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In increased frequency, we see headlines in the news about greenhouse gas emissions and animal agriculture. Methane is one of the main greenhouse gases of concern. Cows produce methane from fermentation in the rumen, also called enteric methane. There is a push to reduce methane production from cows to help with climate change.
Pounds of milkfat and milk protein shipped, also known as milk component yield (MCY), accounts for more than 75% of the milk check. With milk volume supply constraints in play, maximizing MCY has never been more important.
A daunting threat to dairy productivity moving forward is climate change. Science has demonstrated that our climate has changed over the past century. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that our climate will continue to change in the future and the dairy industry will adapt.
Looking back to the 2019 forage year, it was a disaster for some dairy farms and a challenge for most. It was almost a perfect storm; several factors that could go wrong happened somewhere.
In the weeks leading up to calving and the early postpartum period, various behavioral, metabolic and physiological challenges are imposed on the dairy cow.
Is fiber important in human nutrition? Ask anyone. Ask the internet. Ask your doctor. But then follow this up with a simple question: What exactly is it? Hmmm.
I recently came across a magazine article about fiber that included the acronym ANDFOM. Huh? What did that mean? ANDFOM: “antifoaming agent”? or “and for older men?” Then I realized what happened – some of those letters should have been in lowercase, and the magazine editor’s spell checker “corrected” them all to uppercase.
This month, we’ll talk about the new alphabet of fiber: a, pe, om and ICP. Don’t worry, you haven’t wandered into an academic spelling bee. But seriously, have you recently submitted a forage sample to a laboratory?
As nutritionists, we once thought adding the correct level of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) to the diet was all that was required to create a healthy rumen and thus allow the protein and energy contained within the diet to be used to produce milk.
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