Advances in seed and precision-farming technologies are continuing to drive higher productivity and crop yields. Farmers are looking for any edge they can gain, and that’s especially true for dairy producers during times of lower milk prices.

Several research studies say that for every extra hour our lactating cows lie down in a 24-hour cycle, they produce about 3 extra pounds of milk with similar dry matter intakes. This milk is basically free or at least results in mostly income with very little expense.

Alfalfa haylage is a staple in the diets of high-producing dairy cows across the nation primarily due to its significant contributions of crude protein and physically effective fiber (peNDF) in most TMRs. Still, alfalfa remains one of the most difficult and challenging forages to ensile properly. The vast majority of alfalfa is harvested correctly and ferments properly, but we still see about 5 to 10 percent that goes “butyric” due to clostridic fermentation.

For many dairy farmers, having milk cows that spend a good deal of their lives grazing on well-managed and productive pastures is an environmentally friendly and profitable way to dairy.

Every inoculant comes with a salesperson who professes how great their product works and how much their inoculant will save the producer money by reducing shrink and preserving feed quality. In response, the producer mutters, “I wish there was a way to tell if it’s really working. How do I know if your inoculant, or anyone else’s, is doing anything?”