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Reproductive performance starts long before the cow is confirmed pregnant. While producers rely on metrics to evaluate their reproduction program, many factors – like nutrition, environment and health – directly contribute to an animal’s ability to conceive and maintain the pregnancy.
One factor that continues to have direct impact on herd performance and profitability is uterine health.
The most profitable cow on the dairy is the fresh cow. The most productive cow on the dairy is the fresh cow. The more fresh cows a dairy has at any given time, the higher the herd’s milk average will be.
On many dairies, however, preparing the close-up cow for her subsequent lactation is often an area that is overlooked. Poorly functioning rumens and metabolic diseases will rob the cow and the dairy farmer of the most efficiently produced milk of the lactation.
High grain prices have many dairy producers and their nutritionists sharpening their pencils, looking for ways to reduce feed costs. One option is to replace a portion of the supplemental corn grain with high-quality corn silage that provides highly digestible fiber and contains more energy in the forage fraction, compared with silage made from grain corn hybrids.
Today, more than ever, smart nutrient management is critical to overall feed value and efficiency of the dairy operation. The cost of keeping cows productive is more intense and challenging than ever, and getting the most from the ration is critical, no matter what the production goals are.
Today, more than ever, smart nutrient management is critical to overall feed value and efficiency of the dairy operation. The cost of keeping cows productive is more intense and challenging than ever, and getting the most from the ration is critical, no matter what the production goals are.
When cows in two separate milking parlors receive the same diet from the same feed center, how can one set of cows be 0.2 percent higher in butterfat than the other?
That’s the question the manager of a 4,000-plus cow dairy asked one of our regional reps.
Complete evaluation of last year’s crop storage and management is a continual process and provides an opportunity to set goals for areas of improvement during the coming year. Crucial in today’s economy, storing and feeding high-quality forage helps protect profitability and the bottom line of the dairy operation.
The starch content of a dairy ration, how fermentable this starch is in the rumen and the total tract starch digestibility have a huge influence on many facets of a dairy operation.
In August of 2009 the Silver Creek District, of which I am a part, decided to honor the birthday of Scouting in a very special way. 100 years, 100 Eagles; wow, what a challenge!
This column was written by Doug Johnson (pictured at right), who can be reached at: djohnson@modernmachinery.com
A snowstorm on a southern Idaho dairy farm – with thousands of cows needing feed and a way to it – is no place for a wheel loader to stop working. Today’s dairyman also can’t afford a machine that operates poorly.
So imagine the benefits of a system that can tell you precisely, and in real-time, what’s going on, or going wrong, with your key equipment.
