Successful management of cows through transition is a hot topic among both producers and researchers. Producers know smooth transition means making sure to cover the basics. With the basics covered, the next step is to optimize nutrition. Nutritional management of cows through transition must start during lactation. It requires a good reproduction program and a nutrition plan to manage body condition gain through late lactation.

The transition period before and after calving is a critical time in the cow’s life and the period when she’s most susceptible to disease, so it’s important to prioritize her nutritional and management needs during this time more than any other.

Nutrition in the postfresh pen may be the true determination of a successful lactation. Often referred to as the most critical time in a cow’s life, the transition period sets the stage for milk production, reproduction and overall health. While this time frame extends three weeks on either side of calving, the majority of research has focused on the nutritional demands of the prefresh cow.

Making the switch from old-crop corn silage to new-crop corn silage each year can oftentimes challenge milk production, particularly if the new-crop corn silage hasn’t had enough time to ferment. Depending upon location, some dairy producers may already be faced with feeding the recently harvested 2013 corn crop.

As 2013 corn silage is beginning to be more widely fed, producers need to be aware of the findings from a recent U.S. harvest analysis and the impact it may have on herd health and performance. We recently conducted a harvest analysis survey for corn silage and various grains to identify which mycotoxins are present and their levels of concentration in this year’s crops. The analysis was utilized to identify which of a possible 38 mycotoxins were present in each sample.

Dairy cattle and other ruminants are biologically designed to convert forages and other fibrous feeds into high-quality products such as milk and meat for human consumption. Forages also provide the foundation upon which nutritionally sound, rumen-healthy and profitable dairy rations are built. The trend in the Northeast has been to increase the proportion of the total ration from forage in the last 10 to 15 years.

The dairy industry has made great strides in reducing the amount of protein we feed while improving performance. Not only has this had a positive impact on a farm’s bottom line but also on reducing nitrogen flowing into the environment.

Forage is an important ingredient in dairy cattle rations. However, it can be difficult to achieve high intake levels with certain forage-based diets. We have long recognized that NDF digestibility influences intake. In fact, researchers in 1999 made the observation that a one-unit increase in NDF digestibility (NDFd) is associated with 0.37-pound increase in dry matter (DM) intake and 0.55-pound increase in 4 percent fat-corrected milk.

The modern dairy cow has an unparalleled ability to consume materials of little to no value for human consumption and transform those materials to food of the highest nutritional value and flavor for humans. This ability must be supported by supplying the cow not only sufficient water but also a wide range of non-water nutrients, including protein, fiber, non-fibrous carbohydrates, fats, minerals and vitamins.