Shortening the dry period to less than 60 days has been promoted during the past few years.

Can you imagine running a marathon without proper training? The 26-mile trek from start gate to finish line would be challenging without proper conditioning, diet and preparation. Now, think of the 305-day lactation dairy cow’s experience.

Hype and opposition from anti-animal agriculture groups and misleading marketers led a group of dairy producers to organize and launch a new grassroots organization.

The 2007 World Ag Expo featured a few changes from the previous 40 years of operation; a new Dairy Technology Center and online registration. These changes have added value for the dairy industry in particular.

The fourth annual Midwest Dairy Challenge, which ran Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, attracted 102 students from 13 universities and colleges to Merrillville, Indiana. A blizzard forced the group to forge new territory in the history of the Dairy Challenge.

Fourty-eight students from 11 Southern colleges and universities participated in the second annual Southern Regional Dairy Challenge held at the Cook Hotel & Conference Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in November 2007. Two new schools competed in this year’s event.

In November 2007, 126 students from 14 Northeast colleges and two Canadian universities participated in the fifth annual Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge held at the Holiday Inn in Concord, New Hampshire.

If we’re going to manage the dairy cow for optimum productivity and health, we cannot ignore the rumen. It is the center of all functions inside the cow. But keeping this vital organ working at peak efficiency is a delicate balancing act.

Corn silage is a very challenging crop to feed, analyze in the laboratory and to sort fact-from-fiction with regards to selecting the best genetics for individual dairy enterprises. The challenge begins with corn silage being a “TMR plant” consisting of a grass plant with high-moisture corn attached. This raises issues ranging from more potential for sub-sampling errors in obtaining representative samples, to the energy availability being highly influenced by the degree of kernel damage.

Triticale is a cross between wheat and rye, combining the quality and productivity of the former with the vigor and hardiness of the latter. It’s also a very green means of removing potentially water-polluting phosphorus right from the soil.