Individualised feeding of concentrate supplements to pasture-based dairy cows

The increasing availability and installation of computerised feeding and milk monitoring technology in Australia and New Zealand has led to an increased interest in feeding individual cows different amounts and types of supplements during milking. There is, however, confusion about the potential benefits of individualised feeding strategies compared with feeding the same amount of supplement to all cows in the herd. The majority of bail feeding research conducted over the past 30 years has identified little difference in cow response, between flat rate feeding and more complicated approaches of split feeding or feeding to individual cow milk yield. However, it must be noted that many of these experiments involved animals with unlimited access to a forage source. Large variability in response to supplements between individual cows within the herd implies there should be a benefit from individualised bail feeding practices. This review examines the potential for individualised bail feeding in pasture-based dairy systems, considering both system (pasture allowance) and cow level parameters (dry matter intake, milk yield, genotype, bodyweight etc.) that could affect the individual cow response to a particular supplement, and discusses the current limitations and future challenges for implementing this technology on farm. Recommendations for future research are made to address any knowledge gaps.