Lilia Annatloiivna Ivanohlu, Director of cattle husbandry LLC Ukrainian Dairy Company.

In 1984 graduated from Kharkiv Veterinary Institute with a degree in zootechnics. She worked on farms in Donetsk region. Since January, 6, 2007 she works at LLC Ukrainian Dairy Company. In February–March of that year she had training courses on dairy farms in the U.S. for a month, where she worked with milking machine operators, managers and veterinarians. “Thus I gained my experience and understanding what the modern industrial production should be”, Lilia Anatloiivna says.

Lilia Anatoliivna, which main rules are to be followed to get 9,000 liters of milk from a cow?

The main rule is do not harm the cattle. A cow is a factory for the production of milk, and it is quite a big burden for her: eat so much food and convert it to 9,000 liters of milk. Currently, 60% is a concentrated ration and 40% is roughage. The risk is great, but to get such a performance with other ratio structure is impossible. And the crucial point is to balance the diet and exercise strict control. We constantly evaluate the cattle fatness to compare its performance and fatness. It may be that the cattle converts feed not to milk, but to subcutaneous fat, leading to metabolic disorders. So we regularly do biochemical blood tests. When opening a new silo or haylage pit, or starting to give new bought forage — pellet or cake meal — we must do the analysis. Anyway, strict control of diet, quality of forage, and fatness… There is no room imagining. Everything is interconnected, and single out one thing — for example, the quality of food only, or a balanced diet it is impossible. Everything works just as complex. And only everything together, it will give the desired result.

How many rations do you have?

To start, I should say that we do not fed the cattle mixed fodder. Roughage is of our own production, specific ingredients are bought, and feed mix is prepared here. In general we have four types of rations. The first one is the main for milking cows.

Ration of dairy cows, kg

Next one is for a low-productive group of cows from six months of gestation. Also, we feed this ration to the cattle with fatness 4 + points. For them, we reduce the amount of concentrated feed. Interlactation ration is implemented for the cows in 45 days before calving, and udder conservation must be hold as well. Concentrated feed is completely removed from this ration.

Ration for dry cows, kg

In three weeks before calving, we transfer cows to a transitional diet. It contains 60% of concentrated feed from the main ration. Thus, we gradually train and prepare a group of late interlactation to the ration of dairy cows.

See full version in Milk and Farm Journal, № 2, September, 2010