Producing high-quality milk and milking more cows in the same amount of time, or milking the same amount of cows in less time, are on top of a manager’s mind when discussing the milking center.

How cows are fed and managed through the transition period (generally accepted as the three weeks before and after calving) can determine how healthy, productive and profitable cows can be.

If we apply the standards of evidence-based medicine to prepartum dairy cows, all close-up cows would be fed a negative DCAD diet. More than 30 years of research, and on-farm application, have repeatedly proven negative DCAD diets work.

Decades of research and production have proven reproduction and nutrition in the dairy cow are absolutely connected. There is no silver bullet and no management program that will offset the effects of compromised nutrition on dairy cow reproductive performance.

Most dairy research tends to focus on protein and energy needs, and trace minerals are often overlooked. Yet when we fail to consider the role of trace minerals, problems can arise, including interferences or interactions with minerals in feed and water.

Optimizing milk efficiency and component yield are essential to ensuring a farm’s overall profitability. Progressive Dairyman Editor Audrey Schmitz asked Brian Lammers, dairy nutritionist for Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), to share his insights on how to best build rations for cows to maximize milk efficiency, milkfat and protein production.

Dairy farmers are interested in producing higher levels of milk solids, as most U.S. markets are valued or priced based on pounds of milkfat, pounds of true protein (does not include milk urea nitrogen contributions) and other solids (lactose and minerals).

Based on many concepts recently published in some important reviews, and some presentations at the Annual Poultry Science Association Symposium in 2017, suggestions to improve the efficiency of dietary antioxidants with polyphenols have been made.

No dairy is immune to the negative effects of mycotoxins on animal health and performance. In tests of the 2017 U.S. corn crop across 23 states, 91 percent of grain, silage and corn byproduct samples contained mycotoxins.

Cover crops are “hot topics” in crop systems. Beef producers have used cover crops for fall, winter and spring pasture sources. Dairy producers need to consider adding this system on their dairy farms.