Milk urea can give you a guide to whether the forage element of your diet is balanced.  The chart below gives you a guide to how fodder can impact milk urea and, subsequently, milk qualities for cheese making.

A high protein: low energy ration will lead to high milk urea levels.
A low protein: high energy ration will lead to low milk urea levels.

High milk urea can impact on fertility as it is a reflection of surplus protein in the system that is not being utilised by the cow for maintenance or milk production.  We saw this problem late on in the grazing season, with higher than normal growth rates in grazing paddocks leading to larger than normal uptakes of nitrogen by the grass.  This has the knock-on effect of high levels of crude protein in the grazing grass, potentially leading to high levels of surplus protein in the cow’s system which equals high milk urea. Careful balancing of the diet is required if this occurs to ensure fertility isn’t affected, e.g. increased levels of energy and or lower protein concentrates.

Milk urea can impact on the yield of cheese produced from milk and the time cheese takes to set, so it is essential to ensure your ration is correct to ensure optimal milk quality.  Whilst milk urea does not influence milk price, understanding the milk urea results can help rations to be better formulated potentially leading to cost savings, if you are over feeding a certain element.

To discuss this further, please contact Phil Cooper at pcooper@fcgagric.com or your local FCG office.