Dairy Feed & Diets

Why methionine is so crucial for dairy cows

essievans@sympatico.ca — Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Methionine is an essential amino acid for dairy cows, but it is often undersupplied in typical rations. It is considered essential because cows cannot synthesize enough methionine to meet their needs, so it must be supplied by what they digest.

2025 Canadian harvest analysis: Mycotoxins and risk to ruminants

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 -0400

As we move further away from harvest and into storage and feedout, mycotoxin risk does not disappear. In fact, warming temperatures and variable storage conditions can favour the growth of storage moulds such as penicillium.

High-oleic soybeans: Do they make cents?

zsawall@vitaplus.com — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Growing and feeding high-oleic soybeans is a rapidly evolving opportunity for today’s dairy farms. As high-oleic soybeans gain more attention and adoption in the industry, consider how they may find a place on your farm.

From deficit to performance: How protein balance, inflammation and methyl donors shape transition cow success

catherine_delorme-tetreault@cargill.com — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Modern research clearly shows that metabolic dysregulation during the transition period, particularly involving protein supply and inflammatory tone, strongly influences early lactation performance, disease incidence, reproductive outcomes and overall herd profitability.

Feed inventory is a profit and health lever on dairy farms

amelie_mainville@cargill.com — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0500

From a nutritionist’s perspective, feed inventory is more than a count of tonnes; it’s the backbone of ration consistency, herd health and overall farm profitability.

Producing more protein: A practical, nutritional and economic approach

annemarie.raiche@trouwnutrition.com — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0500

When we talk about producing protein, we often think of the percentage shown on the milk paycheque and the kilograms of protein delivered. In practice, however, improving milk protein starts much earlier and in a more concrete place: the rumen.

Research Review: From the Journal of Dairy Science: Effect of water quality on calf health and new insights on fatty acids

pedro.nogueira@trouwnutrition.com — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Researchers assessed the effects of municipal tap water compared with purified water on calf performance and health.

Exploring the effects of canola meal and seaweed on methane emissions in cows

essievans@sympatico.ca — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Vegetable oils, particularly oils that are high in monounsaturated fatty acids such as canola oil, have been shown to reduce methane output and improve energy efficiency. In addition, some secondary plant compounds can likewise modify fermentation to reduce methane production.

Where does your magnesium come from?

benjamin.wenner@feedworksusa.com — Tue, 09 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Low magnesium-containing mineral sources with high availability can still make a meaningful contribution to the magnesium status of your herd, and differences in solubility should be priced accordingly. Paying attention to solubility and payload ensures that every gram of mineral in the diet delivers value to the cow.

Are your cows sports cars or farm trucks?

clemence.nash@novusint.com — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 23:00:00 -0500

Dream of a high-performance sports car and a Corvette or Camaro may come to mind. In many ways, dairy cows are high-performance machines too. However, some dairy producers may still treat their top-performing “cowmaros” like their old, trusty farm trucks, which may not allow the cows to reach their full genetic potential. Just like a sports car, cows require maintenance and upkeep. By treating your cows like top performers instead of old farm trucks, you can increase cow productivity and maximize profitability.

Navigating winter dysentery and the everyday challenges of dairy farming

ryaro@novonesis.com — Fri, 14 Nov 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Winter dysentery is unpredictable but inevitable; daily use of a proven probiotic supports healthy, productive herds and helps maintain normal GI function.

Cows: The masters at sorting feed

kathleenshore@grandvalley.com — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 00:00:00 -0500

For those of us born during the last millennium, we will remember how wonderful it was when the concept of total mixed ration (TMR) was introduced. Mixers with capabilities of taking all the ingredients and creating one feed. But we still must outsmart the bovine beast that looks for the goodies, and that means sorting.

The role of trace minerals in embryo transfer pregnancies

louderdvm@gmail.com — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Open. It is a word no veterinarian enjoys saying during the herd check. While researchers continue to look for ways to improve the outcomes of live births, improving the trace mineral status of the cow may be a promising way to reduce hearing that dreaded word: open.

Fibre first: Unlocking digestibility for resilient and profitable dairy herds

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Fibre digestibility plays a pivotal role in dairy cow nutrition, directly influencing dry matter intake (DMI), rumen health and milk production. The drought of 2025 intensified challenges in forage quality, particularly in Ontario and Quebec, prompting producers to explore innovative nutritional strategies.

Does your lactating ration strategy drive farm profit?

matt_groen@cargill.com — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Over the last few years, Canadian dairy producers have faced a rapidly evolving economic landscape. Feed costs now as much as ever are one of the critical determinants of profitability.

Profitable milk starts with quality forage

kathleenshore@grandvalley.com — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0400

To make high-quality silage that drives milk production, your focus should be on preserving energy, protein, and digestibility, minimizing spoilage, and maximizing intake potential.

Immunity: More than a vaccine

louderdvm@gmail.com — Tue, 27 May 2025 00:00:00 -0400

While vaccines contribute greatly to a cow’s immune system, there are other aspects of the immune system that should not be forgotten. Ensuring that essential elements such as trace minerals are provided, allows for the cow’s entire immune system to be ready to fight off an invasion, not just relying on the special forces.

Fine-tuning haylage and cereal silage quality for different life stages within the herd

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0400

The arrival of spring always offers a sense of renewal and a promise of new beginnings as the fields turn green, making it the ideal time to set haylage quality goals for the year. Generally, when discussing haylage quality, the conversation is usually centred around forage quality for the lactating herd, as it makes up the largest percentage of feed being consumed.

Negative DCAD diet still holds key to health and performance

ruby.wu@churchdwight.com — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Even though millions of cows and hundreds of research trials have demonstrated the positive benefits of feeding a negative DCAD diet, there are always those who look for new and better ways to accomplish the goal of reducing incidence of clinical and subclinical milk fever. While those interventions do exist, it is hard to beat the proven efficacy of feeding a negative DCAD diet.

2024 Canadian harvest analysis highlights mycotoxin risk and strategies for proactive management

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Although the 2024 harvest is now over, the Canadian agricultural industry will continue to deal with ongoing challenges of mycotoxins. Mycotoxins, naturally occurring chemical toxins produced by certain moulds, have been linked to a range of issues in farm animals.

How can dairy producers implement precision feeding without increasing costs?

tyler@maverickherdmanagement.com — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 00:00:00 -0500

When the words “precision feeding” come up, dairy producers usually have one of two very distinct reactions: excitement or hesitation. There are three easy precision feeding technologies outlined in this article that could help dairy farms maximize their current operations.

Making the most of fiber

tamilee.adolph@adm.com — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Maximizing fiber digestion is a multifaceted approach that begins with feeding high-quality forages, having excellent feeding management and taking advantage of various feeding technologies available. Utilizing these various approaches will help cows make the most of the fiber they consume.

How can we determine the ideal amount of corn silage in dairy cow diets?

jplaroche@lactanet.ca — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Producers who work with corn silage sometimes wonder about the optimal proportion of this ingredient in their diet. Answering this question is no easy task, as the effects of changing it are multiple and complex. Let's look at the facts to guide our decisions.

A new ‘no-feed' strategy for robotic dairies

jason.french@delaval.com — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Milking technologies have changed over many decades, so have feeding strategies incorporated on the dairy farm. For those using automation to milk cows, providing feed at the robot was thought to be paramount to the system’s success. Recently, some automated milking producers have started to rethink this approach.

Find the next bump in your paycheck

sarah.stocks@novusint.com — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 00:00:00 -0500

With so many factors to consider, understanding a farm’s income over feed costs can take time, but that understanding also provides a clear map of the changes possible on the farm. By knowing the total costs associated with their operation, dairy farmers can weigh their options to find the next bump in their paycheck and support profitability.

Boosting butterfat production with dairy cow diets

areijmers@liquidfeeds.com — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

As a dairy farmer, you are always looking for ways to improve the health and productivity of your herd. One often overlooked but highly beneficial feed supplement is liquid molasses.

Research Review: From the Journal of Dairy Science: Influences on colostrum production and nutritional factors on milk production in automated milking systems

pedro.nogueira@trouwnutrition.com — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0400

This article from researchers from Cornell University and Germany describes the individual, seasonal and herd-level variability of colostrum production and summarizes the association between animal individual factors – such as parity, sex of the calf, calf birthweight, as well as indicators of the cow’s metabolic status – and the yield and composition of colostrum.

The basics of rumen feed efficiency

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0400

As with all areas of dairy operations, increasing efficiency – in this case of feed in the rumen – deserves attention because when it is improved, gains can be seen beyond the area of focus, not to mention in sustainability (this includes economically) as well.

Importance of water quality for milk production

wayne@dutrion.net — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0400

Profitable livestock production requires many quality management skills that all impact the technical results.

Progressive Events: Net-zero and protein substitutes hot topics at this year’s Animal Nutrition Conference of Canada

Thu, 04 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0400

At the annual Animal Nutrition Conference of Canada, conference speakers shared diverse perspectives on some of the most pressing issues facing the livestock feed industry, ranging from the emergence of lab-grown proteins to the quest for net zero and the role of trace mineral additives in sustainability.