Efficient heifer growth that leads to bigger heifers at an earlier age can maximize profitability on your dairy operation. The key is making sure your heifers don’t just gain weight, but achieve their genetic potential for ideal height, weight and girth so they reach breeding age earlier and enter the milking string sooner. This leads to substantial profit potential in a variety of ways. Most progressive dairy producers already strive to calve heifers between 22 and 24 months to pay back heifer rearing costs earlier. The economics explain why.

During last year’s heat wave in California, dairyman Greg Anema of Ontario, California discovered the two coolest places on his dairy – the breezeway in his parlor and a kiddie pool under a shade tree close to the milk barn. He also found out how his cows try to cool off. “I’ve got young children and while they were playing in the hose I jumped in,” Anema says. “It was a way to just try to cool off.”

Editor’s note: The following benchmarks have been compiled using data reported by dairies enrolled in Alta Genetic’s AltaAdvantage program, a progeny testing program. More than 182,500 cows in 175 herds participate in the program nationwide.

Now is the time to think where changes can be made on the dairy to lessen the impacts of hot weather on dairy cows. Besides changing the cow’s environment to lessen the effects of heat stress, dairymen may also modify their feeding program in order to give their animals additional relief during hot weather. The main objective of feeding cows during heat stress should be to maximize feed intake.

Profitable dairies will pay attention to forage production and management this year, says nutritionist Aaron Naber. It’s one of three keys to profitability in 2007, he says, all dairy producers should remember. “The dairy producers that manage forages and have the ability to feed high-forage diets are generally at the top of the heap,” Naber says.

Clinical vitamin deficiency as characterized by classic deficiency symptoms is rare in well-managed dairy herds. Occasionally deficiency symptoms are noted in calves or growing heifers fed poor-quality diets. Of greater concern is the occurrence of sub-clinical vitamin deficiency where classic deficiency symptoms are not observed but where the normal functioning of body systems (i.e., immunity, reproduction, intermediary metabolism) is compromised by marginal vitamin status at the tissue level.

What do we feed a cow? Cows can make milk from grass. A cow can produce more milk when they are fed ingredients with more energy. Do cows produce more milk with feed additives? The basic ingredients of a ration fed to a cow are alfalfa, silage and corn grain. These ingredients together contribute fiber, protein, energy and calcium for the cow. Other feedstuffs can be added to better balance the ration, lower the feed cost and may produce more milk. Many of the feedstuffs are byproducts.

The understanding of protein nutrition in dairy cows has been something of a challenge for dairy scientists and researchers over the years. This is largely due to the fact that a cow is a ruminant which causes her to have two sets of protein requirements: one for the microbes in the rumen and the second for her general metabolism. Protein metabolism in a ruminant goes through a different process than that of mono-gastric species such as swine and poultry. A better understanding of protein nutrition in our dairy cows has become necessary in recent years to:

The brown water from my body has swirled down the drain along with the grime and oil from my matted hair. The stench from the sweat under my armpits has given way to the sweet smell of deodorant. My teeth sparkle with fresh toothpaste, and the scarlet sunburn on my face has turned golden tan.

Antibiotic residues in milk and dairy beef are an important food safety issue. Dairy owners, managers and employees play a major role in food safety and in shaping consumers’ perceptions about food. Antibiotics in milk and beef may cause severe allergic reactions in persons with antibiotic sensitivity. In the dairy processing plant, antibiotics in milk can interfere with cheese and yogurt production.