Feed Bunk Management
alternative practice names:
Feed Management; Feed Access Management; Feed Push Up Strategy
Feed bunk management is critical for reducing feed losses and can also impact the feed intake and efficiency of dairy cattle. The frequency, timing, and consistency of feed delivery and pushups are crucial for the lactating herd, as they directly affect cow nutrition, health, and behavior.
Strategies to improve feed bunk management include:
Increasing feed delivery frequency: Delivering fresh feed is a strong stimulus for cows to eat, often leading to their largest and most prolonged meal of the day. Multiple fresh feed deliveries daily can increase animal intake while spreading ruminal fermentation peaks more evenly over time. This practice ensures that all cows, regardless of social rank, have better access to fresh feed, which reduces selective feeding and promotes a more balanced nutrient intake. The benefits of this approach are particularly significant in barns with higher stocking densities.
Feed delivery timing: Deliver feed at consistent times and push up feed several times a day. One key aspect of feed bunk management is ensuring cows have fresh feed to eat when they finish milking, whether it be a total mixed ration (TMR) or silage at a bunk.
Feed push-up: If delivering additional fresh feed is not feasible, more frequent feed push-ups may be an effective alternative practice. Pushing feed up reduces sorting, ensuring a more consistent ration and stimulating additional feeding sessions. This approach encourages cows to eat more frequent, smaller meals throughout the day, maintaining better feed availability and ration quality.
Feed bunk space and stocking density: Ensuring at least 24 inches of bunk space per cow prevents overcrowding and reduces competition at the feed bunk. Adequate space helps to minimize aggressive interactions among cows, particularly between dominant and subordinate individuals, which can otherwise disrupt feeding behavior and limit access to feed for less dominant cows.
Feed barrier design: Barriers such as headlocks or vertical bars are preferred over post-and-rail barriers because they help reduce aggressive behaviors and displacement among cows. Proper barrier design allows cows to feed in a more relaxed posture, promoting consistent and stress-free access to feed.
Feeding surface: A feeding surface that is slightly elevated (3-6 inches) relative to the cow's standing surface supports a better feeding posture and neck position. Additionally, maintaining a smooth and polished feeding surface helps to reduce feed sorting and ensures that cows consume the TMR more uniformly, preventing dietary imbalances.
These components work together to ensure that cows consistently receive a balanced diet, minimize feed waste, and improve feed efficiency. Proper management of these areas can lead to higher milk production, improved herd health, and enhanced profitability.
When used, in what regions in the U.S. is the practice found:
Northwest, West, Upper Midwest, Southwest, Northeast, Southeast
FARM SIZE
When used, typically found on farms of the following sizes:
All Sizes

Practice Benefits
Reduced risk of intramammary infection: Coordinating fresh feed delivery with the return from the milking parlor encourages cows to stand longer after milking. Increased standing time allows the teat sphincter muscle to fully close before cows lie down, reducing exposure to environmental bacteria and hence minimizing the chance of mammary gland infections such as mastitis.
Reduced risk of acidosis: Adding an additional fresh feed delivery improves Dry Matter Intake (DMI) and creates a more even feeding time distribution. More even feeding patterns reduce diurnal fluctuations in rumen pH, decreasing the risk of subacute ruminal acidosis.
Higher milk production: More frequent feed push-ups lead to higher DMI and greater fat-corrected milk yields. Frequent eating sessions improve the stability of nutrient intake over the day and prevent milk fat depression. They can also improve the average performance in a group by better supporting subordinate cows' access to feed.
Reduced waste: Frequent feed push-up reduces ration sorting by remixing the feed pile, providing better ration consistency for all cows. Consolidating feed piles minimizes surface area exposure, reducing heating and feed refusal.
Improved diet consistency: Frequently measuring the dry matter content of ingredients allows the feeder to adjust the inclusion rates of ingredients to more accurately meet the needs of a given diet. It also allows for the accounting of inclement weather or other environmental factors that may alter the dry matter content of the diet. Additionally, training for the feeder and other essential farm employees can lead to better management of ingredient feed out and diet consistency, reducing the probability of either feeding excessive quantities of a particular ingredient or underfeeding an ingredient, which may lead to reduced milk production if continuously done.

Implementation Insights
Site-specific or Farm-specific requirements

TMR strategies: Many of these considerations apply across all geographies and housing systems, but some are more applicable to cows being fed a TMR in loose housing.
Required Capital Expenditures (CapEx)

Feed monitoring equipment: Implementing improved feedbank management may require the purchase of specialized equipment, such as moisture testers, to measure the dry matter content of feed ingredients regularly. Dry matter measurement can be conducted using "loss-on-drying methods" (e.g., microwave, forced air oven, Koster tester) or using a near-infrared spectrometer.
Feed push-up equipment: Some dairies justify larger capital expenditures, such as automated feed-pushing equipment.
Feed bunk modifications: If existing feed bunks are not designed to accommodate frequent push-ups or if they do not allow easy access to all cows, modifications may be necessary. This could involve structural changes or the installation of automated feed push-up systems, representing a modest capital investment.
Required Operational Expenditures (OpEx)

Increased labor requirements: Improved feedout management requires consistent monitoring and adjustment of feed dry matter and diet intake. Effective feed push-up strategies often require multiple interventions throughout the day, which can increase labor demands. This may be a challenge for farms with limited staffing or those not accustomed to frequent feed management tasks. Additionally, regular testing of dry matter content can add to ongoing operational costs.
Implementation Considerations

Management: Appropriate time management and communication with dairy personnel are required to consistently achieve the target timing and frequency of feeding and pushups, particularly if they are to be well-coordinated with milking schedules and other management tasks.
Maintenance: Ongoing maintenance of these technologies can pose a barrier to implementation.
Financial Considerations and Revenue Streams
There are no federal cost-share programs or conservation funding for this practice.
PROFIT POTENTIAL
Improved feedbunk management enhances profit potential by reducing the risk of intramammary infections and subacute ruminal acidosis, leading to healthier cows and increased milk production. More frequent feed delivery and push-ups improve dry matter intake, stabilize nutrient intake, and reduce feed waste. These practices also support diet consistency and minimize ration sorting, ultimately contributing to better herd performance and higher milk yields.
Additional Resources
Article: Benefits of Timely Feed Delivery and Push-Ups (Pennsylvania State University)
Article: Dairy Feed Bunk Management (Ohio State University)
Article: Dairy Sense: Precision Feeding's Key Metric: Dry Matter Intake (Pennsylvania State University)
Article: Dry Matter Tips for Feeders and Dairy Producers (Progressive Dairy)
Article: How Often Should You Push Up Feed? (Dairy Herd Management)

Environmental Impacts
MAY REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS FOOTPRINT
Little scientific research directly evaluates the effect(s) of the practice on a farm's environmental impact. However, improving feed bunk management can impact farm greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint in two significant ways. Feeding behavior strongly influences dairy cow productivity and feed efficiency, with more frequent and shorter meals enhancing nutrient absorption and reducing health risks like acidosis (Llonch et al., 2018). Increased feed efficiency and milk production may reduce the GHG emissions per unit of milk (emission intensity). Reducing feed waste via consistent monitoring of dry matter intake may reduce GHG emissions associated with feed production and transportation.
REFerences

Alignment with FARM Program
FARM Environmental Stewardship (ES) V2-V3 Alignment
FARM ES uses information about rations to calculate GHG emissions intensity, including enteric methane. The platform focuses on the lactating herd ration, with the option to enter details on rations for other animal classes. FARM ES Version 3 has the ability to run custom "what-if" scenarios where users can change various inputs, including ration information, to determine the impact on farm emissions.
Contents
We're always eager to update the website with the latest research, implementation insights, financial case studies, and emerging practices. Use the link above to share your insights.
We're always eager to update the website with the latest research, implementation insights, financial case studies, and emerging practices. Use the link above to share your insights.
Feed bunk management is critical for reducing feed losses and can also impact the feed intake and efficiency of dairy cattle. The frequency, timing, and consistency of feed delivery and pushups are crucial for the lactating herd, as they directly affect cow nutrition, health, and behavior.
Strategies to improve feed bunk management include:
Increasing feed delivery frequency: Delivering fresh feed is a strong stimulus for cows to eat, often leading to their largest and most prolonged meal of the day. Multiple fresh feed deliveries daily can increase animal intake while spreading ruminal fermentation peaks more evenly over time. This practice ensures that all cows, regardless of social rank, have better access to fresh feed, which reduces selective feeding and promotes a more balanced nutrient intake. The benefits of this approach are particularly significant in barns with higher stocking densities.
Feed delivery timing: Deliver feed at consistent times and push up feed several times a day. One key aspect of feed bunk management is ensuring cows have fresh feed to eat when they finish milking, whether it be a total mixed ration (TMR) or silage at a bunk.
Feed push-up: If delivering additional fresh feed is not feasible, more frequent feed push-ups may be an effective alternative practice. Pushing feed up reduces sorting, ensuring a more consistent ration and stimulating additional feeding sessions. This approach encourages cows to eat more frequent, smaller meals throughout the day, maintaining better feed availability and ration quality.
Feed bunk space and stocking density: Ensuring at least 24 inches of bunk space per cow prevents overcrowding and reduces competition at the feed bunk. Adequate space helps to minimize aggressive interactions among cows, particularly between dominant and subordinate individuals, which can otherwise disrupt feeding behavior and limit access to feed for less dominant cows.
Feed barrier design: Barriers such as headlocks or vertical bars are preferred over post-and-rail barriers because they help reduce aggressive behaviors and displacement among cows. Proper barrier design allows cows to feed in a more relaxed posture, promoting consistent and stress-free access to feed.
Feeding surface: A feeding surface that is slightly elevated (3-6 inches) relative to the cow's standing surface supports a better feeding posture and neck position. Additionally, maintaining a smooth and polished feeding surface helps to reduce feed sorting and ensures that cows consume the TMR more uniformly, preventing dietary imbalances.
These components work together to ensure that cows consistently receive a balanced diet, minimize feed waste, and improve feed efficiency. Proper management of these areas can lead to higher milk production, improved herd health, and enhanced profitability.
Practices and technologies
Feed Bunk Management
alternative practice name:
Feed Management; Feed Access Management; Feed Push Up Strategy