Acetona® Energy trial in Moscow region

Hankkija and its predecessor Suomen Rehu have a long history of establishment in Russia. Our products have been present on the market for long time. Recently we have been focusing on promoting innovative feed additives for dairy. The challenges that dairy farms face are universal regardless of the country. Most common problems are centered around parturition/ calving and include hypocalcemia, ketosis and acidosis in acute or subclinical forms. Hankkija’s products range Acetona® is aiming to help dairy cows to overcome these problems.

Edvard Haimi (Area Sales Manager Russia, Baltic and CIS) tells: We at Hankkija believe in our own unique patented ingredients Progut® and Progres®, and therefore we have included them in formulations of our Acetona® products as soon as we have made sure of their efficacy on dairy farms.

Although Acetona® Energy supplements have been on the market for a long time, they need to be tested from time to time. Russia’s recent development in domestic milk production has been significant. Increasing number of farms emerge and bigger complexes are built in Russia.

We wanted to make a farm trial near Moscow region Domodedovo district, just 80 km south of Kremlin. The aim of the trial was to find out how Acetona® Energy supplement, which is boosted with Progut® and Progres®, will impact milk productivity of dairy farms, and what kind of effect it will have on cows immunity. Previously in our trial in France (Neovia 2016) we have learned that Progres® and Progut® had a significant impact on the milk yield and reduced weight loss after partition. Anna Lehtinen, our technical specialist for ruminants, tells about the trial design and results.

TRIAL DESIGN

Altogether 42 multiparous Holstein cows were used in the trial and the cows were followed until 12 weeks after calving. The cows were divided to two different groups containing 21 cows each, control (C) and experimental (E) groups. The average milk yield of the cows in previous lactation was 8327 kg.
Both groups had the same basal diet. The basal diet consisted of corn silage, vetch-oat haylage, hay and beer mash. All cows received compound feed at the dosage depending on their milk yield (400 g feed per 1 kg milk) and Premivit Korova 4 as mineral feed. The compound feed included maize, barley, wheat, rapeseed meal and sunflower meal. In the E group daily 0,5 kg concentrate was replaced with 0,5 kg of Acetona® Energy during 56 days after calving.

Ten cows from both groups were included to betahydroxybutyrate (BHB) analysis from the blood four weeks after calving to evaluate the energy balance of the cows. Increased blood BHB concentration (> 1,2 mmol/l) is kept as a sign of subclinical ketosis, which is related to problems like decreased milk production and poor fertility.

RESULTS

The blood BHB level of the cows in E group was much lower throughout the four weeks period after calving compared to C group. During second and third lactation weeks 67% of the cows in control group had a BHB value related with subclinical ketosis (>1,2 mmol/l) whereas in the E group the corresponding values were 20 and 10%. On average the BHB level reached the highest level in the second week of lactation in both groups but was substantially higher in C group staying above the subclinical ketosis limit even in the fourth week of lactation (Figure 1).

The cows were milked three times per day and individual milk yields were collected weekly. The average number of lactation in C group was 2,8 and in E group 2,6. Acetona® Energy improved the development of the milk yield after calving so that compared to the first lactation week’s milk yield the cows in E group increased their milk yield faster and achieved higher peak in their production (Figure 2).

Cows in 3rd or later lactation in E group had on average 1,7 kg/day higher milk yield (36,7 kg vs. 35,0 kg) during the first 12 weeks after calving. The cows in E group reached their peak in lactation faster than cows in C group and the peak was higher (39,2; 37,9 kg/day) (Figure 3).

Graph 3. Milk production of the cows in 3^rd or 4^th lactation 12 weeks after calving.
In this experiment Acetona® Energy improved the energy balance of multiparous Holstein cows and decreased the prevalence of subclinical ketosis substantially. Acetona Energy improved the development of the milk yield and increased the milk yield of the cows in third or later lactation.

Edvard Haimi (Area sales manager Russia and CIS tells): The financial result of the supplementation of Acetona® Energy is also significant. The farm’s calculations demonstrated additional benefit around 200 euro per cow per lactation. This showed us that Progut® and Progres® have well earned its share in the recipe of our glycogenic feed supplement Acetona® Energy Power.