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The lab results are in – and the diagnosis is a challenging year ahead as crops harvested in 2014 were not quite up to par.
At the PDPW Dairy Feed and Nutrition Conference in November, Dr. Mike Hutjens from the University of Illinois shared testing results from Midwest forage laboratories and outlined the steps he’d take to manage feedout.
Much of the western U.S. is dotted with old gold mining sites. While some of the mines followed veins, much of the gold was actually obtained through placer mining – the process whereby stream-bed gravel is scooped into a round pan and gently swirled or agitated until the gold sinks to the bottom of the pan and the gravel is gently washed over the sides. It was hard work. You had to want it bad.
Silage storage and feedout dry matter losses (shrink) not only deal a wallop to the wallet, but also negatively affect the nutritional value of the remaining silage. That’s because shrink consumes the most valuable silage nutrients, which must then be replaced with an equal energy source, such as corn grain.
A positive dining experience allows the cow to satisfy her behavioral needs for eating, resting and rumination. And a satisfied cow will be productive, efficient and healthy.
The Superbowl is almost here – can you taste it? Oh, wait; we haven’t made the party assignments – who is bringing cheese dip, hot dogs, chicken wings and those mini-wieners in BBQ sauce? After all, it’s not a party without the protein. Without protein we’d have to call it just a rowdy garden soirée – and who has time to figure out how to say that with a mouthful of crackers, salami and squirt-cheese?
Decreasing reproductive efficiency in dairy cattle has been documented not only in the U.S. but also in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Australia. Ideally, cows should be pregnant by 85 days in milk, the conception rate at first breeding should be more than 50 percent, the numbers of breeding per lactation should be less than 1.7, and the calving interval should be less than 390 days.
The discussion about the importance of proper prepartum dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) levels often centers around cow health, and rightly so.
It’s been repeatedly shown that lowering ration DCAD prior to calving helps stave off serious health challenges, including milk fever (clinical and subclinical), reduces incidence of displaced abomasum and retained placenta, and boosts immune function.
Winter in Iowa can be brutal, with bitter temperatures, strong winds and lots of snow. The cows on Dan and Bonnie Beard’s farm handle the harsh season just fine even though they are housed outside all winter long.
“The secret is to give them enough area that they can always find a place that is protected so they are comfortable,” Dan says.
Corn silage levels have been increasing in forage programs the past few years for a number of reasons. The volatile costs of corn and alfalfa hay, coupled with regional drought conditions and subsequent hay availability, have contributed greatly. Given these high corn silage rations now fed, it is no longer sufficient to rely on traditional testing for crude starch content of feed ingredients for ration formulation, especially when opening new crop corn silage.
Idaho is the country’s fourth-largest dairy state, where the average herd is 620 cows. Exploring further into the state, you’ll find that Cassia County, located in the Magic Valley, is home to nearly 54,000 milking cows.
It’s then no question as to why producers there are showing interest in automated, centralized feeding systems to reduce feed loss and improve efficiency on the farm.
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