One of the main goals of a dairy business is to maintain a consistent environment for its cows. Daily routines for the cows should occur at the same time every day, with their physical environment varying as little as possible. Freestalls, milking barns and corrals should be maintained so cows don’t experience any drastic daily differences.

Will you have enough forage until next harvest? Drought in the Southwest, late planting, delayed harvest and flooding all contributed to limit current forage supplies across various areas of the country. Dr. St- Pierre, in the December 2011 Buckeye Dairy News, states that “effective NDF prices are historically high, 4 cents per lb over the six-year average.” What strategies can be used to make the most of forage availability?

Potassium is a nutrient critical for the health and performance of lactating dairy cows. Large amounts of potassium are lost through milk production, so cows need supplemental potassium just to meet daily maintenance requirements.

Beef prices in the last year have provided significant opportunity for aggressive culling and increased cash flow from the sale of less-productive cows. Indicators suggest this trend will remain for an extended period of time, providing producers with a means to both aggressively cull and replace cows at a lower net cost.

Being a successful dairy producer in the U.S. requires optimizing your marginal milk production. What is marginal milk production? It is the additional milk you produce per cow by fine-tuning your ration. Here is an example: A group of cows produces 80 pounds of milk on 52 pounds of dry matter intake and then the ration is fine-tuned – and now this group of cows is making 84 pounds of milk on 54 pounds of dry matter intake. Did feed costs go up? Yes, because the cows ate 2 pounds more dry matter. Did profit go up? Yes, because milk is worth more than feed.

In the previous two parts of this series, the extreme importance of drinking water for dairy cattle was emphasized. Click here to read the first part of this series and here to read the second part of this series.

The theme at the 2010 ADSA Transition Cow Discovery Conference could have been “Lean Is In.” Jim Drackley from the University of Illinois, Mike Allen from Michigan State University, and Phil Garnsworthy from the University of Nottingham shared some very interesting research results related to energy metabolism.

Farmers love carrots, don’t you know? They dangle one for years in front of the next generation, so to keep the young folks guessing when they will become part-owners and have their dreams turn into reality. “The proverbial carrot that Dad is holding out is really getting me down,” says the young dairy farmer.

Widespread flooding across Manitoba wiped out the chance of a hay crop this year and is affecting forage supplies this winter. According to Glenn Friesen, business development specialist – forages with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, it is estimated a million acres of farmland were flooded this spring and summer.

Livestock producers need a high-protein summer forage. Forage soybeans fit well in a production system following small grains or early planted corn. Soybeans have a long history as a nutritious hay and silage crop. Prior to World War II, the principal use of soybeans was as forage.