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Dairy producers in New Mexico recently ended a nearly decade-long off-and-on negotiation process over nutrient management regulations with the New Mexico Environmental Department and environmental advocacy groups.
With all the moving parts on a dairy farm, many would think that determining ration costs would be a relatively easy endeavor. The industry also has many experienced and knowledgeable nutritionists to assist in this effort.
Editor’s note: This article was written as a follow-up to the piece, “Say goodbye to NPEs in teat dip,” published in the Jan. 19, 2015 issue of Progressive Dairyman.
Editor's note: This article has been corrected to indicate the duties of the National Mastitis Council in recommending protocols, not testing for efficacy of teat dips.
Recent action in international markets banning nonyl-phenol ethoxylates (NPE) in milk has raised U.S. dairy producers’ awareness of the substance in teat dips.
There are a lot of opinions on robotic milking systems in the dairy industry today. According to Mat Haan of Penn State Cooperative Extension in Berks County, science and experience are two important factors to consider when determining whether or not a robotic milking system is a good fit for your operation.
The primary focus of any dairy producer is to produce high-quality milk from healthy, well-cared-for cows. While this admirable goal seems simple, everyone involved in the dairy industry knows it is not as easy as it seems.
Dairy steers contribute 15 to 20 percent of the fed beef market in the U.S. The economic variables that affect profitability of feeding Holstein steers from 6 months old to finish are similar to those of feeding beef cattle.
In intensive dairy production, feed costs represent up to 60 percent of the total cost of producing milk. Continuous improvement in dairy efficiency is vital to the success of the dairy enterprise. Reliable and rapid feed analyses are therefore required to accurately assess the availability of energy and nutrients of feeds.
Twenty billion dollars. We feed $20 billion of feed to dairy cattle in the U.S. every year. We have highly sophisticated programs that can tell to the milligram how much iodine should be fed.
Forage will always be an important and key point of dairy nutrition. With constant fluctuation in forage quality crop-to-crop and year-to-year, it can be perplexing to try to determine how cows will respond.
As a supporting consultant working with thousands of dairy consultants, three key questions continue to re-emerge relating to forage quality and change.
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