The goal in feed bunk management is to obtain maximum dry matter (DM) intake by ensuring that a fresh, palatable, balanced TMR is available to all cows.

Seasons, technology and change I can always tell when fall is finally here. Workdays begin in long, not short, sleeve shirts. Workweeks end with the excitement of football, both for hometown high school heroes and proud professional fanatics. Skies are a bit more cloudy, and days grow shorter and shorter.

College life. Now that is a statement that brings back many fond memories of trudging up and down Old Main Hill to a variety of classes at Utah State University in Logan, Utah. It is a place that changed the course of my life and is very much responsible for me writing this article today. I wouldn’t trade those years for anything.

When milk prices are down, independent nutritionist Greg Bethard has this advice for the dairy producers he serves: “Stay the course with your rations.”

As I stare at my bank account on the computer using online banking, wondering where my next dollar is going to come from, I can’t help but ask, “Why wasn’t I born in the lap of luxury?” You know the place – where silver spoons and golden plates are plentiful. That place where money is the last thought on anybody’s mind – the minks, diamonds and Mercedes crowd who glitter when they walk down the street.

Dear Editor, It is time to give you and your magazine the boot.

When small-scale Gooding cheesemakers Stacie and Steve Ballard left the American Cheese Society’s July awards ceremony with a first-place ribbon for their Pepper Cheddar and a second-place ribbon for their Idaho Garlic Herb curds, Steve Morgan wasn’t surprised.

Negative energy balance (NEB) is a physiological challenge the Holstein dairy cow faces in the early postpartum period when dietary energy intake cannot meet with energy output in milk. Infectious diseases commonly seen are retained placenta, metritis and mastitis, which are consequences of depressed immunity and NEB. Metabolic disorders may include ketosis, displaced abomasum and fatty liver.

The basic driving forces for manipulating the composition of milk are much the same now as they were 25 years ago. They include:

Call it the high-producer paradox – as dairy cows’ milk production rises, pregnancy rates fall and reproductive difficulties increase. The most profitable, highest producing cows in a dairy herd can become the least profitable because of reproductive problems.