Corn silage production has changed dramatically in the last decade. Dairy expansion, the development of new corn hybrids specifically selected for forage yield and quality and new ideas for production and management have changed the view of farmers regarding the importance of silage to livestock production.

One of the longest nights in dairying is the night before opening a new silo. Questions like “Did I get the moisture right? Did I pack tightly? Did I chop at correct length?” are asked over and over until somehow we finally manage to fall asleep.

The sign in the health food store in New Sydney, Wales, said, “Sheep Placenta – On Sale! Half Price!” It was also printed in Chinese. My first thought was, ‘Do they eat it? Rub it on? Make party favors of it? Kick it around like a soccer ball?’ Then I had the horrible memory of the old farmer joke where he couldn’t get his pregnant wife to the doctor in time. Well, never mind.

When I was a little girl, my mother told me stories by the hour. They were wonderful stories that her grandmother had shared with her.

The goal of making silage is to preserve forage nutrients for feeding at a later date. This is accomplished by the conversion (by fermentation) of plant sugars to organic acids. The resulting acidity effectively “pickles” the forage. Production of quality silage requires minimum nutrient loss, despite the dynamic and sensitive process of silage fermentation. This process is controlled by five primary factors:

Bunker silos and drive-over piles offer several advantages for large dairy farms. Low initial cost, low maintenance, high storage capacity and rapid filling are common advantages over upright silos or silo bags. However, proper management of these structures is key to optimizing forage preservation and animal productivity.

Forages are the foundation of sound, economical and animal-healthy rations. In most situations, home-produced forages are the most economical source of fiber, protein and energy in the dairy ration. A primary role of forages is to provide a source of effective fiber to stimulate chewing and rumination activity.

Milk fever is a disorder affecting about 6 percent of dairy cows each year in the United States. Subclinical milk fever, defined as blood calcium (Ca) concentration falling below 8 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl), occurs in up to 50 percent of older cows during the days immediately following calving. The decline in blood calcium concentration near calving represents a breakdown in the calcium homeostatic mechanisms of the body. Blood Ca in the adult cow is maintained around 8.5 to 10 mg/dl. There are 3 grams Ca in the plasma pool and only 8 to 9 grams Ca in all the extracellular fluids (outside of bone) of a 1,300-pound cow. The fluid within the canaliculi of bone may contain another 6 to 15 grams Ca; the size of this Ca pool being dependent on the acid-base status of the animal (larger during acidosis and smaller during alkalosis).

University of Delaware researchers found increasing the cutting height of silage corn from 5 inches to just under 19 inches improved its nutritive value, but it reduced silage yield about 10 percent.

So often in veterinary medicine, as in other medical fields, we are looking for diagnostic tests to aid in treatment and to prognosticate for various diseases. Both infectious and noninfectious diseases may be diagnosed by detecting the causative agent, clinical signs, pathological changes, biochemical changes or surrogate evidence of past or present exposure to an agent (antibody).