Rapid, pathogen-specific treatment is quickly becoming one of the major competitive advantages in milk quality management. Leading dairy farms are implementing on-farm culture systems to quickly diagnose and treat clinical mastitis.

You know the routine – as soon as the tractor starts, every cow on the farm gets up and rushes the feedbunk. By the time the feed arrives, all the animals are waiting impatiently and acting like they haven’t been fed in days.

Dairy farms historically raised pre-weaned calves in hutches or individual pens. This made feedings easier, allowed for individual monitoring and curbed disease outbreaks. As more farms transition to group housing, this traditional method is being challenged.

No one really knows the origin of the term “jack of all trades.” But I am convinced that the term must have been coined to describe a farmer. Farmers, by far, have the broadest knowledge base, dabbling in almost every science from architecture to zoology. This is why I am surprised at the aversion displayed by farmers across the country when it comes to evaluation of different strains of fermentation bacteria.

My mom always told me I should never say I “hate” something. So trying to be a good son, I will not say that I “hate” feeding calves, but I will tell you I very much loathe feeding baby calves. Only someone who has raised a calf from birth to weaning can understand my strong dislike.

If I had a nickel for every question I get about shredlage, I’d be living the good life by now, lounging on the beach in San Luis Obispo. But, unfortunately, it doesn’t work this way. Shredlage is a hot topic in the forage industry, especially among dairy farmers. Driving this interest is the economics of being able to feed a higher percentage of corn silage in the ration and gain efficiency in the utilization of digestible fiber.

Making silage is a fermentation process that consists of six phases (see Figure 1), but on many farms the last phase – feedout – is often the most neglected. This final phase of fermentation starts the day the silo is opened and continues until all of the forage has been consumed.