Boosting overall wellness and immune function as well as improving feed efficiency are the goals at Liberty Dairy in the Pacific Northwest. Amino acid balancing in the dairy’s milking ration is a critical part of achieving them.

Effective communication between a dairy herd’s advisers can greatly enhance its performance. The herd veterinarian and nutritionist are usually both key individuals that have a vested interest in a dairy’s success, and making sure they are both working together as effective team members to evaluate current programs and set new goals is a mark of most successful dairies.

Formulating modern dairy cow diets has become much more complex in recent years. In order that high-producing milk cow rations can meet a host of nutritional requirements, computerized ration modeling programs have become a necessity.

Many of us have heard the suggestions to use direct-fed microbials (DFM) supplements, also known as probiotics, on calves soon after birth. There is a good reason for this suggestion.

This article is a summary of some very useful information recently presented at technical conferences in the U.S. by Dr. Frederique Chaucheyras-Durand from INRA, France. It also builds on the recent article “Yeast Products in Ruminant Feeds, What, Why, Where and When?” by Dr. Angel Aguilar in the April issue of Progressive Dairyman.

The trace minerals (TMs) zinc, copper and manganese are components of a wide variety of enzymes and proteins that support metabolism, growth, production and reproduction. TM supplements are added to dairy cattle rations to prevent mineral deficiencies, and supplementation has traditionally been provided in the form of inorganic salts, e.g. copper sulfate, zinc sulfate and zinc oxide.

The last publication of the Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle did not include choline as a required nutrient for dry or lactating cows, citing the need for more research. Since that publication, there has been considerable research on choline for dairy cows, including 13 university studies focusing on transition cows.

Over the last 50 years, milk production of dairy cows has essentially doubled. Even if cows consume an increased amount of dry matter, meeting the early-lactation nutrient needs of high-producing dairy cows is a big challenge. The transition period is more than ever a critical period.

Since the 1950s, scientists have known about the medical efficacy of certain plants. Still, they only found their way into modern livestock farming about 10 years ago. Today, they are not just found in the organic sector.

To determine why the ration along the feedbunks was so inconsistent, a nutritionist for a 1,000-cow dairy in the Upper Midwest recently asked for a TMR audit. His situation nicely showcases what data from more than 1,000 TMR audits in five years revealed.