When Ryzebol Dairy purchased a feed efficiency service from Afimilk, its goal was to identify cows not only producing more milk but also converting feed into milk well. The service determines each animal’s feed consumption efficiency based on data that represents the relationship between daily average milk yield and daily average feed consumption. It indicates whether increasing the feed yields more milk.

Well-managed forage programs are a key aspect of any dairy operation, and tools such as MILK2024 are valuable metrics to help make decisions on both the quality and quantity of feed harvested. As technology implementation increases, it is critical to assess what works for an operation and what doesn’t. Understanding the potential impact of these decisions on milk production can help producers do just that. 

The growing season has a large impact on our corn silage, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have options to manage the variables.

Sorghum-sudangrass is a C4 (warm-season) annual. It can easily grow 10 feet tall and yield more than 5 tons of dry matter per acre during the hot summer.

What many dairy farmers do not know is the many other factors that affect NDF digestibility outside of the hybrids they choose to plant and harvest. There are both dietary and non-dietary factors that can either negatively or positively impact fiber digestion.

Each individual dairy can work with their crop team and their nutritionist to see if brown midrib is an option for their ration and for their crop system.

To counter escalating input costs, Herrington Farms Inc. focuses on three things: wringing every possible ounce of milk from their dairy herd, cost-conscious management decisions and diversifying their income stream. 

For dairy farmers, the goal for corn silage is simple: harvest the most tons possible of a highly digestible hybrid.