The new service, called Visiolac, is the first and only service that can cost-effectively determine the levels of all of the above elements en masse at farm level.
“We cannot talk to the cows, and they can’t talk to us, but through their milk we know exactly what they need to eat in order for them to be nutritionally fit, for them to produce healthier milk with the minimal amount of methane emitted, and with maximum nutritional efficiency,” said Wyn Morris, head of ruminant development at BOCM Pauls.
“Visiolac gives us the inside story of what’s happening within the cow, and we can subtly change what’s going on to bring benefits to every link in the chain – from the cow, to the farmer, to the milk processor, retailer and consumer.”
Visiolac will be applied in the first instance at farm level, facilitating a new approach to more efficient milk production and healthier cows. Currently, these are the only two elements that have a direct financial benefit to farmers. Feed prices are currently high, and the only means to mitigate them is by improving feed efficiency, measured as the amount of milk produced per kilo of feed fed.
BOCM Pauls expects that Visiolac’s capability to monitor saturated fats, omega-3 and methane will be adopted in the medium- to long-term, and will be dependent on the desire of dairy companies to innovate in these areas.
“The dairy industry is very innovative and is bringing out more and more low fat products all the time,” said Morris. “History shows that if a processor or a retailer wants something and incentivises the farmers to produce it, they will respond.”
The Visiolac service works by using a bulk milk sample analysed by NML at one of its milk testing laboratories. In addition to the traditional measures of milk quality, samples are also tested for a range of individual milk fatty acids, saturated and unsaturated.
Using extensive research and an understanding of biochemistry, it’s then possible to determine the level of C18:3 in the milk (a member of the omega-3 family of fatty acids, which have beneficial effects for cows and humans) and the amount of energy wasted as methane.
“Dairy farmers know that spring milk from grass is different to winter milk,” said Morris. “Spring milk is lower in saturated fat, so makes butter that’s more spreadable than winter milk. The differences stem from the diet being fed, which in turn affects the milk.”
Source: BOCM Pauls
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