Gain Plan® capitalizes on the strengths of ADM Alliance Nutrition® Inc., and Richard Keenan & Co. Ltd., (based in County Carlow, Ireland). Both organizations bring human capital, science, know-how, technologies and experience to form an integrated chemical and physical nutrition system. The Gain Plan® program is designed to improve the profitability and competitiveness of well managed, forward-looking dairy operations. It is particularly well-suited to reward producers in a market where efficiency, product quality and environmental stewardship are keys to success.

Bundling of hardware and software technologies is common place in feed processing plants, where machinery, ingredients, blending and sequencing protocols along with quality management and labor supervision must all ft together to achieve the desired results. The Gain Plan® program represents a bundle of technologies that form an integrated system. This bundle consists of a feed wagon with electronic controls (Keenan Mech-fiber® wagon), software (PACE; Performance Acceleration and Control Enhancement) and best nutrition consulting.

Figure 1 illustrates the Gain Plan® program through a simple Venn diagram. The feed wagon, PACE and processing protocols are central to the observed margin gains. But, the ultimate superior performance is a direct consequence of integrating existing chemical nutrition science with emerging physical nutrition science within a carefully designed set of best management practices. As Figure 1 suggests, in order for a sustained competitive advantage to be achieved, all the components, machine, software and best nutrition practices of the Gain Plan® program, need to be integrated.

The Gain Plan® program is a new way to feed dairy cows which focuses on improving Feed Conversion Efficiency (FCE) to achieve better daily margins. Of central importance is optimization of rumen function, through the correct provision of a unique, defined and quantifiable ration structure, known as Mech-fiber®. The unique gentle mixing action of the Keenan Mech-fiber® wagon is known to preserve ration structure (physical fiber), but it is through PACE that this specific ration structure can be produced consistently from a variety of feed/forage inputs. Equally important, PACE creates a data base that facilitates benchmarking and accelerates the learning speed and problem-solving ability of all network participants. Keenan has an extensive performance monitoring database covering 8777 herds in 25 countries, principally in the UK and Europe.

In 2007, a detailed study by Professor David Colman, President of the International Association of Agricultural Economists, of over 500 French and UK Keenan users showed gains averaging $359 (€260) and $150 (€110) respectively, per cow being made within one year of adopting the Keenan approach. (See table 1)

ADM Alliance Nutrition® conducted a commercial study from September 1 2009, through May, 15 2010, using four control dairy herds and four dairy herds that implemented the Gain Plan® program. Dairy herds were paired based on similarity and location, to account for some random variation. Data was collected simultaneously for the pairs, with the pre-test period being all dates prior to the implementation of the Gain Plan® program. Performance data (Table 2) indicate positive effects of the Gain Plan® program. Both the control dairy herds and the Gain Plan® program dairy herds significantly increased milk shipped during the treatment period (P≤0.03 and P≤0.01, respectively).

TABLE 2. Performance Results - Bulk Tank Data

However the increase was markedly higher in the Gain Plan® program dairy herds. There were also significant increases in butterfat and protein pounds shipped daily (P≤0.01) for the Gain Plan® program dairy herds, while control dairy herds did not have significant changes (P>0.05). Further, Gain Plan® program dairy herds had a significant decrease in somatic cell count (P≤0.02). The increased daily pounds of milk, fat and protein shipped could be attributed to increased cow numbers.

Data tracked through PACE further strengthens (Table 3) the positive effect of the Gain Plan® program. The PACE data shows trends for improved FCE (P≤0.12) and energy corrected milk (P≤0.19) values in the Gain Plan® program dairy herds. There was no change in the control dairy herds (P>0.48). These data are in agreement with Keenan's previous findings, translating into a 9.97% improvement in FCE in approximately 124 days for Gain Plan® program dairy herds. The FCE improvement seen in the Gain Plan® program dairy herds of 0.126 over 124 days suggests a potential gain of $0.63-$0.88/hd/d within four months of implementation.

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ADM Alliance Nutrition, Inc. , a wholly owned subsidiary of the Archer Daniels Midland Company