PROFILAB ALERTS
PROFILAB users can receive alerts through text messages and/or emails when their results indicate potential issues. Here, you can dive into how alerts are triggered and potential solutions to overcome those issues.
Alert systems
The PROFILAB report has helped many dairy producers and their advisors to optimize herd management and diets. As a new feature for PROFILAB, we developed an alert system that automatically evaluates the report, identifies potential risks, and sends an alert to call for action.
Our evaluation focuses on key milk components, including fat, protein, milk urea nitrogen, de novo, preformed and mixed fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. We assess three main factors:
How much the results move away from the average for every milk component based on a ranking across the entire population.
Our research has shown that specific issues affect these factors differently for each milk component. Using this knowledge, the alert system was designed to identify changes and flag potential issues early, providing producers the opportunity to act before a significant impact occurs. This new feature enhances an already powerful tool, giving you even greater control over herd management and profitability.
ALERTS
Probable fat mobilization
When dairy cows are not eating sufficiently to supply their energy requirements, they enter a state of negative energy balance. During this period, the body mobilizes fat reserves to be used as energy sources. While a small degree of fat mobilization is normal, excessive fat mobilization is associated with the development of metabolic disorders, such as subclinical ketosis.
+ Potential solutions
Probable fat mobilization
Check intake and consistency of feed delivery, stress factors, recent calvings and other changes.
Risk of ruminal imbalance
Maintaining a proper balance of nutrients reaching the rumen is essential for optimizing fermentation efficiency. Excess or lack of nutrients, such as energy and protein, can disrupt rumen fermentation, impair microbial growth in the rumen, and reduce the efficiency of nutrient utilization.
+ Potential solutions
Risk of ruminal imbalance
If you received the “Risk of Ruminal Imbalance” alert, check the MUN levels of your herd.
If MUN is high:
Check the quantity and degradability of the protein.
Check the quantity and digestibility of the energy sources in the rumen,
especially those highly fermentable.
Check the forage analysis.
Possible lack of energy or excess of protein.
If MUN is low:
Check the quantity and degradability of the protein.
Check intake, consistency of feed delivery, and forage analysis.
Possible lack of protein or excess of energy.
Lack of nutrients in the rumen
The amount and synchrony of nutrients reaching the rumen are critical for efficient rumen fermentation and overall cow performance. If you’ve received this alert, it suggests that some aspects of nutrient balance could be optimized to further improve your herd’s performance. While this alert does not necessarily indicate a current issue or problem with your herd, it does point to an opportunity to enhance dairy cow performance.
+ Potential solutions
Lack of nutrients in the rumen
Check energy and protein intake and rumen synchrony. Reduce stress factors (group changes, lack of comfort, heat stress, parasites). Assure quantity and quality of available water.
Possible drop in intake
Dairy cows require a balanced supply of nutrients to maintain their production level and overall health. Among the key factors affecting milk production, feed intake plays a critical role. A drop in feed intake reduces nutrient availability, which can negatively impact the cow’s performance and productivity.
+ Potential solutions
Possible drop in intake
Check intake, feed bunk management, feed bunk space and water access. Consider other factors that could affect intake, including the inclusion of new forage, and the conservation and quality of the feed.
Probable rumen disturbance
Feed characteristics play a significant role in both intake and rumen function. Spoiled feed, the presence of mold, heating feed at the feed bunk (commonly during summer due to unwanted yeast fermentation), or the presence of mycotoxins could negatively affect feed intake by the cows. This, in turn, reduces the availability of nutrients reaching the rumen. Additionally, these issues also impair rumen fermentation, and together, they can adversely affect milk production and milk component yield.
+ Potential solutions
Probable rumen disturbance
Check silage conservation, presence of mold, yeast, and mycotoxins. May affect the intake.
Risk of Ruminal Acidosis
Ruminal acidosis is a disorder characterized by a drop in the rumen pH during a set time, in a zone that is suboptimal for ruminal function. Under normal conditions, ruminal fermentation leads to feed digestion and generates substrates used for milk and milk component production. During ruminal acidosis, there is an alteration in rumen fermentation, affecting the production of butterfat and fatty acids in milk.
+ Potential solutions
Risk of Acidosis
Check for effective fibre in the diet, excess of highly fermentable starch,
ingredients rich in 18:2 fatty acids, or high in unsaturated fat.
Check the feeding sequence, sorting, and competition at the feed bunk.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
If you’ve received an alert via text message or email, please consult your PROFILAB report. Review the variations in the concentration of any of the components to validate the occurrence of changes. Contact your nutritionist to discuss the issue and explore the potential solutions provided for each alert. If you need further assistance, consult your Lactanet representative, or send an email to profilab@lactanet.ca.
Alerts are currently not included in the PROFILAB report. However, you can use the report to analyze the variation in the results and validate the potential issues.
While the delivery of alerts can help you identify issues in your farm management, not receiving an alert doesn’t necessarily mean everything is fine. Alerts are triggered based on the variations in the bulk tank results based on a ranking of the entire population. If other farms experience greater variations, alerts may not be triggered for your farm – even if there are underlying issues. It’s important to regularly review your PROFILAB report and monitor trends, even in the absence of alerts.
If you received an alert and after reviewing the potential solutions and consulting your nutritionist, you believe the alert doesn’t apply to your farm, please send feedback to profilab@lactanet.ca.
Yes, you can receive more than one alert at the same time, and you will receive a separate message for each. While alerts may vary in accuracy, we only send those with higher reliability. We recommend reviewing your PROFILAB report and addressing the potential solutions for all alerts received.
Alerts are sent as soon as they are generated. If an issue persists, the same alert can be triggered multiple times. To avoid overloading you with alerts, we only send one alert per issue within a 7-day period. If the problem continues beyond this period, a new alert will be sent.
Yes, if you’d like someone else, such as your nutritionist, to receive alerts, please contact your Lactanet representative or Customer Service to update your preferences.