Babcock Institute for International

Dairy Research and Development Dairy

Essentials
University of Wisconsin-Madison

7) CONCENTRATE FEEDING GUIDE

Michel A. Wattiaux
Babcock Institute
W. Terry Howard
Department of Dairy Science

A BALANCED RATION be combined with a concentrate mix of low

From a practical aspect, to balance rations
the following three questions must be
answered.
1) What are the amounts of forage and
concentrate to feed so that the cow can
ingest the required amount of energy?
Forage is usually fed without restriction,
and the amount of concentrate required in
the diet depends on different factors (see
Table 1):
• Forage quality. The energy content of
mature forage is lower than the energy
content of a vegetative (immature) forage.
Thus, more concentrates will be required in
rations based on mature forages.
• Energy needs of the cow. The energy
demand of the cow increases with increases
in milk production. The amount of
concentrate required in the ration is higher
for a high-producing cow than a low-
producing cow.
A dry cow should eat a ration of about 90
to 100% forage (0 to 10% concentrate), but a
high-producing cow in early lactation will
need a ration containing not less than 40 to
45% forage (55 to 60% concentrate).
2) What protein concentration in the
concentrate mix should there be in order
to provide the required amount of
protein? The crude protein needed in the
concentrate mix depends on the type of
forage in the ration. Forage with high
crude protein content such as legumes, can
protein content. On the other hand, a low
crude protein grass must be combined with
a high crude protein concentrate mix to
obtain a balanced diet (see Table 2).
3) What type of mineral supplement
should be used and how much should be
fed? Salt (NaCl) and a calcium-phosphorus
mineral can be offered free-choice.
However, it is best to adjust the kind and
amount of minerals in the ration to the
animal's need. The amount of mineral to
add to the ration depends on the following
factors:
• Type of forage in the diet. Legumes
are rich in calcium and require less calcium
supplementation than grasses.
• The amount of concentrate in the
diet. Usually, concentrates are low in
minerals. Thus, the higher the amount of
concentrates in a diet, the higher the need
for mineral supplementation.
• The mineral needs of the cow. For
maintenance, a cow needs 30 to 50 g of
calcium and 10 to 30 g of phosphorus per
day. Each kg of milk requires about 3 g of
calcium and 2 g of phosphorus.
When a ration is based on high and
medium quality forages, a phosphorus
mineral (e.g., monosodium phosphate) may
be needed in the range of 0 to 150
g/cow/day. However, with low forage
quality or with corn silage, both calcium
and phosphorus will need to be

240 Agriculture Hall, 1450 Linden Dr., Madison, WI 53706 USA, phone: 608-265-4169, babcock@calshp.cals.wisc.edu 25
Dairy Essentials – Nutrition and Feeding
Table 1: Rate of concentrate feeding for various milk production levels by dairy cows fed
forages of low medium and high quality1
Milk production Cow of 600 kg Cow of 500 kg
when forage quality is: Fat in the milk (%) Fat in the milk (%)
Poor2 Medium3 High4 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.0 4.5 5.0 5.5
-- 4 13 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
-- 6 15 -- -- -- 0.5 0.7 0.8 1.0
-- 8 17 0.2 0.5 0.7 1.3 1.6 1.8 2.0
2 10 19 1.0 1.2 1.5 2.2 2.5 2.7 3.0
4 12 21 1.7 2.0 2.4 3.0 3.4 3.7 4.0
6 14 23 2.4 2.8 3.2 3.9 4.3 4.6 5.0
8 16 25 3.2 3.6 4.0 4.7 5.1 5.6 6.0
10 18 27 3.9 4.4 4.9 5.6 6.0 6.5 7.0
12 20 29 4.6 5.2 5.7 6.4 6.9 7.5 8.0
14 22 31 5.4 6.0 6.6 7.2 7.8 8.4 9.0
16 24 33 6.1 6.8 7.4 8.1 8.7 9.4 10.1
18 26 35 6.8 7.5 8.3 8.9 9.6 10.3 11.1
20 28 37 7.6 8.3 9.1 9.8 10.5 11.3 12.1 5
22 30 39 8.3 9.1 9.9 10.6 11.4 12.2 13.1
24 32 41 9.0 9.9 10.8 11.4 12.3 13.2 14.1
26 34 43 9.8 10.7 11.6 12.3 13.2 14.1 15.1
28 36 45 10.5 11.5 12.5 13.1 14.1 15.1 16.1
30 38 47 11.2 12.3 13.3 14.0 15.0 16.0 17.1
32 40 49 11.9 13.0 14.1 14.8 15.9 17.0 --
1
The concentration of energy in the concentrate was assumed to be 1.75 Mcal NE l /kg dry matter (DM). The
energy content of the concentrate mix can be as low as 1.5 Mcal NEl /kg DM if it contains significant amounts
of low energy feeds, such as oat hulls, rice hulls or sugarcane bagasse. In this case, the rate of concentrate
feeding needs to be increased by 15%. However, the energy content of the concentrate mix can also be as high
as 1.9 Mcal NEl/kg DM when it includes primarily high energy feed such as cereal grain, corn, or seeds. In
this case, the rate of concentrate feeding can be decreased by 8%.
2
Poor: Cows eating 1.5% of body weight (e.g., 9 kg DM for a cow of 600 kg) of poor quality forage (e.g. straw,
stover) containing 0.9 Mcal NEl/kg DM.
3
Medium: Cows eating 2.0% of body weight (e.g., 12 kg forage DM for a cow of 600 kg) of medium quality forage
(e.g. grass at medium stage of maturity) containing 1.2 Mcal NEl /kg DM.
4
High: Cows eating 2.5% of body weight (e.g., 15 kg forage DM for a cow of 600 kg) of high quality forage (e.g.,
legumes at early stage of maturity) containing 1.45 Mcal NE l /kg DM.
5
Amounts of concentrate in the shaded area should be fed with caution because of the possible health problems
such as intake upset, rumen acidosis, low milk fat percentage, etc.
supplemented in the range of 50 to 200 one concentrate ingredient is necessary in
g/cow/day. the ration. Concentrates can be offered as
Depending on the composition of the separate ingredients or mixed together.
trace minerals and vitamins mix available, As indicated above, the amount of
The amount of supplementation varies concentrate necessary for any particular
from 10 to 25 g/cow/day. cow depends on milk production and the
quality of forage. Table 1 gives the amount
AMOUNT OF CONCENTRATE TO FEED of concentrate to feed according to milk
Table 1 presents a guide for the amount of production of the cow and the quality of
concentrates that should be fed to dairy the forage they eat. Calculations assumed
cows. Concentrates are feeds in the ration that the forage is fed liberally and that the
that supplement the energy and protein of amount of forage fed is not restricted.
pasture, hay or silage. Usually more than
26 The Babcock Institute
 Table 2: Example of concentrate mix of proper crude protein content when fed in combination with different forages
.................................................................... PROTEIN (CP) CONTENT IN CONCENTRATE FEED ....................................................................
Low Low-Medium Medium-High High Animal by-products
(Under 12%) (12-18%) (19-28%) (32- 50%) (above 50%)
Molasses.........................3.2 16% dairy feed....... 16.0 24% dairy feed..........24.0 34% dairy feed............. 34.0 Meat & bone & blood.. 50.2
Corn and cob meal ... 8.1 Wheat bran............. 16.0 Coconut meal.......... 21.3 Linseed meal................ 35.9 Meat & bone meal....... 54.1
Corn............................. 8.9 Wheat middlings.. 17.2 Peas........................... 23.4 Cottonseed meal.......... 41.0 Meat meal rendered.... 54.1
Dried beet pulp......... 9.1 Sunflower seed...... 17.0 Corn gluten feed......25.8 Corn gluten meal......... 42.9 Meat & blood............... 64.5
Hominy feed............. 10.8 Linseed....................18.0 Brewers’ dried Soybean meal............... 45.8 Fish (Manhaden)......... 66.7

University of Wisconsin-Madison
Sorghum (milo)..........11.0 grains.........................25.9 Peanut meal.................. 47.4 Fish (Anchovy)............ 71.2
Barley........................ 11.6 Malt sprouts............. 26.4 Soybean seed................ 42.0 Blood meal.................... 87.2
Oats ............................ 11.7 Distillers’ dried
grains......................... 27.3 Crude
Rye...............................11.9 protein
12% dairy feed........... 12.0 Cotton seed............... 24.0 in the
Wheat..........................12.7 mix
................................. AMOUNT OF CONCENTRATE OF EACH CP CATEGORY FOR A 1000 KG CONCENTRATE MIX ......................... ....%....
High Protein Forages (CP > 16%; legumes at early stage of maturity; fertilized grasses at early stage of maturity or a mix of both)
800 100 100 0 0 – 12.0
500 500 0 0 0 – 13.0
700 100 200 0 0 – 13.4
800 100 0 100 0 – 13.8
600 200 200 0 0 – 14.0
700 0 300 0 0 – 14.2
Medium Protein Forages (11% < CP < 15%; legumes at mid stage of maturity or grasses at early stage of maturity or a mix of both)
600 300 0 100 0 – 15.0
700 100 100 100 0 – 15.2
550 400 0 0 50 – 15.9
800 0 0 200 0 – 16.4
850 0 0 100 50 – 16.7
750 0 50 200 0 – 17.1
600 0 300 100 0 – 17.4
600 200 0 200 0 – 17.6
Low Protein Forages (CP < 10%; mature grasses or crop residues or corn silage)
750 0 100 100 50 – 18.1
600 300 0 0 100 – 18.8
700 0 0 300 0 – 19.6
500 0 300 200 0 – 20.6
600 0 300 0 100 – 21.2
500 0 200 300 0 – 22.4
600 0 0 400 0 – 22.8

27
7 - Concentrate Feeding Guide
Dairy Essentials – Nutrition and Feeding
To use Table 1, first estimate which of the
three columns with the title "Milk
production when forage quality is" (First
three columns on the left side of the Table)
most nearly fits the quality of the forage
available. Go down this column to the
amount of milk produced by the cow.
Then, follow the horizontal row of numbers
across the table to the right until you reach
the column with the proper body weight
and milk fat percentage. The number
found at this intersection is the amount of
concentrate to feed per day. For example, a
600 kg cow fed a high quality forage and
producing 23 kg of milk with 4% fat should
receive 3.2 kg of concentrate per day. Table
1 also indicates that if forage changes from
a high to a medium quality and the amount
of concentrate fed is not changed, milk
production would drop to 14 kg/day.
However, milk production of 23 kg/day,
can be obtained with a medium quality
forage if the amount of concentrate fed is
increased from 3.2 kg to 7.0 kg.
INGREDIENTS AND PERCENTAGES OF
PROTEIN IN THE CONCENTRATE MIX
Knowing how to determine the amount of
concentrate to feed is important. However,
determining the percentage of crude
protein in the concentrate mix is equally
important. Table 2 is a guide for the
28
desired protein percentage in the
concentrate mix when cows are fed
different type of forage. The top part of
Table 2 gives examples of concentrates
categorized in five groups depending on
crude protein concentration1.
When the forage is a legume at an early
stage of maturity, a well fertilized grass at
an early stage of maturity or a mixture of
both, a crude protein in the concentrate mix
may vary from 12 to 14%. However, as the
stage of maturity of the forage advances
and crude protein declines, the crude
protein of the concentrate mix needs to be
increased between 15 to 18%. Finally, for
diets based on low quality forage, crop
residues and corn [maize] silage, the crude
protein of the concentrate mix should be in
the range of 18 to 23% (see the shaded
column to the right of the Table). The
bottom half of Table 2 presents examples of
the amounts of ingredient from the five
categories to mix to obtain 1,000 kg of
concentrate mix with the desired crude
protein concentration. For example, a 14%
crude protein mix can be prepared by
mixing 600, 200 and 200 kg of a concentrate
from the low, low-medium, and medium-
high categories, respectively (Table 2).
1
For a list of additional concentrates grouped in the same
way, see the Babcock Institute publication: "Nutrition and
Feeding” Technical Dairy Guide.
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