Covalin FF improves productivity of cows more than solid fats
Replacing solid rumen-bypass fats with Covalin FF helps to improve milk production and reduce feed-related costs. This was the finding of a trial featuring 200 dairy cows. The trial showed a difference of over 30 cents per cow per day.
We conducted the trial at the dairy farm of the Vermeeren family in Rijsbergen, the Netherlands. Prior to the trial, the circa 200 
milk-producing cows at this business produced 31.5 kg of milk per day, based on a diet containing 0.3 kg of solid fats. The trial involved replacing these fats with 0.8 kg of Covalin FF (with 356 g of fat/kg product). Besides fats, Covalin FF also contains proteins and other nutrients. This meant extra dietary modifications were also needed to make sure the diet used during the trial had the same nutritional value as the diet used in the past. These modifications caused feed-related costs to decrease by 4 cents per animal per day.
€22,513 per year
A measurable effect was immediately visible. In the three weeks that followed the change in diet, cows produced an average of 0.5 kg of extra milk, which also contained higher percentages of protein (+0.02) and fat (+0.05). This resulted in extra milk income of 26.84 cents per cow per day. After lower feed-related costs were taken into account, this resulted in extra revenue of 30.84 cents. Over the course of a year, the difference amounts to €22,513 for 200 cows.
Covalin FF consists of treated linseed and contains a lot of rumen-bypass unsaturated fats. (see ‘The benefits of linseed and rumen-bypass fats’)
| Period | Fat |
Milk (kg) |
FPCM (kg) |
fat (%) | protein (%) | Urea (mg/dl) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27/1 to 20/2 | solid fat | 31.5 | 33.4 | 4.31 | 3.71 | 21 |
| 20/2 to 3/3 | Covalin FF | 32.0 | 34.1 | 4.36 | 3.73 | 21 |
| Effect | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.05 | +0.02 | 0 |
