy status and how successful you may be in getting some cows in calf. The DairyComp 305 program is capable of producing custom reports for herd management purposes and these can arranged through the Customer Service Representative.

Good communication has always been the hallmark of good herdsmanship. It is really no different today. Use DHI reports to improve your cow communication and cow sense. Take some time and pick the DHI reports that best suit your needs and style of management. They may not even be the same reports each month but they are the reports that are the most useful for you to profitably manage your herd. They are the reports that let your cows communicate with the boss on a regular basis.