The results are in, and this year’s North American corn silage crop contains a mixture of molds and mycotoxins, putting beef and dairy cattle at high risk for mycotoxin exposure and performance problems, including a 3.5-pound average loss in milk yield, according to a recent survey by Alltech.

World Ag Expo is introducing a brand new event: Farmers' Lunch, featuring speaker AG Kawamura, California's former secretary of agriculture. The lunch will be hosted in the VIP event tent on the World Ag Expo grounds, during the final day of the show, Thursday, Feb. 12.

Kevin Ratka Dairy Technical Sales Specialist Vita Plus Cold Springs, Minnesota

Good forage crops place a high demand for potassium on the soil’s nutrient supplying power. Potassium is critical for growing high-yield, high-quality alfalfa, helping maximize animal performance and profitability.

Feeding young calves to their full potential is a growing concept in the U.S. dairy industry. As the practice becomes more widespread, researchers have found that calves raised on a full potential diet:

Most Progressive Dairyman readers use the winter months to clean and repair their equipment.

In this Vita Plus YouTube video, Ann Hoskins, the company's calf products coordinator, outlines how to set the feeding program in an autofeeder system.

Numerous products and feed additives have been used in an effort to improve the health and performance of baby calves. During the past year, we were involved in trials that looked at three ingredients. The additives were bone charcoal, a direct fed microbial (probiotic) and Immunoglobulin Y (IgY).

First it was the increase in cattle prices that started around 2010. Then came the reduction in price for feed and corn midway through 2013. Now as 2015 begins, we are watching another commodity game-changer as the price of fuel continues to spiral downward.