Protein Formulation Survey

Protein Formulation Survey

This survey is part of a Northeast SARE grant meant to assess your current diet formulation techniques, placing emphasis on protein feeding strategies. Please answer all questions to the best of your ability and any comments regarding this work can be left at the end of the survey. If you have any questions on the survey, please email pal84@cornell.edu. Total time to complete: ~20 minutes. This survey can be saved (bottom of the page) and resumed at a later time if necessary.
Name

First NameLast Name
Email; please enter if you would like to be informed of survey findings.
example@example.com
How are you involved in the dairy industry?
What year did you begin formulating diets for cattle?*

For each state listed below, please identify the number of herds you feed and their average herd size. If you do not feed cows in a given state, please leave blank.*

	Number of Herds	Average Herd Size
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Asia
Australia
Europe
India
South America

Please rank the top five ways you prefer to receive your nutritional education; (1=Top method). Hold and drag each box into its desired order. All items below the fifth ranking will be disregarded.*
If 'Other' was part of your ranking above, please describe it here.

On your average herd, how many different groups do you formulate diets for? This includes, but not limited to, youngstock (post-weaned, breeding age, and springing heifers), transition cows (far-off dry, close-up dry, and fresh cows) and lactation (first-calf heifers, high lactation, and low lactation cows) groupings. Enter 'N/A' if data does not apply for a group or leave blank if not known.*

	What group(s) of cattle does this diet feed?	Range in dry matter intake (lb/d)	Range in milk production (lb/d)	Range in days in milk	Range in body weight	Target refusal rate (% of dropped feed)
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6
Group 7
Group 8
Group 9
Group 10
Group 11
Group 12
Group 13
Group 14
Group 15

For each group listed above, please choose the target animal you formulate each diet for (Choose one answer for each group).*

	I target feed for 10% below the average cow	I target feed for the average cow	I target feed for 10% above the average cow	I target feed for the top 10% of animals	Other (Please describe)
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6
Group 7
Group 8
Group 9
Group 10
Group 11
Group 12
Group 13
Group 14
Group 15

Please scroll over to view the rest of the table. For each group, please list the frequency in which you collect the parameters listed below to update your diet formulations. Enter 'N/A' if data does not apply for a group. *

	Dry matter intake	Diet particle size	Milk yield	Milk component %	Body weight	Average daily gain	Body condition score	Weather conditions	Cattle activity	Fecal scoring	Other parameter 1	Other parameter 2	Other parameter 3
Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Group 5
Group 6
Group 7
Group 8
Group 9
Group 10
Group 11
Group 12
Group 13
Group 14
Group 15

If you used 'Other Parameter 1' above, please describe that parameter below.
If you used 'Other Parameter 2' above, please describe that parameter below.
If you used 'Other Parameter 3' above, please describe that parameter below.
Regarding the formulation of lactating diets, please select the energy and protein balancing technique which best describes your practices:*

I balance diets to keep ME and MP allowable milk as close to each other as possible.I typically balance diets to have more ME than MP allowable milk described.I typically balance diets to have more MP than ME allowable milk described.Please describe any other circumstances if these do not fit the descriptions above:
Based on your experience with the producers you work with, rank the top five constraints which may create a condition requiring you to increase the supply of protein in your diets (1=Top constraint). Hold and drag each box into its desired order. All items below the fifth ranking will be disregarded.*
If 'Other' was part of your ranking above, please describe it here.
Do you utilize any nutrient excretion measurements provided by diet formulation software?*

I typically do not view any excretion measurements provided by diet formulation software.I observe the nutrient excretion measurements provided; however, I rarely make any changes to my diet if the excretion of certain nutrients is too high.I observe the nutrient excretion measurements provided and will make changes to my diets if emission/excretion are not preferable.
If you make dietary formulation decisions based on emission and excretion numbers, which parameter(s) are you interested in?*

Excretion/emission predictions are not used in formulation decisionsDecisions are made based on methane emission.Decisions are made based on nitrogen excretion.Decisions are made based on phosphorus excretion.

Please prioritize five of the following dietary parameters with the goal of optimizing protein formulation for high lactating diets (1 = top priority). For each metric you prioritize, please describe your preferred target. It is assumed that feed cost is considered but does not constrain formulation decisions which severely contradict your formulation strategies.*

	Priority number	Preferred target (Please include units and describe any conditions if needed)
Crude protein content
Metabolizable protein supply
Rumen degradable protein (RDP) content
Rumen undegradable protein (RUP) content
Soluble protein supply
Rumen ammonia content
Rumen peptide content
Microbial protein supply
Methionine, Lysine, and/or EAA supply
Dietary sugar and starch
Rumen degradable starch
Dietary NDF
Potentially degradable NDF
Total fermentable CHO content
Other parameter 1
Other parameter 2
Other parameter 3

If you used 'Other Parameter 1' above, please describe that parameter below.
If you used 'Other Parameter 2' above, please describe that parameter below.
If you used 'Other Parameter 3' above, please describe that parameter below.

How often do you meet with key members of the farm operation to discuss items relating to diet changes and feed management, financial decision making, or new nutritional concepts? Please also state your preferred frequency of visits.*

	Frequency of Visits	Preferred frequency
Farm owner
Feeder
Herd manager
Crop manager
Agronomist
Veterinarian
Financial lender
Other member

If 'Other' was part of your list above, please describe them here.
On your average herd, who typically collects forage samples?
On the slider below, indicate the average weekly interval between two corn silage samples.
When submitting a corn silage sample, which analysis do you typically ask for?

Basic NIR analysis, including measurements for protein, carbohydrates, and fiber.Basic NIR analysis plus NIR predictions of digestibility (Fiber, starch, etc.).Basic NIR analysis plus in vitro analysis of digestibility (Fiber, starch, etc.).Wet chemistry analysis for protein, carbohydrate, and fiber.Wet chemistry analysis for protein, carbohydrate, fiber, and digestibility.Other methodology
On the slider below, indicate the average weekly interval between grass/legume/mixed silage samples.
When submitting a grass/legume/mixed silage sample, which analysis do you typically ask for?

Basic NIR analysis, including measurements for protein, carbohydrates, and fiber.Basic NIR analysis plus NIR predictions of digestibility (Fiber, starch, etc.).Basic NIR analysis plus in vitro analysis of digestibility (Fiber, starch, etc.).Wet chemistry analysis for protein, carbohydrate, and fiber.Wet chemistry analysis for protein, carbohydrate, fiber, and digestibility.Other methodology
Please list any follow-up comments you may have regarding forage analysis.
On your average herd, who typically collects non-forage (concentrate) samples?
Multiple options may be selected.
On the slider below, indicate how many weeks are between two non-forage samples of a given feed.
When submitting a non-forage sample, which analysis do you typically ask for?

Basic NIR analysis, including measurements for protein, carbohydrates, and fiber.Basic NIR analysis plus NIR predictions of digestibility (Fiber, starch, etc.).Basic NIR analysis plus in vitro analysis of digestibility (Fiber, starch, etc.).Wet chemistry analysis for protein, carbohydrate, and fiber.Wet chemistry analysis for protein, carbohydrate, fiber, and digestibility.Other methodology
Please list any follow-up comments you may have regarding non-forage analysis.
Regarding intestinal digestibility of nitrogen for non-forage feed ingredients, please select the comment(s) which best portrays your circumstances. Select all that apply.

I always ask for intestinal digestibility of nitrogen when submitting samples for analysis.I will spot check my samples for intestinal digestibility of nitrogen.I will check intestinal digestibility of nitrogen when a new batch of feed arrives on farm and/or starts to be fed.I will submit samples for intestinal digestibility of nitrogen only when troubleshooting formulation issues.I do not submit samples for intestinal digestibility of nitrogen.Other situation:
Regarding amino acid analysis of feed ingredients, please select the comment(s) which best portrays your circumstances. Select all that apply.

I always ask for amino acid analysis when submitting samples.I will spot check my samples for amino acid analysis.I will check amino acid content when a new bunk of forage is opened.I will check amino acid content when a new batch of feed arrives on farm and/or starts to be fed.I will submit samples for amino acid analysis only when troubleshooting formulation issues.I do not submit samples for amino acid analysis.Other situation:
If there are any other factors which you felt were not considered which might impact your protein formulation practices, please write them here.
Any other comments regarding the survey?
Should be Empty: