Article Summary: Use supplements as a targeted bridge when pasture can’t meet demand: bank spring surplus as silage first, then match any remaining shortfall with the feed that best balances energy, protein, and cost. Feed only the kilograms needed to avoid weight loss, monitor substitution so grass isn’t wasted, and run the numbers to be sure extra milk or condition outweighs feed costs. Strategic, measured supplements keep cows productive without blowing the budget.
Seasons and Shortfalls – When Grass Alone Won’t Cut It
Pasture sits at the heart of a grazing system, yet even the best‑managed swards run short during drought, cold snaps, or slow autumn regrowth. When covers dip below target, your cows face an energy deficit that soon shows up as weight loss, lower milk solids, and fertility issues. Treat supplements as a bridge: they help you carry the herd over a temporary gap without undermining the pasture‑first philosophy that keeps your costs down.
Start by knowing the size of the gap. A weekly feed budget or at the very least regular plate meter walks—tells you how many kilograms of dry matter (DM) each cow is missing. Once that number is on paper, you can decide whether to adjust rotation length, reduce demand (through strategic drying‑off or early culling), or bring in extra feed.
Tip, don’t have time to measure - check out Pasture.io’s satellite-backed pasture readings.
Build a Buffer First – Banking Home‑Grown Feed
Before buying anything, look at what is already growing on farm. Spring often delivers more grass than cows can graze cleanly. Turning that surplus into round bale silage or hay is the simplest form of insurance you can carry into summer or winter.
Because you produced it yourself, conserved forage usually lands on the stack for a third sometimes a quarter of the price of bought‑in concentrates. Making an early decision is crucial: if paddocks sit too long and quality dives, you lose both metabolisable energy (ME) and palatability. Cutting surplus paddocks early keeps the remainder of the platform in the correct leaf stage for grazing, lifts overall pasture quality, and fills the shed with low‑cost feed you control.
Choosing the Right Supplement for the Job
When the home‑grown pile is not enough, match the supplement to the problem you are trying to solve. Each feed type brings a different blend of energy, protein, fibre, cost, and practical considerations:
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Maize silage – high starch energy, excellent for balancing lush spring grass, but needs stack or bunker storage and careful face management.
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Grass silage or hay – moderate energy, familiar to cows, and can be fed anywhere, yet quality is only as good as cutting date and wilting conditions.
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Cereal grains (barley, wheat) – dense energy in a small volume, handy in in‑shed feeders; buffer with fibre to avoid acidosis.
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Palm kernel expeller (PKE) – fibrous by‑product that keeps rumen function steady in wet weather, but must be fed on a pad or in trailers to avoid soil contamination and public perception issues.
Look beyond the headline price per tonne. Calculate cents per megajoule of ME delivered to the mouth, factoring in shrinkage, transport, and feeding out losses. A cheap feed that is half wasted soon becomes an expensive exercise.
Feeding Rates That Complement, Not Replace, Pasture
Cows are opportunistic: give them extra feed and they may simply swap it for grass. This “substitution effect” matters because every kilogram of pasture left behind costs nothing to grow but something to replace.
Aim to feed only what covers cannot supply. If the budget shows a five‑kilogram DM shortfall per cow per day, that is the amount of supplement to deliver. Smaller doses two to three kilograms of a high‑energy feed often lift total intake without a big drop in grazing pressure. Push beyond that and substitution climbs sharply, leaving uneaten grass that must be topped or wasted.
Crunching the Numbers – Will It Pay?
Milk response to extra feed is rarely linear. Early‑lactation cows convert energy into milk more efficiently than late‑lactation animals, and thin cows in winter gain body condition first before production rises. Use expected milk‑solid price, likely response rate (kg MS per kg DM), and full feed cost to test scenarios.
When payout tightens or bought‑in feed is dear, it can be smarter to accept a temporary production dip than to chase litres that erode margin. Conversely, well‑timed supplements that prevent cows from falling below a body condition score of 4.5 at mating often pay for themselves through better conception and fewer empty days.
Bringing It All Together
Supplements are a tactical tool, not a crutch. By planning ahead, banking surplus pasture, matching feed type to need, and checking the economics before tipping anything into a trough, you keep control of costs while safeguarding herd health and performance. Strategic, measured use of extra feed turns gaps into manageable bumps rather than expensive potholes on your road to profitable milk production.
Until we meet again, Happy Feeding!
- The Dedicated Team of Pasture.io, 2025-07-22