Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Twitter LinkedIn
    • FREE Email Newsletters
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
    Twitter LinkedIn
    Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    • News
      • Arable & Agronomy
      • Dealership News
      • Environmental Land Management Scheme/Policy
      • Event News
      • Health & Safety
      • Machinery
      • People
      • World News
    • Farm Machinery
      • Amenity & Maintenance
      • Cultivations
      • Drilling
      • Grassland Equipment
      • Harvesting
      • Muck & Slurry
      • Sprayers
      • Telehandlers
      • Tractors
      • Tractor of the Year
      • Tyres & Tracks
      • Whatever happened to?
    • Precision Farming
    • Markets & Policy
    • Profiles
      • National Arable and Grassland Awards
      • Company Profiles
      • Reader Profiles
    • Livestock
      • Beef
      • Dairy
      • Sheep
    • Magazines
      1. September 2025 issue
      2. August 2025 issue
      3. 2025 Drills and Seeds supplement
      4. July 2025 issue
      5. June 2025 issue
      6. Cereals event guide 2025
      7. May 2025 issue
      8. April 2025 issue
      9. March 2025 issue
      10. 2025 Tyre Developments supplement
      11. February 2025 issue
      12. National Arable and Grassland Awards supplement
      13. January 2025 issue
      14. December 2024 issue
      15. November 2024 issue
      16. October 2024 issue
      17. September 2024 issue
      18. August 2024 Issue
      19. 2024 Drills and Seeds supplement
      20. July 2024 Issue
      21. Cereals Supplement
      22. June 2024 Issue
      23. May 2024 Issue
      24. April 2024 Issue
      25. Tyres and Tracks Supplement
      26. March 2024 Issue
      27. National Arable & Grassland Award – Meet the Finalists
      28. February 2024 Issue
      29. January 2024 Issue
      30. December 2023
      31. Agritechnica Preview Supplement
      32. November 2023
      33. October 2023
      Featured

      September 2025 issue available now

      By Matthew TiltSeptember 1, 2025
      Recent

      September 2025 issue available now

      September 1, 2025

      August 2025 issue available now

      August 1, 2025

      2025 Drills and Seeds supplement available now

      August 1, 2025
    • Events
    • Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Dairy

    Reduce reliance on rumen-protected fats to cut price rise impact

    chrislyddonBy chrislyddonMay 16, 20172 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

    Global palm oil shortages have increased the cost of rumen-protected fats by up to 40% in the past 12 months. And unless steps have been taken to reduce reliance on protected fats, it’s adding as much as £900/month* to the feed bill for a typical 200 cow herd, claims KW nutritionist Dr Matt Witt.

    “El Nino weather patterns in Malaysia and Indonesia last year cut palm oil production by 3.9 million tonnes (mt) against a background of rising global demand,” he outlines. “Production is expected to rebound 5-6mt this year, but global stocks won’t fully recover until at least 2018.”

    According to Dr Witt, the key to reducing the need for protected fats is to achieve better utilisation of the ration, typically combining greater digestion in the rumen with maximum feed intakes​.

    “In terms of feed choice, adding high sugar liquid feeds such as Molale will boost both ration palatability and rumen microbial activity, while switching to slower fermenting starch feeds like sodawheat can improve rumen conditions and fermentation efficiency,” he explains.

    “Adding supplements designed to enhance digestion and raise intakes can also be highly effective. The plant extract-based OptiPartum-C, for example, can be used weight-for-weight to reduce protected fat in the diet by half without any reductions in milk yield, milk quality or fertility, yet costs up to £350/t less.”

    * Based on average yield of 33 litres/cow/day receiving 0.5kg/cow/day of rumen-protected fat.

    Tweet
    Share
    Share
    Pin
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous ArticleArla opens the door on its future
    Next Article Rams wanted for second phase of industry project
    chrislyddon

    Read Similar Stories

    Lely expands robotic milking range

    August 13, 2025

    Hi-Spec to introduce new diet feeder at Royal Highland

    June 16, 2025

    Lely introduces the Vector MFR Next

    April 3, 2025
    Most Read Stories

    Grange Machinery to offer trailed subsoiler

    September 17, 2025

    New clamp-specific wheeled loader from New Holland

    September 17, 2025

    NRH Engineering extends Tremor subsoiler range

    September 17, 2025
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer

    The UK's leading agricultural machinery journal

    Twitter LinkedIn
    © 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

    Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions

    • Farmers Weekly
    • AA Farmer
    • Poultry News
    • Pig World

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.