Alfalfa silage is a significant feed source in many high-producing dairy diets. Every dairy producer understands the importance of harvesting and storing high-quality alfalfa silage. However, this is one of the most challenging forages to ensile consistently.

Undoubtedly, the most important influence on dairy farm profitability is forage quality. But what metrics of forage quality are most important? What metrics of forage quality are most important to you and your nutritionist?

How do you decide when to move animals onto a new pasture? How long do you expect the pasture to feed them before they should be moved again? Most likely your answer is “it depends.” It depends on forage available in the pasture, forage available in alternative pastures, animal feed demand and animal production goals.

Anybody out there remember Germade? It’s a breakfast cereal made from wheat, just a bit coarser than Cream-of-Wheat. Growing up, it was preferred to oatmeal, which we sometimes had. It came home from the store in bags – cloth and finally paper.

Winter had been dragging on for what seemed like forever. The notion of warm, sunny days and green grass seemed about as distant and likely as a Cleveland Browns Super Bowl victory parade or a referendum for common sense on a San Francisco ballot.

Climate change has many people claiming livestock farming is unsustainable, but a new study of the environmental impact of Canada’s milk production shows it has about a third of the widely quoted global average carbon footprint.

There are more than 20 reasons to visit the Canadian Dairy Research Portal. Twenty-four new research summaries are available online.

It doesn’t happen often but, when it does, these are some of the most difficult conversations to have and difficult situations to manage. As an employer, especially on the dairy, we put our faith and trust in those we choose to help us care for and raise our animals.