The goal of ensiling a forage crop is to conserve as much as possible of the nutrient and dry matter (DM) content in the crop at the time of harvest.

Nutritionists are moving beyond evaluating feed sources by crude protein or the quantity of protein. Protein is being evaluated based upon the quality of the protein. The amount and quality of protein available varies by feed source.

“Gas and brakes.” Have you ever imagined, as you are feeding forage to your dairy cattle, that you are pressing a “gas pedal” or a “brake pedal”? Kurt Cotanch, “the lab guy” at the Miner Institute in Chazy, New York, likes to metaphorically compare the fast pool of fermentable fiber to the gas pedal, speeding up passage through the rumen, and the pool of slow and indigestible fiber as the brakes.

For dairy nutritionists and dairy managers, it’s frustrating to learn that the ration delivered to cows is not always the ration that was formulated. A diet can’t do its job when it’s not correctly mixed, delivered or managed.

Rumen-protected histidine is more of an attractive concept today than a commercial product. Yet experimental prototypes are showing potential. As these prototypes advance, factors related to their use and potential in dairy nutrition will gain more attention.

“Tis the season” – or rather, a month or so after the season – of holiday feasts, mounds of whipped potatoes, mouth-watering pastries.

When cows just aren’t performing the way they need to be, the ration often takes the blame. Your nutritionist may need to make some adjustments, but before they do, it might be a good idea to take a look at what is happening to that ration when the formulation moves from theory to practice.

The canola plant was developed in the 1970s to capture the beneficial properties of rapeseed oil and meal – but also to remove the anti-nutritional factors that limited the use of rapeseed oil and meal by the food and livestock feeding industry. Since its introduction, canola meal has continued to improve.

We ensure that our cows receive a well-formulated, palatable ration – but how often do we think about the feeding environment and whether the dining experience enhances or hinders feed intake and production efficiency?

Dairy profitability demands optimizing resources every day. For Sean Jones, that goes double. Sometimes triple. Jones is the third generation involved in Lester C. Jones and Sons Inc., a multi-family member dairy farm near Massey, Maryland.