[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":46},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-kaba-kesif-orani-asidoz-en":3},[4,6,8,10,12,14,16,18,20,22,24,26,28,30,32,34,36,38,40,42,44],{"p":5},"On a dairy farm the ration follows the rules on paper: 45 percent of dry matter comes from forage, NDF is adequate and starch is in the recommended range. Yet lameness is rising in the herd, manure is loose with undigested kernels in it and feed intake swings from day to day. The vet suspects subacute rumen acidosis. The farmer is surprised, because the forage share has not been cut at all.",{"h2":7},"The ratio alone is not enough",{"p":9},"The ratio of forage to concentrate is an old and useful indicator of how safe a ration is for the rumen. But it is not enough on its own. Two rations with the same share of forage can affect the rumen very differently depending on forage particle size, the source and processing of the starch and how the cows eat the ration.",{"p":11},"What matters for rumen health is how much the cow chews her cud and how fast acid is produced in the rumen. Chewing produces saliva, and saliva is the rumen's natural buffer. If forage is chopped very fine, or mixed so long in the wagon that it breaks down, the cow chews less. If a fast-fermenting starch source is there at the same time, rumen pH stays below the critical level for long stretches of the day.",{"h2":13},"Measuring particle size",{"p":15},"A simple way to measure the physical structure of the ration on the farm is a particle separator made of several stacked sieves. A TMR sample from the bunk is shaken through the sieves and the share left on each is weighed. The share of long particles left on the top sieve is a rough but useful indicator of how much the ration will stimulate chewing.",{"p":17},"This measurement should be made not only on fresh feed from the wagon but also on what is left in the bunk at the end of the day. If the share of long particles in the refusals is clearly higher than in the fresh feed, the cows are sorting the ration. Sorting is the most common reason for the gap between the ration on paper and the ration the cow really eats.",{"h2":19},"An example",{"p":21},"The numbers are illustrative. A cow's ration supplies 23 kg of dry matter a day, 45 percent of it from forage. Dominant cows pick concentrate out of the fresh feed in the morning and eat a denser feed than the ration average in the first hours. Assume the forage share of what these cows eat in the first meal falls to 35 percent. Even though the ration on paper is safe, these cows are fed a ration carrying a risk of acidosis for a few hours every morning.",{"p":23},"The cost of subacute acidosis is hard to measure exactly, because its signs are scattered: slightly lower milk yield, slightly lower milk fat, more lameness, cows culled earlier. But each of these items takes up a serious place in the yearly accounts. Considering that even a loss of 1 kg of milk per cow per day on a farm with a hundred cows means more than 36,000 litres of milk a year gives an idea of the size of the problem.",{"h2":25},"Reducing sorting",{"p":27},"The most effective way to reduce sorting is to make the ration harder to sort. Chopping forage to a suitable length, lightly wetting very dry TMRs with water or a wet feed and keeping mixing time in the wagon neither too short nor too long all help the ration to be eaten more evenly. Feeding twice a day and pushing up feed several times a day also help cows find a similar ration at every meal.",{"p":29},"Bunk space matters too. In a crowded barn, timid cows reach the bunk only after the dominant ones have had their fill, and eat what is left, which is largely sorted. Enough bunk space improves both intake and how evenly the ration is shared.",{"h2":31},"The speed of starch",{"p":33},"It is not only the amount of starch that decides acidosis risk but how fast it ferments in the rumen. Finely ground or steam-flaked corn ferments much faster than coarsely cracked corn. Wheat and barley are faster than corn as well. So when more wheat goes into the ration, or the grind of the corn changes, the load on the rumen changes even if total starch stays the same. When changing a ration, the starch source and how it is processed need to be considered together.",{"h2":35},"Monitoring rumination",{"p":37},"One of the most direct indicators of rumen health is rumination time. A healthy dairy cow spends a large part of the day chewing her cud. A drop in rumination time lasting a few days is often the first sign of a problem in the ration or the feeding routine. Systems that monitor rumination continuously with neck collars catch that change before it can be seen by eye.",{"p":39},"Observation is still valuable. A large share of resting cows chewing their cud is a good sign. Manure consistency, and whether it contains undigested kernels or long fibre, also tells you something about what is going on in the rumen.",{"h2":41},"Building the ration around the rumen",{"p":43},"OptiFormula TMR calculates requirements for dairy cows with models such as NASEM 2021 and uses forage and silage analyses together with the feed library. Values such as forage share, NDF and starch are visible in every ration. The mixer wagon loading list prepared from the approved ration makes it easier to mix the same ration in the same proportions every day.",{"p":45},"Acidosis rarely arrives all at once. It settles into a herd little by little. Following particle size, sorting and rumination regularly alongside the forage ratio is the most reliable way to bring this silent cost to light and prevent it.",1794234580640]