The dairy industry is facing numerous challenges with a pressing need for sustainable practices that optimize resource utilization and improve profitability. Residual feed intake (RFI) provides a powerful tool for evaluating feed efficiency in dairy production.

By optimizing nutrition, maintaining optimal rumen health, utilizing genetics and breeding strategies, and focusing on good cow comfort and management practices, producers can significantly improve milkfat production.

Successful beef producers are constantly looking for ways to keep their cattle happy, healthy and well fed, while making sure to not break the bank. One way to ensure long-term profitability is to keep feed costs down.

Cow comfort and sustainability are probably two of the biggest buzz words right now in the dairy industry.

One of the beef industry’s greatest strengths is its diversity. However, this segmentation often results in a calf being transported as many as four to six times prior to harvest, with each transit event inducing stress.

The year is 2015, and the philosophy for feeding a robotic milking herd is to feed limited energy at the bunks so the cows go to the robots for the remainder of their nutrient requirements; more energy available in the robot means more visits and ultimately more milk.

With drought conditions common in many parts of the country in recent years, cattle producers often find themselves scrambling for forage. One underutilized forage, tree hay, is gaining traction as an emergency feed for ranchers trying to feed cattle economically.