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This article was #8 of the Top 25 most well-read articles on www.progressivedairy.com in 2013. It was published in the March 21, 2013 print issue.
Click here for the full list of the Top 25.
In this article, nutritionist Tom Whitten explains nutraceuticals, food that provides medical or health benefits. He details common nutraceuticals, including direct-fed microbials, enzymes, botanicals, antioxidants and fats.
“With today’s high costs, forage best management practices are required for dairymen,” Troy Brown with Cargill said at the Midwest Forage Symposium in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, earlier this year.
Brown went on to outline the cost, cause and cures for silage shrink.
“Cost of shrink today is very significant,” he said.
This article was #1 of the Top 25 most well-read articles on www.progressivedairy.com in 2013. It was published in the March 21, 2013 Extra e-newsletter.
Click here for the full list of the Top 25.
This article featured Calvin Nash of Weston, Idaho, and west Texas electrical engineer and former dairyman Tom White. Nash and White discussed their success with hydroponic sprout fodder systems.
This article was #20 of the Top 25 most well-read articles on www.progressivedairy.com in 2013. It was published in the March 13, 2013 Extra e-newsletter. Click here for the full list of the Top 25.
Progressive Dairyman asked Balchem’s Director of Marketing Scott Sorrell to explain their CSI-inspired ReaShure video that animates how and why dairy cows are metabolically challenged immediately after calving. Sorrell said, “The video format allows us to show the actual physiological processes as they happen in the transition cow, illustrating the critical role choline plays in keeping these processes working efficiently.”
In a previous issue, we spent some time discussing the need to address feed costs.
While I believe that the discussion was simple enough for all to comprehend, I am reminded of a quote once shared with me.
“The power of redundancy is in the repetition.” Given the circumstances currently surrounding the market, there is just cause to be a zealot concerning feed costs and personal supplies. Let’s dig deeper.
The transition period for dairy cows is often defined as three weeks prior to calving until three weeks after calving. During this time, the cow experiences dramatic changes in feed intake, nutritional requirements and physiological status that affect nutrient balances, milk yield and composition, health and reproductive performance.
During the postpartum period, dairy cows enter a period of tissue catabolism called negative energy balance (NEB). Simply put, the amount of energy consumed is less than what’s required; this imbalance causes a cascade of metabolic failures that can be minimized by using a holistic approach.
When feed costs were cheap, you probably thought more about how to get the most milk and less about how efficiently your cows were converting that cheap feed to milk. Now that feed costs are skyrocketing, dairy feed efficiency may well be the key to whether you are profitable or destined to retire prematurely.
Rations for close-up cows and fresh cows are arguably the most important and expensive rations on the farm. Investment in the nutrients given to these cows pays off in reduced metabolic disorders and a better transition into lactation.
Track stars that run the 100-meter dash know that getting out of the blocks, accelerating quickly and maintaining speed as long as possible are the keys to winning.
We expect the same from our dairy cows. Stumbling out of the blocks in the fresh pen is going to hold them back for the entire race. Without a quick and clean start, they will never reach their potential.
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