WEBVTT 00:00:11.720 --> 00:00:15.060 Breaking free from the chains of the past Where 00:00:15.060 --> 00:00:18.820 truth moves faster than a Holstein calf No law 00:00:18.820 --> 00:00:21.660 waiting on some printed page We're charting new 00:00:21.660 --> 00:00:25.300 ground in the digital age From genomic codes 00:00:25.300 --> 00:00:29.120 to robot facts We cut through the noise, no hold 00:00:29.280 --> 00:00:32.460 them back not your daddy's dairy news tonight 00:00:32.460 --> 00:01:02.789 we're sparking Welcome back to the Bullvine Podcast, 00:01:03.229 --> 00:01:05.069 where we cut through dairy industry noise to 00:01:05.069 --> 00:01:07.430 get you the insights that actually matter for 00:01:07.430 --> 00:01:09.810 your operation. And today we're diving deep into 00:01:09.810 --> 00:01:13.090 a feature piece that's got some serious buzz. 00:01:13.430 --> 00:01:16.010 This one has layers that'll make every farmer 00:01:16.010 --> 00:01:18.510 rethink their approach to daily feed consistency 00:01:18.510 --> 00:01:21.469 and butterfat protection. I love this topic. 00:01:21.650 --> 00:01:24.900 We are talking about... potentially six figures 00:01:24.900 --> 00:01:28.719 of lost revenue that can be solved with a piece 00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:32.379 of molded plastic that costs, what, $200? That's 00:01:32.379 --> 00:01:35.120 it. We are focusing on the humble Penn State 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:38.739 particle separator, the PSPS. It's the paradox 00:01:38.739 --> 00:01:41.140 of profit, really. It's the ultimate irony, isn't 00:01:41.140 --> 00:01:43.579 it? I mean, I've been on dairies with multi -million 00:01:43.579 --> 00:01:45.959 dollar investments, robotic milkers, thermal 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:48.200 imaging, the best genetics money can buy. What 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:51.140 works. Everything. And yet the PSPS, the one 00:01:51.140 --> 00:01:52.799 tool that makes sure the whole feed delivers. 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:55.299 system actually works is still sitting in its 00:01:55.299 --> 00:01:57.859 original cardboard box, maybe, you know, tucked 00:01:57.859 --> 00:02:00.219 behind the mineral supplements, untouched. I 00:02:00.219 --> 00:02:01.640 remember that quote from the source material 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:03.480 that just hammered this home, the herd manager, 00:02:03.659 --> 00:02:05.939 who said, we've been too busy to get into the 00:02:05.939 --> 00:02:09.819 routine. Too busy. Too busy to capture $60 ,000 00:02:09.819 --> 00:02:12.659 of profit. That phrase, too busy, that's where 00:02:12.659 --> 00:02:15.199 efficiency just collapses on so many farms. You 00:02:15.199 --> 00:02:17.719 get so busy dealing with the results of the problem, 00:02:17.960 --> 00:02:21.080 the acidosis, the lame cows, the tank test that 00:02:21.080 --> 00:02:23.039 makes you cringe. Right, you're firefighting. 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:25.199 Constantly. You're firefighting instead of investing, 00:02:25.479 --> 00:02:27.919 what, 15 minutes a week to prevent the fire from 00:02:27.919 --> 00:02:29.639 starting in the first place. And we have to be 00:02:29.639 --> 00:02:33.610 clear, this isn't about... minor tweaks or a 00:02:33.610 --> 00:02:36.770 little bit of slippage, the stakes here are genuinely 00:02:36.770 --> 00:02:41.250 massive. The data shows inconsistent TMR is a 00:02:41.250 --> 00:02:44.629 five to six figure leak per year. This isn't 00:02:44.629 --> 00:02:47.550 margin slippage, it's revenue destruction. When 00:02:47.550 --> 00:02:49.610 that particle size drifts, when the physical 00:02:49.610 --> 00:02:52.009 structure of the feed is off, you are routinely 00:02:52.009 --> 00:02:54.909 losing three to eight pounds of milk per cow. 00:02:55.389 --> 00:02:57.210 Per day. And the part that really hurts. The 00:02:57.210 --> 00:03:01.110 butterfat. You're losing 0 .3 to 0 .6 percentage 00:03:01.110 --> 00:03:03.650 points of butterfat. Losing half a point of fat 00:03:03.650 --> 00:03:05.650 when component premiums are driving your entire 00:03:05.650 --> 00:03:08.469 margin, that is an absolute disaster. So you 00:03:08.469 --> 00:03:11.289 run the numbers on, say, a 600 -cow herd with 00:03:11.289 --> 00:03:13.969 that kind of drift. We're talking about thousands 00:03:13.969 --> 00:03:16.689 and thousands of dollars every single month that 00:03:16.689 --> 00:03:19.909 are just evaporating. Gone. It's money left on 00:03:19.909 --> 00:03:21.830 the table because five minutes of quality control 00:03:21.830 --> 00:03:24.180 felt like too much trouble. And this is why we 00:03:24.180 --> 00:03:25.939 have to challenge the core assumption today. 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:29.520 We have to challenge the idea that you're a nutritionist's 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:33.250 paper ration. That beautiful, optimized spreadsheet. 00:03:33.669 --> 00:03:35.729 The one that cost a fortune to develop. That 00:03:35.729 --> 00:03:38.330 one. We have to challenge the idea that it actually 00:03:38.330 --> 00:03:41.289 matches what the cow eats. Because if the physical 00:03:41.289 --> 00:03:44.349 structure is wrong, that spreadsheet is, frankly, 00:03:44.530 --> 00:03:47.689 irrelevant. Exactly. The core controversy is 00:03:47.689 --> 00:03:50.270 that this one tiny physical factor, the length 00:03:50.270 --> 00:03:52.650 and distribution of feed particles, determines 00:03:52.650 --> 00:03:55.490 whether you get sera or you get superior components. 00:03:55.509 --> 00:03:57.289 It's the difference between buying expensive 00:03:57.289 --> 00:04:00.909 feed and using expensive feed. The physical delivery 00:04:00.909 --> 00:04:03.430 system is what translates nutritional potential 00:04:03.430 --> 00:04:06.650 into component reality. We can optimize the chemistry 00:04:06.650 --> 00:04:08.810 all day long, but if the mechanical structure 00:04:08.810 --> 00:04:11.530 fails, all that high -priced chemistry is useless. 00:04:11.870 --> 00:04:13.969 Okay, let's unpack this. We're jumping right 00:04:13.969 --> 00:04:16.629 into the deep dive on consistency as quality 00:04:16.629 --> 00:04:19.750 control, because this really requires a fundamental 00:04:19.750 --> 00:04:22.410 shift in how you think about feeding. I think 00:04:22.410 --> 00:04:24.829 we have to start with that quote from Dr. Mike 00:04:24.829 --> 00:04:28.069 Hutchins. He said, feed uniformity is your daily 00:04:28.069 --> 00:04:31.379 quality control system. without it you're guessing 00:04:31.379 --> 00:04:34.079 that is the most honest and maybe the most brutal 00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:37.860 truth you can give a producer it is the daily 00:04:37.860 --> 00:04:40.500 quality control i mean think about it if you 00:04:40.500 --> 00:04:43.019 were running a food manufacturing plant You wouldn't 00:04:43.019 --> 00:04:45.540 let the size of your ingredients fluctuate wildly 00:04:45.540 --> 00:04:48.779 from batch to batch, would you? No way. The quality 00:04:48.779 --> 00:04:51.259 of your final product would plummet. And on a 00:04:51.259 --> 00:04:53.220 dairy, the final product is milk components. 00:04:53.420 --> 00:04:55.939 The raw material delivery system is the TMR. 00:04:56.139 --> 00:04:57.959 And what farmers need to get their heads around 00:04:57.959 --> 00:05:00.139 is that the chemical composition of the feed, 00:05:00.279 --> 00:05:02.680 that's relatively stable once it's in the silo, 00:05:02.680 --> 00:05:05.399 but the physical structure, that critical particle 00:05:05.399 --> 00:05:08.319 size, that's volatile. Volatile is the perfect 00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:11.300 word. It changes based on the mixer speed, the 00:05:11.300 --> 00:05:13.699 wear on the augers, how dry the silage is, the 00:05:13.699 --> 00:05:16.180 mixing time. It can be different load by load, 00:05:16.259 --> 00:05:19.560 day by day. And in this market, every single 00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:22.139 lost component point is a self -inflicted financial 00:05:22.139 --> 00:05:24.639 wound. We're breeding for butterfat. We have 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:27.000 to feed for it too. So let's get into the biology 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:28.980 because this is where that quarter million dollars 00:05:28.980 --> 00:05:32.959 is hiding. It all centers around one thing, the 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:36.069 rumen mat. You really cannot overstate the importance 00:05:36.069 --> 00:05:38.449 of the rumen mat. The rumen is not some simple 00:05:38.449 --> 00:05:42.810 mixing bowl. It's a highly sophisticated, stratified 00:05:42.810 --> 00:05:45.670 ecosystem. Right. And for it to work right, it 00:05:45.670 --> 00:05:47.290 needs long particles. We're talking about the 00:05:47.290 --> 00:05:49.750 stuff that's greater than 19 millimeters to form 00:05:49.750 --> 00:05:52.430 a floating physical mat like a raft on top of 00:05:52.430 --> 00:05:54.689 all the liquid. This is just non -negotiable 00:05:54.689 --> 00:05:56.850 physiology. And that mat does a few critical 00:05:56.850 --> 00:06:00.019 jobs. First, it controls retention time. It physically 00:06:00.019 --> 00:06:02.920 traps the smaller digestible particles, the grains, 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:05.459 the fines, and holds them in the fermentation 00:06:05.459 --> 00:06:07.800 chamber so the microbes have time to work. So 00:06:07.800 --> 00:06:10.779 if the TMR is too fine, there's no mat. And all 00:06:10.779 --> 00:06:12.600 that expensive energy gets washed out before 00:06:12.600 --> 00:06:14.339 the cow can use it. It goes right out the back 00:06:14.339 --> 00:06:16.180 end. The mat is also where the good microbes 00:06:16.180 --> 00:06:18.800 live, right? The fiber digesters. It's their 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:21.379 preferred habitat. They colonize those long, 00:06:21.399 --> 00:06:24.560 buoyant particles. If the mat fails, those critical 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:27.399 microbial populations struggle. But the most 00:06:27.399 --> 00:06:29.800 important thing... The part that directly connects 00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:33.420 particle size to Sarah is cud chewing. The physical 00:06:33.420 --> 00:06:35.959 presence of that coarse material forces the cow 00:06:35.959 --> 00:06:38.620 to ruminate. It stimulates rumination. It makes 00:06:38.620 --> 00:06:41.879 her chew her cud for hours. And cud chewing is 00:06:41.879 --> 00:06:44.660 the cow's own internal organic buffer system. 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:47.860 It's the engine of her antacid response. We are 00:06:47.860 --> 00:06:50.300 talking about... A massive amount of saliva, 00:06:50.600 --> 00:06:54.420 50, maybe up to 90 liters per cow per day. And 00:06:54.420 --> 00:06:57.000 that saliva is packed with sodium bicarbonate 00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:59.779 and phosphate buffers. So less chewing means 00:06:59.779 --> 00:07:03.399 less saliva. Less saliva means rumen pH drops. 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:07.040 And if it drops below 5 .8? You're in SARA territory. 00:07:07.120 --> 00:07:09.680 So when you use the PSPS to measure physically 00:07:09.680 --> 00:07:12.459 effective NDF, the PNDF, what you are literally 00:07:12.459 --> 00:07:14.759 measuring is the diet's power to trigger those 00:07:14.759 --> 00:07:17.240 90 liters of essential buffering fluid. It's 00:07:17.240 --> 00:07:19.379 an early warning system. And when that consistency 00:07:19.379 --> 00:07:21.220 fails, when the structure breaks down, you don't 00:07:21.220 --> 00:07:23.579 just have one herd anymore. You get these phantom 00:07:23.579 --> 00:07:26.540 herds inside the same pen. Exactly. The dominant 00:07:26.540 --> 00:07:29.220 cows, the boss cows, they go through and sort 00:07:29.220 --> 00:07:31.740 for all the tasty high starch grain. They just 00:07:31.740 --> 00:07:33.920 push the long fiber aside. And they get these 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:37.160 massive slugs of carbohydrates, which sends their 00:07:37.160 --> 00:07:39.720 rumen pH into a nosedive. And you can't just 00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:42.319 assume the submissive cows are OK. No, they get 00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:44.139 what's left. They get the orts. They're left 00:07:44.139 --> 00:07:47.319 with a high fiber, low energy, unappetizing diet 00:07:47.319 --> 00:07:50.379 that the boss cows rejected. So they're not limited 00:07:50.379 --> 00:07:52.259 by their genetics anymore. They're limited by 00:07:52.259 --> 00:07:55.250 a lack of energy. They just. chronically underperform. 00:07:55.550 --> 00:07:57.970 So your beautiful spreadsheet that assumes every 00:07:57.970 --> 00:08:00.730 cow eats the exact same thing is completely broken. 00:08:00.970 --> 00:08:04.170 You've got sick, acidotic cows, and at the same 00:08:04.170 --> 00:08:07.050 time, skinny, underperforming cows. That variation 00:08:07.050 --> 00:08:09.329 is where all the profit just evaporates. It's 00:08:09.329 --> 00:08:11.610 a management nightmare. Okay, let's shift gears 00:08:11.610 --> 00:08:14.189 and get into the science inside the box. We need 00:08:14.189 --> 00:08:16.410 to detail these guidelines not just as numbers 00:08:16.410 --> 00:08:19.329 on a page, but as physiological needs. This is 00:08:19.329 --> 00:08:21.629 where you get the actionable data. This is the 00:08:21.629 --> 00:08:24.610 Rosetta Stone of TMR. The shaker box breaks the 00:08:24.610 --> 00:08:27.129 ration into four distinct physical parts, and 00:08:27.129 --> 00:08:29.829 each one has a specific job in the rumen. Let's 00:08:29.829 --> 00:08:32.490 start at the top, the biggest particles. This 00:08:32.490 --> 00:08:36.210 is the sorting risk zone. The top sieve, everything 00:08:36.210 --> 00:08:38.929 greater than 19 millimeters. The target range 00:08:38.929 --> 00:08:42.889 here is really tight, 2 to 8%. That's your structural 00:08:42.889 --> 00:08:46.549 scaffolding. That little bit, that 2 to 8%, is 00:08:46.549 --> 00:08:48.909 what guarantees cud chewing and mat formation. 00:08:49.309 --> 00:08:52.399 If you fall below 2%, You basically have zero 00:08:52.399 --> 00:08:55.100 defense against Sarah. But, and this is a big 00:08:55.100 --> 00:08:57.879 but, if you go over 8%, especially if you're 00:08:57.879 --> 00:09:00.600 pushing 10 or 15, you're giving the cow too much 00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:03.360 choice. Those long, ropey bits of hay are just 00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:05.639 too easy for her to sort out. That's the key, 00:09:05.720 --> 00:09:07.840 isn't it? It's not just enough fiber. It has 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:10.179 to be fiber that can't be easily sorted. Precisely. 00:09:10.220 --> 00:09:13.220 Next up is the largest fraction, the middle sieve, 00:09:13.259 --> 00:09:16.240 8 to 19 millimeters. This is the workhorse. The 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:18.879 target is 30 to 50%. This is your sweet spot. 00:09:19.210 --> 00:09:20.990 It's long enough to be part of the rumen mat, 00:09:21.169 --> 00:09:23.110 but it's short enough that you can't easily push 00:09:23.110 --> 00:09:26.129 it aside. This is where your highly digestible 00:09:26.129 --> 00:09:28.610 fiber lives. Then you've got the lower sieve, 00:09:28.629 --> 00:09:32.049 4 to 8 millimeters. Target is 20 to 30 percent. 00:09:32.389 --> 00:09:35.730 This stuff sinks faster. It provides huge surface 00:09:35.730 --> 00:09:38.370 area for the microbes to attach to. It just makes 00:09:38.370 --> 00:09:40.990 fermentation more efficient. And finally, we 00:09:40.990 --> 00:09:44.470 get to the danger zone, the pan. Anything under 00:09:44.470 --> 00:09:47.230 four millimeters. You have got to keep this under 00:09:47.230 --> 00:09:50.970 20%. If you are above 20 % in the pan, you are 00:09:50.970 --> 00:09:53.690 basically loading the system with rocket fuel, 00:09:53.909 --> 00:09:58.580 rapidly fermentable grains. fines, it creates 00:09:58.580 --> 00:10:01.240 an explosion of acid that the cow's natural buffer 00:10:01.240 --> 00:10:03.379 system, which is relying on that little bit of 00:10:03.379 --> 00:10:06.360 long fiber, just cannot handle. Okay, that leads 00:10:06.360 --> 00:10:08.659 us directly to the mechanism of milk fat depression. 00:10:09.059 --> 00:10:10.980 We've spent some time here because this is complex, 00:10:11.240 --> 00:10:13.200 it's not well understood, and it's where the 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:15.639 real high -value insight is hiding. I agree. 00:10:15.980 --> 00:10:18.440 Farmers know high grain means low fat, but they 00:10:18.440 --> 00:10:20.360 usually think it's just, you know, a lack of 00:10:20.360 --> 00:10:23.299 building blocks for fat. It's not. It is a targeted 00:10:23.299 --> 00:10:25.759 biological assassination of the butterfat production 00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:28.600 process. So you have a physical problem. Too 00:10:28.600 --> 00:10:31.360 much in the pan, not enough on top, which creates 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:35.679 a chemical problem. Rumin pH drops below 5 .8. 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:38.940 How does that cause that specific severe drop 00:10:38.940 --> 00:10:42.429 in milk fat? It's a microbial coup d 'etat. When 00:10:42.429 --> 00:10:45.110 the rumen gets acidic, the good cellulitic bacteria, 00:10:45.330 --> 00:10:47.110 the ones we need, they get inhibited. They start 00:10:47.110 --> 00:10:49.350 to die off because they need a pH above 6. And 00:10:49.350 --> 00:10:51.529 as they die off, something else moves in. You 00:10:51.529 --> 00:10:54.029 get a population boom of acid -tolerant bacteria. 00:10:54.570 --> 00:10:57.590 And these guys start processing the unsaturated 00:10:57.590 --> 00:11:00.429 fatty acids in the diet, the fats from corn silage, 00:11:00.470 --> 00:11:03.509 soybeans, supplements. This is the biohydrogenation 00:11:03.509 --> 00:11:06.169 pathway failure we hear about. Exactly. Normally, 00:11:06.269 --> 00:11:08.309 the good microbes take those unsaturated fats 00:11:08.309 --> 00:11:10.190 and turn them into harmless saturated fat in 00:11:10.190 --> 00:11:13.009 a safe, multi -step process. But when these acid 00:11:13.009 --> 00:11:15.669 -loving bugs take over, they interrupt that process. 00:11:15.769 --> 00:11:18.690 They create these intermediate fatty acids. And 00:11:18.690 --> 00:11:20.649 one of those intermediates is the killer. It 00:11:20.649 --> 00:11:23.190 produces a specific isomer known as trans -10, 00:11:23.350 --> 00:11:27.490 cis -12, conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA. And 00:11:27.490 --> 00:11:30.090 this molecule isn't just waste. It's a highly 00:11:30.090 --> 00:11:32.970 potent biological signaling molecule. How potent 00:11:32.970 --> 00:11:36.190 are we talking? It is frighteningly potent. Research 00:11:36.190 --> 00:11:38.950 shows that if the cow produces just a few grams 00:11:38.950 --> 00:11:41.970 of this specific isomer a day, it travels through 00:11:41.970 --> 00:11:44.809 her bloodstream and acts like a biological kill 00:11:44.809 --> 00:11:47.269 switch on the mammary gland. Wait, a kill switch? 00:11:47.529 --> 00:11:49.610 So it's not just slowing things down, it's... 00:11:49.899 --> 00:11:52.720 actively stopping production. It specifically 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:55.879 targets the genes responsible for making these 00:11:55.879 --> 00:11:58.220 short and medium chain fatty acids that make 00:11:58.220 --> 00:12:00.820 up the bulk of milk fat. It tells the udder to 00:12:00.820 --> 00:12:03.559 halt production. So the cow has the energy, she 00:12:03.559 --> 00:12:06.000 has the building blocks, but this one molecule 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:08.620 is literally telling her udder to shut down. 00:12:08.860 --> 00:12:11.279 Correct. It doesn't just limit production, it 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:13.899 actively shuts down the machinery. And the dose 00:12:13.899 --> 00:12:17.299 response curve is steep. Even small, chronic 00:12:17.299 --> 00:12:20.379 TMR inconsistencies that create a constant state 00:12:20.379 --> 00:12:23.659 of Sarah can depress your fat yield by 25 to 00:12:23.659 --> 00:12:27.059 50%. The PSPS is measuring your risk of creating 00:12:27.059 --> 00:12:29.799 this component -destroying agent. If that's not 00:12:29.799 --> 00:12:31.740 enough to make you shake that box once a week, 00:12:31.779 --> 00:12:33.279 I don't know what is. You're not just measuring 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:34.820 particle size, you're measuring your defense 00:12:34.820 --> 00:12:38.960 against this kill switch molecule. And we can't 00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:42.139 forget the other physical cost of low pH. The 00:12:42.139 --> 00:12:45.200 fat is the visible part. But that constant acid 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:47.539 burn damages the lining of the room and wall, 00:12:47.740 --> 00:12:50.679 it reduces nutrient absorption, and leads to 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:53.200 the release of histamines and inflammatory compounds. 00:12:53.500 --> 00:12:56.080 And inflammation is the direct highway to laminitis. 00:12:56.299 --> 00:13:00.179 It is. That systemic inflammation is a huge contributor 00:13:00.179 --> 00:13:03.139 to foot problems, which leads to lameness, which 00:13:03.139 --> 00:13:06.570 reduces DMI, which increases culling. It's a 00:13:06.570 --> 00:13:09.789 vicious cycle. The loss of half a point of butterfat 00:13:09.789 --> 00:13:12.669 is the cost you see on the milk check. The lameness 00:13:12.669 --> 00:13:15.549 is the hidden cost of that same inconsistency. 00:13:15.669 --> 00:13:17.649 So it's a full system failure, all started by 00:13:17.649 --> 00:13:19.549 a few percentage points of fine material in the 00:13:19.549 --> 00:13:22.669 TMR. Okay, now we have to close the loop. Particle 00:13:22.669 --> 00:13:25.070 size is what goes in. Fecal starch is what comes 00:13:25.070 --> 00:13:27.490 out. Together, they're the full audit. This is 00:13:27.490 --> 00:13:29.870 the economic accountability check. If you're 00:13:29.870 --> 00:13:32.009 using the shaker box, but you ignore fecal starch, 00:13:32.250 --> 00:13:34.570 you're only seeing half the picture. The starch 00:13:34.570 --> 00:13:36.950 test tells you how much expensive feed you are 00:13:36.950 --> 00:13:39.110 literally flushing down the drain. So what's 00:13:39.110 --> 00:13:41.389 the benchmark? We need hard numbers here. The 00:13:41.389 --> 00:13:44.070 benchmark for fecal starch should be below 3%. 00:13:44.070 --> 00:13:47.110 That's optimal. If you're below 1%, you are running 00:13:47.110 --> 00:13:49.490 a gold standard operation. And the warning signs. 00:13:49.830 --> 00:13:53.330 3 % to 5 % is an alert. You're losing efficiency. 00:13:53.809 --> 00:13:56.830 But once you're consistently above 5%, that's 00:13:56.830 --> 00:13:59.710 a full -blown economic alarm. You're losing significant 00:13:59.710 --> 00:14:02.009 money because the feed is just moving too fast. 00:14:02.269 --> 00:14:04.289 Let's nail down that cost. What's the financial 00:14:04.289 --> 00:14:06.899 hit of that inefficiency? The research is really 00:14:06.899 --> 00:14:09.980 clear on this. For every 1 % increase in fecal 00:14:09.980 --> 00:14:13.539 starch above that 3 % threshold, you lose about 00:14:13.539 --> 00:14:18.159 0 .7 pounds of milk per cow per day. Okay, let's 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:20.840 run that thousand cow dairy scenario from the 00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:23.159 research because the number is just staggering. 00:14:23.419 --> 00:14:26.600 So let's say a herd goes from a goal of 1 % starch 00:14:26.600 --> 00:14:30.039 loss up to a poor, but honestly very common 6%. 00:14:30.039 --> 00:14:32.860 That's a five point difference in waste. Five 00:14:32.860 --> 00:14:36.820 points times 0 .7 pounds of milk. That's three 00:14:36.820 --> 00:14:39.759 and a half pounds of milk lost per cow every 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:42.299 single day. For a thousand cow herd, that's 3 00:14:42.299 --> 00:14:46.220 ,500 pounds of milk lost daily. Annually, that 00:14:46.220 --> 00:14:50.000 is over 1 .8 million pounds of milk that's just 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:53.120 poured into the manure pit. And if we use a conservative 00:14:53.120 --> 00:14:57.639 milk price, say $20 per hundredweight, that inefficiency 00:14:57.639 --> 00:15:02.230 is costing that farm $256 ,000 a year. And that's 00:15:02.230 --> 00:15:04.049 the crucial point. That quarter million dollar 00:15:04.049 --> 00:15:06.870 loss is just the lost milk revenue. Right. It 00:15:06.870 --> 00:15:09.129 doesn't count the cost of the expensive corn 00:15:09.129 --> 00:15:11.149 you bought and paid to process only to flush 00:15:11.149 --> 00:15:14.350 it. It doesn't count the vet bills for the laminitis 00:15:14.350 --> 00:15:17.809 cases that the underlying acidosis caused. The 00:15:17.809 --> 00:15:20.389 real economic loss is probably one and a half 00:15:20.389 --> 00:15:23.809 to two times that number. The ROI on a $200 plastic 00:15:23.809 --> 00:15:27.090 box is astronomical. It's instantaneous. Okay, 00:15:27.149 --> 00:15:28.710 but I'm not just buying that it's correlation. 00:15:29.639 --> 00:15:32.299 How do we prove the shaker box fixed it? There 00:15:32.299 --> 00:15:34.279 are so many variables on a farm. That's a great 00:15:34.279 --> 00:15:36.820 challenge. The PSPS is what lets you isolate 00:15:36.820 --> 00:15:39.299 the variable. If you test your feed and your 00:15:39.299 --> 00:15:42.259 pan fraction is, say, 20 % way too high and your 00:15:42.259 --> 00:15:45.480 fecal starch is 6%, that is a direct link between 00:15:45.480 --> 00:15:48.500 physical structure and washout. Okay. So you 00:15:48.500 --> 00:15:51.549 make one change. You adjust the mixer time. And 00:15:51.549 --> 00:15:54.049 three weeks later, your fecal starch is down 00:15:54.049 --> 00:15:57.690 to 3 % and your pan fraction is 18%. You have 00:15:57.690 --> 00:16:01.009 empirical proof that the physical structure was 00:16:01.009 --> 00:16:04.549 the bottleneck. The PSPS gives you the data to 00:16:04.549 --> 00:16:07.330 prove it. It provides the accountability. Got 00:16:07.330 --> 00:16:10.070 it. Now let's get into practical troubleshooting. 00:16:10.129 --> 00:16:12.870 The fix is totally different if the TMR is too 00:16:12.870 --> 00:16:15.590 fine versus too long. Absolutely. Two distinct 00:16:15.590 --> 00:16:18.690 failures. Let's start with scenario A, the too 00:16:18.690 --> 00:16:21.559 fine leak. This is usually a mixer wagon problem. 00:16:21.799 --> 00:16:23.799 And this happens a lot in winter, right? Forges 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:26.440 are drier, operators run the mixer longer to 00:16:26.440 --> 00:16:28.720 break up frozen chunks, and they just pulverize 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:30.980 the fiber. And this is the deceptive part. The 00:16:30.980 --> 00:16:32.879 operator looks at the TMR and thinks, it looks 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:35.700 great, it's so uniform and fluffy. But in reality, 00:16:35.779 --> 00:16:38.519 the structural integrity, the PNDF, has been 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:41.559 destroyed. So the cow is eating this finely ground 00:16:41.559 --> 00:16:44.240 mash, the rumen mat collapses, the particles 00:16:44.240 --> 00:16:46.500 are dense, and they just get flushed out. wash 00:16:46.500 --> 00:16:49.279 out. The feed retention time plummets. Instead 00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:51.559 of 35 hours, maybe it's only 20. The microbes 00:16:51.559 --> 00:16:53.539 just don't get enough time to do their job. And 00:16:53.539 --> 00:16:56.559 that's why you see high fecal starch. Not because 00:16:56.559 --> 00:16:58.740 the kernel processor failed, but because the 00:16:58.740 --> 00:17:01.240 structure failed and the feed moved through the 00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:04.059 cow too fast. The fix is usually simple. Reduce 00:17:04.059 --> 00:17:06.720 mixing time. For a lot of vertical mixers, just 00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:08.920 cutting the final mix from five minutes to three 00:17:08.920 --> 00:17:11.980 can be revolutionary. And check your hardware. 00:17:12.490 --> 00:17:14.690 Are your kicker plates too aggressive? Loading 00:17:14.690 --> 00:17:17.210 order is huge, too. You don't want to throw fragile 00:17:17.210 --> 00:17:20.170 hay in an empty mixer and just grind it to dust 00:17:20.170 --> 00:17:21.930 while you load everything else. Put it in later. 00:17:22.309 --> 00:17:25.349 And another quick fix is moisture. A fine TMR 00:17:25.349 --> 00:17:28.289 will segregate in the bunk. Adding 5 to 10 % 00:17:28.289 --> 00:17:31.309 more moisture water, molasses helps bind those 00:17:31.309 --> 00:17:33.410 fines to the bigger particles and stops sorting. 00:17:33.670 --> 00:17:36.930 Okay, now the flip side. Scenario B. The too 00:17:36.930 --> 00:17:40.119 long trap. This is usually dull knives or, you 00:17:40.119 --> 00:17:42.160 know, just fear. It's driven by the fear of Sarah. 00:17:42.299 --> 00:17:44.940 Farmers think longer fiber is safer. But if it's 00:17:44.940 --> 00:17:46.980 too long, it's just an obstacle the cow sorts 00:17:46.980 --> 00:17:50.259 around. The PSPS diagnostic is clear here. If 00:17:50.259 --> 00:17:52.779 your top sieve is consistently pushing 10, 15 00:17:52.779 --> 00:17:55.559 percent, your sorting risk is in the red zone. 00:17:55.779 --> 00:17:58.140 And the way you prove it is you compare the fresh 00:17:58.140 --> 00:18:01.819 TMR to the refusals, the orts. If your fresh 00:18:01.819 --> 00:18:05.039 TMR is 6 percent on the top screen, but the orts 00:18:05.039 --> 00:18:08.150 the next morning are 25 percent on top. sorting 00:18:08.150 --> 00:18:11.230 is confirmed. The cow has physically selected 00:18:11.230 --> 00:18:13.569 against the structure you designed. And for a 00:18:13.569 --> 00:18:15.509 fresh cow, that is a metabolic hand grenade. 00:18:15.710 --> 00:18:18.150 It is absolutely devastating for the fresh group. 00:18:18.460 --> 00:18:21.200 They're already fragile. If they sort for a high 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:23.440 starch meal right after calving, you just fast 00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:26.039 track acidosis, which drives down DMI, which 00:18:26.039 --> 00:18:29.000 leads straight to ketosis and DAs. It's a cascading 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:31.720 failure. Let's talk about the specific challenges 00:18:31.720 --> 00:18:34.460 the Penn State data uncovered. The ballage challenge 00:18:34.460 --> 00:18:37.240 was a big one. Huge. Ballage, for all its benefits, 00:18:37.380 --> 00:18:39.920 can be a mixing nightmare. Herds feeding it were 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:42.440 frequently testing at 20 to 40 percent on the 00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:44.559 top sieve. So a third of the feed is way too 00:18:44.559 --> 00:18:46.740 long and super sortable. That's four to five 00:18:46.740 --> 00:18:49.130 times the limit. The physical nature of the bale 00:18:49.130 --> 00:18:51.809 just resists breaking down in the mixer. You 00:18:51.809 --> 00:18:54.410 get these massive ropey clumps that the cow just 00:18:54.410 --> 00:18:56.769 refuses to eat. So if you're using ballage and 00:18:56.769 --> 00:18:59.529 your top sieve is high, the fix isn't just about 00:18:59.529 --> 00:19:02.029 mixing longer, is it? No. In fact, that might 00:19:02.029 --> 00:19:04.430 make the fines worse. It often means you have 00:19:04.430 --> 00:19:06.230 to pre -chop the bales or you have to look back 00:19:06.230 --> 00:19:09.309 at your harvest protocol. The mixer can't fix 00:19:09.309 --> 00:19:12.890 bad forage processing. The PSPS just makes the 00:19:12.890 --> 00:19:15.130 problem visible. And they also found a case that 00:19:15.130 --> 00:19:17.680 showed the opposite problem. The too fine leak. 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:20.500 Yep, the case where physically effective fiber 00:19:20.500 --> 00:19:24.720 dropped to 16%. The TMR was so fine that the 00:19:24.720 --> 00:19:27.099 washout was so fast you could see whole corn 00:19:27.099 --> 00:19:29.640 kernels in the manure. That's your quarter million 00:19:29.640 --> 00:19:32.180 dollar loss right there in front of you. The 00:19:32.180 --> 00:19:34.799 PSPS stops you from blaming the corn processor 00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:37.819 when the mixer is the real culprit. It redirects 00:19:37.819 --> 00:19:40.299 your troubleshooting. If milk fat drops, shake 00:19:40.299 --> 00:19:42.940 the box. If you see sorting, add moisture to 00:19:42.940 --> 00:19:45.410 make the TMR sticky. If it's too fine, cut the 00:19:45.410 --> 00:19:47.950 mix time or add a bit of straw late in the load. 00:19:48.089 --> 00:19:50.490 The box turns your diagnosis into an action plan. 00:19:50.690 --> 00:19:52.990 The whole goal here is to get away from reactive 00:19:52.990 --> 00:19:55.549 firefighting and build a culture of consistency. 00:19:56.130 --> 00:19:58.150 But when a farmer makes the change, they have 00:19:58.150 --> 00:20:00.630 to manage their expectations. The rumen doesn't 00:20:00.630 --> 00:20:03.089 heal overnight. We need to walk through the 21 00:20:03.089 --> 00:20:05.430 -day recovery timeline. This is where so many 00:20:05.430 --> 00:20:08.150 producers fail. They fix the mix on a Tuesday, 00:20:08.490 --> 00:20:11.190 check the test on Thursday, see no change, and 00:20:11.190 --> 00:20:13.910 go right back to the old broken way by Friday. 00:20:14.609 --> 00:20:16.970 You have to respect the biology. Okay, let's 00:20:16.970 --> 00:20:19.589 walk through the three weeks, step by step. What 00:20:19.589 --> 00:20:22.309 should you be tracking? Days one to two is behavioral 00:20:22.309 --> 00:20:25.349 stabilization. If you fix the structure, sorting 00:20:25.349 --> 00:20:28.089 should stop almost immediately. Look at the refusals. 00:20:28.089 --> 00:20:30.299 Are they more uniform? And check your rumination 00:20:30.299 --> 00:20:33.240 monitors. You should see cud chewing time start 00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:36.079 to tick up. Then comes the physiological relief. 00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:40.460 Days 3 to 5, intake response. Dry matter intake 00:20:40.460 --> 00:20:43.500 should climb by 2 to 4 pounds. The cow just feels 00:20:43.500 --> 00:20:46.180 better because her rumen pH is stable. She's 00:20:46.180 --> 00:20:48.119 happier to eat. And production follows pretty 00:20:48.119 --> 00:20:50.819 quickly after that. Days 5 to 7, you'll see a 00:20:50.819 --> 00:20:53.539 milk volume rise, a bump in the bulk tank of 00:20:53.539 --> 00:20:56.279 3 to 5 pounds per cow. That's the direct result 00:20:56.279 --> 00:20:59.000 of higher intake and less wasted starch. But 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:01.859 the component change, the money shot, that takes 00:21:01.859 --> 00:21:04.539 longer because of that whole biohydrogenation 00:21:04.539 --> 00:21:07.960 pathway mess. That's week two. Days 10 to 14 00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:10.019 is the butterfat lift. This is when the magic 00:21:10.019 --> 00:21:14.000 happens. That trans -10, cis -12 CLA is gone, 00:21:14.140 --> 00:21:16.960 the good microbes have repopulated, and the mammary 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:19.559 gland finally turns the fat synthesis genes back 00:21:19.559 --> 00:21:22.960 on. You'll see your butterfat lift by 0 .2 to 00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:25.779 0 .3 points. And when do you finally declare 00:21:25.779 --> 00:21:30.099 victory? Day 21, that's full stability. By then, 00:21:30.180 --> 00:21:32.660 the rumen lining has healed, the microbial ecosystem 00:21:32.660 --> 00:21:35.500 is stable, and metabolic inflammation is down. 00:21:35.619 --> 00:21:38.160 You have to commit to the change for three full 00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:41.890 weeks. That 21 -day window changes the PSPS from 00:21:41.890 --> 00:21:44.730 a crisis tool into a strategic tool. And that 00:21:44.730 --> 00:21:47.269 leads to operationalizing it, making it a habit. 00:21:47.390 --> 00:21:49.349 It has to be cultural. I call it Feed Quality 00:21:49.349 --> 00:21:52.250 Friday, a 15 -minute scheduled event. Test the 00:21:52.250 --> 00:21:54.950 fresh TMR, test the refusals, log the data, share 00:21:54.950 --> 00:21:57.150 it with the team. And the numbers back up that 00:21:57.150 --> 00:21:59.829 tiny time investment. Absolutely. The data shows 00:21:59.829 --> 00:22:02.170 farms that monitor regularly reduce their component 00:22:02.170 --> 00:22:05.289 volatility by nearly 30%. That means predictable 00:22:05.289 --> 00:22:07.029 milk checks. And the financial impact of that 00:22:07.029 --> 00:22:09.579 stability. It translates to saving $50 ,000 to 00:22:09.579 --> 00:22:13.019 $60 ,000 a year on a 500 -cow herd just from 00:22:13.019 --> 00:22:15.059 reducing those swings and improving efficiency. 00:22:15.460 --> 00:22:18.759 A 15 -minute habit is generating the salary of 00:22:18.759 --> 00:22:21.000 a full -time employee. But more than the money, 00:22:21.099 --> 00:22:23.220 it changes the culture. It builds accountability. 00:22:23.559 --> 00:22:26.380 It shifts the mindset. When you post the PSPS 00:22:26.380 --> 00:22:29.240 target chart next to the mixer, the feeder stops 00:22:29.240 --> 00:22:32.180 guessing and starts operating with a clear, measurable 00:22:32.180 --> 00:22:36.329 goal. I need the pan at 18 % and the top at 6%. 00:22:36.329 --> 00:22:38.630 They become a feed chef instead of just a mixer 00:22:38.630 --> 00:22:40.809 operator. They start to own the quality of the 00:22:40.809 --> 00:22:42.849 final product. And they start catching problems 00:22:42.849 --> 00:22:45.410 like dry silage before it ever shows up as a 00:22:45.410 --> 00:22:47.890 pH crash two weeks later. It moves management 00:22:47.890 --> 00:22:50.549 from reactive to proactive. Which brings us right 00:22:50.549 --> 00:22:52.970 back to that quote from Dr. Hutchins. Technology 00:22:52.970 --> 00:22:55.750 gives you options, but discipline delivers results. 00:22:56.130 --> 00:22:58.789 The PFPS isn't fancy tech. It's a discipline 00:22:58.789 --> 00:23:01.430 tool. It is the truth serum of efficient dairy 00:23:01.430 --> 00:23:04.420 farming. All right, a producer is driving back 00:23:04.420 --> 00:23:06.220 from the feed mill. They've heard all this data, 00:23:06.339 --> 00:23:11.519 the $256 ,000 loss, the deadly CLA isomer. What 00:23:11.519 --> 00:23:13.880 are the three not negotiable, actionable steps 00:23:13.880 --> 00:23:16.160 they need to take right now? Let's break it down 00:23:16.160 --> 00:23:18.619 into immediate, medium, and long -term actions. 00:23:19.079 --> 00:23:22.579 Takeaway one, focus on the unopened box. This 00:23:22.579 --> 00:23:25.440 is for this week. The insight is this, the PSPS 00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:28.369 is your highest paper minute tool. It's the cheapest 00:23:28.369 --> 00:23:30.430 insurance you can buy against component loss. 00:23:31.049 --> 00:23:33.769 You cannot afford to assume your paper ration 00:23:33.769 --> 00:23:36.009 is what your cows are actually eating. And the 00:23:36.009 --> 00:23:38.809 action. Find that separator this week. Run one 00:23:38.809 --> 00:23:41.569 sample of your fresh TMR and one of your refusals 00:23:41.569 --> 00:23:44.529 from the next morning. If the refusals have way 00:23:44.529 --> 00:23:46.730 more long stuff, you are sorting. Adjust your 00:23:46.730 --> 00:23:49.549 mix immediately. Add moisture. Check your chop 00:23:49.549 --> 00:23:51.750 length. Do it for the weekend. Takeaway two, 00:23:51.890 --> 00:23:55.109 establish the 21 -day rule. This is your medium 00:23:55.109 --> 00:23:57.769 -term strategy. The insight here is that rumen 00:23:57.769 --> 00:24:00.809 recovery takes patience. You are changing a microbial 00:24:00.809 --> 00:24:03.289 ecosystem, and that takes a full cycle. Don't 00:24:03.289 --> 00:24:05.289 quit after five days. And the action. If you 00:24:05.289 --> 00:24:07.910 find and fix a structural problem, commit to 00:24:07.910 --> 00:24:10.470 that change for a full 21 days before you judge 00:24:10.470 --> 00:24:13.430 it. Track your DMI, rumination, and locomotion 00:24:13.430 --> 00:24:15.829 scores daily, and know that the big butterfat 00:24:15.829 --> 00:24:18.609 lift won't show up until week two. Manage your 00:24:18.609 --> 00:24:21.130 expectations based on the biology. And finally, 00:24:21.230 --> 00:24:24.450 takeaway three. Zero tolerance for starch and 00:24:24.450 --> 00:24:27.329 structure failure. This is your long -term positioning. 00:24:27.609 --> 00:24:30.630 The insight is that fecal starch above 3 % is 00:24:30.630 --> 00:24:33.049 expensive feed being flushed away, costing you 00:24:33.049 --> 00:24:35.630 almost a pound of milk per day for every point 00:24:35.630 --> 00:24:38.329 over that line, and it is almost always a physical 00:24:38.329 --> 00:24:40.329 structure problem. So the action is to create 00:24:40.329 --> 00:24:43.390 a closed loop. Exactly. Integrate your PSPS results 00:24:43.390 --> 00:24:46.819 with regular fecal starch testing. Use that shaker 00:24:46.819 --> 00:24:48.940 box data to enforce a culture of consistency 00:24:48.940 --> 00:24:51.539 with your feeding team. Make physical quality 00:24:51.539 --> 00:24:54.039 control a primary KPI that protects your entire 00:24:54.039 --> 00:24:56.759 margin from metabolic chaos. This has been another 00:24:56.759 --> 00:24:59.259 deep dive from the Bullvine podcast. For more 00:24:59.259 --> 00:25:01.819 straight talking, no BS industry analysis, head 00:25:01.819 --> 00:25:05.660 to www .thebullvine .com. Subscribe wherever 00:25:05.660 --> 00:25:08.339 you get podcasts. We're out with new episodes 00:25:08.339 --> 00:25:10.819 every day, and next time's topic will be analyzing 00:25:10.819 --> 00:25:13.660 the true cost of forage inventory shrinkage and 00:25:13.660 --> 00:25:16.019 spoilage, and how much money you're leaving in 00:25:16.019 --> 00:25:16.720 the silage pit.