Pushing for protein

MADISON, Wis. — When it comes to what is trending in components, protein is the new butterfat. The shift to protein-rich products, like cottage cheese, is placing a premium on this component.

During the seminar, “Optimizing milk to meet market demand,” Oct. 1 at World Dairy Expo in Madison, panelists highlighted how dairy farmers can enhance component output through genetic and nutritional strategies.

Speakers included Nate Zwald, president of Progenco and chairman of Bridgeforth; Jordan Siemers, general manager of Siemers Holsteins; and John Goeser, dairy nutritionist and management consultant at Progressive Dairy Solutions. Corey Geiger, lead dairy economist at CoBank, moderated the session.

“With milkfat value about half of what it was two years ago, and protein outpacing butterfat value, we are chasing milk protein,” Goeser said. “Increasing protein relative to butterfat is going to create millions and millions of dollars in terms of reward for the dairy industry.” 

A recent report published by CoBank revealed that the top 10% of component herds in the Upper Midwest based on a U.S. milk production tank average of 67 pounds made 70 cents more per cow per day than the bottom herds. At a 90-pound tank average, that profit expands to 95 cents per cow per day or $345 per cow per year.

 “There’s nothing you can do on your farm to improve profit more than that,” Geiger said. “We need to be thinking in pounds of components per day. Butterfat prices are lower than they have been, but protein is screaming hot right now.” 

Zwald said this is a fantastic time to talk about the role genetics plays in advancing the capability of the dairy cow as dairy farmers have more tools and technologies than ever before.

 “We’re simply making better cows faster, and the impact of these better cows is driving component levels,” he said. 

The amount of genetic progress being made today is at least three times what it was 15 years ago, Zwald said. 

“We’re making the same amount of progress in five years as we once did in 15, or in one generation instead of three,” he said. “People are recognizing genetics to be fundamental to the production we’re getting out of cows because they can see it from one generation to the next. They can measure it in the tank. As a group, the best genetic animals always outperform the worst ones within a herd.”

Based in Newton, Siemers Holsteins is known for elite, homebred genetics. 

“The more we stack big lines of genetics on top of each other, we can move so fast directionally,” Siemers said. “We can customize the fat and protein levels we need.” 

Directionally breeding for balanced fat and protein is the farm’s philosophy. 

“It’s not a true 1:1 ratio but more like 1.4-1.5:1 on fat to protein,” Siemers said. “We’ve always been big protein people as 100% of our milk goes to making cheese.”

Cows at Siemers with a Total Performance Index of at least +3,000 are milking over 100 pounds a day and averaging at peak production over 9 pounds of solids, with tests of 5.0% butterfat and 4.0% protein. The herd also includes several +3,500 TPI cows peaking over 12 pounds of components with tests of nearly 7.0% butterfat and close to 5.0% protein. Over the whole lactation, that subset has averaged 100 pounds of milk per day with 6.5% butterfat and 3.8% protein.

“We have two cows just shy of +3,600 TPI and have seen numbers in the mid-teens for total solids shipped at peak,” Siemers said. “The potential of what’s coming, we’ve never seen the likes of it.” 

Holsteins are now capable of achieving components once thought to belong only to the colored breeds. 

“Today’s cow and her genetic potential is way beyond what we’re unlocking with our classic approach to nutrition and what we’d historically understand,” Goeser said. “We need to think outside the box to feed these next-generation cows.”  

Goeser said about half of milk protein is derived from feed and protein, whether it be crude protein or specific amino acids. The other half is derived from microbial protein that comes out of the rumen and is often built from carbohydrates and energy provided in the diet. 

“We have a number of levers that we can pull, for example feeding specific amino acids or a higher concentration of high-quality amino acids, such as lysine and methionine,” Goeser said. 

Goeser also addressed how grass diets can propel protein percentages. Italian rye grass or immature warm-season or cool-season grasses deliver high-microbial protein yield and extremely high fiber digestibility. He encourages farmers to look at how they manage pastures and assess if there is potential to either try different varieties or to push more aggressively in terms of maturity when turning cows out into different paddocks. 

“That can be a big lever for increasing milk protein in particular,” he said. 

Zwald said achieving high levels of butterfat and protein requires a combination of nutrition, genetics and management. 

“Because we’re so far out on the bell-shaped curve and moving that curve so quickly, we’re having to figure out how to feed those incredible production units that are the cows we have today,” he said.

Forage often represents the lowest cost source of nutrients for Upper Midwest and Northeast dairies, Goeser said.

“We can push the envelope as far as pushing forage for more nutrients to optimize that rumen microbial production and also optimize feed conversion efficiency with high-quality forages,” he said.

 Goeser tends to see diets that are higher in forage content being more efficient in terms of pounds of fat and protein shipped relative to pounds of feed consumed. 

“For us to be achieving 8-8.5 pounds of components shipped per cow per day, we really have to look to new levels of forage quality,” Goeser said. “I look at fiber levels first and foremost in forages.”

Goeser recommends 34%-36% fiber content and matching that with high protein, starch and sugar levels. 

Geiger asked the panel how they balance breeding for fat and protein with other traits.

Siemers said they try to make complete cattle that can survive and thrive in all environments. Mastitis resistance, somatic cell score, lameness and other fitness traits are important to the farm. 

“When we’re talking directionally breeding, we put teams of bulls, donors and matings together that move us where we want to go,” Siemers said. “That’s complete fertility, complete mastitis resistance. Cattle with genetic holes will express themselves. We have to fix the hole or we can’t move forward.”

Zwald said genetic progress was once dictated almost exclusively by the bulls a farmer used.

“That’s still an important part, but on an individual farm basis, there’s actually more genetic progress made today by the females you select to make the next generation of dairy replacements,” he said. “The marginal difference between bulls is less important than making sure you breed all of your best animals to sexed semen.”   

Zwald said genetically it is hard to pull protein and butterfat apart.

“Because fat has more genetic variation, it’s easier to increase fat levels faster,” he said. “Because of the strong correlation between the traits, it’s very hard to genetically increase protein levels and not increase fat levels at the same time.”

 Siemers cautioned against focusing only on protein.

“If you single trait select for protein, you increase your odds of hitting some genetic landmines with daughter fertility and somatic cell score,” he said.  

When trying to translate components into profitability, Goeser encourages farmers to focus on the transition cow for maximum return. 

“We’re applying the investment to cows 20-30 days pre-fresh and the first 50-100 days post-fresh,” he said. “Invest in the substantive animals in your herd and then put them in a better position to succeed over their lactation.”