Nutrition for Dairy Cattle

Good nutrition is essential for health, fertility and milking performance in the dairy herd.  The nutritional requirements of dairy cows varies greatly depending on breed, genetics, stage of lactation and whether they are lactating or dry. Regular forage analysis and making sure the ration is balance to meet requirements at different stages of the production cycle is important to maximise performance, support fertility and minimise metabolic diseases. Body condition scoring is a useful management tool to assess whether nutritional demands are being met and information on this and other aspects of nutrition and feeding management can be found in the following pages.