23. Summer bulb turnips for lactating dairy cows: Part One

Summer bulb turnips are a key component of the diet for many lactating dairy cows. In this two-part series, we’ll be exploring everything to do with cows grazing bulb turnips, from the nutritional profile of summer turnips through to grazing management and expected milk production and body condition responses by cows that consume bulb turnips.

This, our first part of this two part series about turnips, we’ll cover off the role for summer bulb turnips in a dairy farm systems, and explore the typical nutritional values of the bulb and leaf of summer bulb turnips. The basic aspects of the nutritional profile such as dry matter (DM%) of crops, as well as the energy content, fibre, protein and macro and trace minerals are discussed. We’ll be including references to previously unpublished nutritional information from a New Zealand study of the feed quality of summer turnips. This information will help you successfully integrate summer bulb turnips into the diet of your lactating dairy cows.

Keep an eye out for part two of this series, where we’ll focus on the practicalities of feeding summer bulb turnips, including how to successfully transition cows from pasture-based diets to one that contains summer bulb turnips. We’ll cover off the expected performance and responses by cows to summer turnips, as well as how to avoid any animal health challenges when cows eat bulb turnips.