Everyone likes an advocate, especially if they are advocating for you. One advocate group has repeatedly earned its reputation of helping farmers. Ohio Farm Bureau (OFB) has been instrumental in working with farmers across agriculture to promote ag, advocate for farmers and lobby legislation to improve farming, not hurt it. Most recently OFB had its hands full dealing with media asking questions about the Mercy For Animals footage that was taken on an Ohio dairy farm.

Recent economic hardships have left the dairy industry reeling. Now more than ever, it is crucial that dairy producers carefully analyze all of their input costs to make sure they are using their dollars wisely. Since feed expenses can represent up of 60 percent of input costs, analyzing their feeding program is a logical place to start.

Producers feeding high-quality ingredients to their herds are often faced with the question, “Is this making my dairy more money or just increasing my ration costs?” While it’s hard to know the exact impact specific ingredients may have on herd performance, one financial metric can help answer this question with more accuracy. Income over feed cost (IOFC) is a proven financial measurement to economically evaluate if feed ingredients are generating additional income for the dairy operation.

Forages make up 45 to 95 percent of the feed that dairy animals receive on a farm. We usually think in terms of just the lactating cows. It is more difficult to think in terms of the whole herd in terms of the forage needs for the farm on an annual basis.

Before antibiotics were commercially available, extracts from various plants were used to treat human aliments and diseases. With trial-and-error, man discovered which botanicals contained secondary metabolites that had antimicrobial properties.

Back about 25 years ago when the first personal computers were becoming affordable, I discovered the power and utility of the electronic spreadsheet. With the aid of feed analysis data that I found in dairy science textbooks – moisture, crude protein, TDN – I was able to construct tables that would calculate rudimentary nutritive values for dairy rations. I could substitute one feedstuff for another and have an instant answer.

If you visit a local farmer’s market you’ll find a feast for your senses. Baskets, bins and counters filled with vibrantly colored fruits and vegetables, the sugary smell of ripening peaches and the sound of a melon being thumped for ripeness. The selections are endless. So how would you buy apples with such varied choices of sweetness, size and color?

The complexity of dairy nutrition is increasing every day. A higher percentage of diets are likely balanced for amino acids, taking into account digestibility measures such as digestible NDF, and fine-tuning specific carbohydrate fractions such as starch and sugar. With price volatility in today’s market, feeding the right diet at the right time has never been more important.

Feed analysis doesn’t stop at the bunk. A lot can be discovered at the other end of the digestive tract. “Fresh, undisturbed piles of feces or droppings may provide valuable clues and should be part of your tool box when evaluating the nutritional status of the dairy herd,” said Mike Hutjens, dairy specialist at the University of Illinois. He outlined three different methods to use at the Four-State Dairy Nutrition Conference in Dubuque, Iowa, earlier this summer.