Addressing dairy sustainability goals through a comprehensive and holistic approach and taking into consideration the entire operation as the active unit mitigating environmental impact is the ultimate way to ensure all initiatives fulfill the true definition of sustainability.

Although managing starch digestibility may feel like uncovering the center in a never-ending set of nesting dolls, there are many tools available to help us start to break this down. Doing so can help ensure that rations meet expected values and help farmers make the most out of purchased and homegrown feeds. It can also shed light on opportunities to improve starch digestion and ensure we aren’t missing out on valuable energy.

Nobody likes to walk through a freestall pen and see manure laden with flecks of yellow corn pericarp. To any dairy manager, herd manager or nutritionist, “pretty poo” is all the rage – and pretty means consistently fleckless. This pretty manure is not only important to the diet but also a key part of every dairy’s bottom line.

For many dairies, use of premixes is nothing new and they have been used in some fashion since dairying began. In many cases, however, because the practice is so common, we may tend to forget these are tools in our feeding programs that need to be reevaluated from time to time.

Feeding yeast can be a valuable part of a well-designed dairy feeding program. Primary end effects include the reduction of stress, improvement of performance, and improvement in gut and overall animal health. Since there are a fairly large number of different types of yeast products on the market, it is important to carefully research which products may be the most effective and economical for any given dairy.

Effective probiotics cost pennies per day and provide significant benefits throughout the entire life cycle of an animal.