Pulse Oxidation chemical free disinfection could have a future role to play improving milk yield by cleaning drinking water and in turn increasing intakes, according to farm trial results.
Introducing Oxi-Tech’s system to clean up a 300-cow herd’s drinking water contaminated with bacteria including Faecal Coli, E-Coli and Pseudomonas, resulted in a 4.2% yield increase recorded over the six-month trial compared with the same period 12 months earlier.
Daily production between January and July increased by an average 1.47 litres to 36.26 litres per cow. The advantage widened to 8.3% year-on-year at the end of the trial when the herd was averaging 39.90 litres per day.
“Introducing Pulse Oxidation to produce high-quality drinking water demonstrated a clear relationship, if not proof of causation that the system improved water palatability and subsequent intakes,” comments Oxi-Tech chief executive, Paul Morris.
“While we’re aware there are many other variables which influence milk yield including diet, stage of lactation, health, herd composition, seasonality, weather and the overall management system, that association between clean drinking water and production is worth further investigation.
“Good-quality water is important for maximum milk production and herd health while water-quality problems can reduce water intake and production.1 Furthermore, a peer review study reported contamination and palatability can influence dairy-cattle water intake and preference.2
“These results are very encouraging, and we plan to conduct further detailed research that takes in to account the various factors that impact on herd productivity in order to prove that while we know Pulse Oxidation significantly cleans up drinking water, will it, in turn cost effectively increase performance and improve the dairy unit’s overall profitability and sustainability.”
Read the full Agriturismo Camporosso Dairy Case Study Here.
References:
1 PennState Extension: Interpreting Drinking Water Tests for Dairy Cows; (updated 13 May 2024)
2 Rice, Rip G, Recent Developments In Agri-Food Applications of Ozone in Ozone Science and Technology
