Our team has shown the potential for tremendous efficiency increases with a novel protein feeding strategy in mature early lactation dairy cows (fresh cow), with an additional 11 lbs./day (+17.5%) in energy-corrected milk production and a 4.9% increase in feed efficiency in early lactation. The innovative high-protein diet is based on a fine-tuned metabolizable protein (MP) calculation and was fed for the first 21 days after calving to realize this difference. American dairy farmers could benefit greatly from the unprecedented milk production advantage once we can provide answers to their key questions for adopting this practice. Our proposal will address two practical questions: (1) how long cows need to stay on this high MP fresh cow diet before transitioning to a regular lactation ration, and (2) differences in response of primiparous cows (first-lactation heifers) compared with multiparous cows. Our prior research provided highly compelling validation for this approach. However, it only included mature cows; yet heifers make up over 35% of animals in most modern American dairy herds. With the results of our study, we can provide evidence-based recommendations to dairy farmers across the United States on how to implement this efficiency-maximizing strategy imminently.