Reduced Lignin Alfalfa can Improve Digestibility

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Alfalfa is known for its high nutritional value, and that makes it a valued forage source. However, alfalfa is often hindered nutritionally because of the indigestible lignin components in the cell wall. Using technology to improve fiber digestibility in alfalfa can provide opportunities to improve feeding flexibility and enhance animal performance. Importantly, high-quality alfalfa can be used to improve cow efficiency, production, and enhance an operation’s economic value.

Alfalfa has a number of beneficial nutritional characteristics that make it a high-quality feedstuff for dairy cows. Alfalfa is sometimes overlooked or left out of the diet because of its high expense relative to other forages. This includes its high establishment and harvest costs. This situation has led to less overall alfalfa production in the United States in the last 20 years. Incomplete fiber digestion reduces animal performance by limiting intake, and that also cascades to more manure production. When that takes place, a dairy farm’s profit potential also drops.

Read the full article by Hannah Wilson and Kenneth Kalscheur with Hoard’s Dairyman

Do you use Calcium Boluses in your Herd?

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Administering calcium boluses to fresh cows has become a widely adopted practice to prevent hypocalcemia on U.S. dairy farms.

But are all calcium boluses equally effective? According to a study by a group of Canadian researchers: no.

Verhoef and his team concluded that calcium chloride/calcium sulfate boluses were more effective at generating serum calcium response than boluses containing high amounts of calcium carbonate. They also suggested that administering two boluses together within 12 hours of calving may be more effective than the traditional treatment of giving two boluses 12 hours apart.

Read the full article by Maureen Hanson on Dairy Herd.

The Cows Even Have Their Own Nutritionist?!

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Learn about the cows’ diet and how important it is on a dairy farm. Special guest appearances from Tom VanderWall and Harrison Hobart. Watch Harrison use the Penn State Shaker Box and also catch Tom’s biweekly checkup here at Five Star Dairy

What you can lose when your cows are bunching | Progressive Dairy

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Have you ever watched your cows stand in a big group and wondered what kind of secrets they’re sharing or how much they’re costing you by standing and socializing instead of producing milk?

According to research done at the University of California (UC) – Davis, a conservative estimate for milk production losses due to bunching could be close to $11.60 per lactating cow per year.

Read the full article by Progressive Dairy Editor Matti McBride here.

To learn more about this study or to contact the researchers, visit the UC – Davis website or read their paper.

Sole Ulcers: Don’t Blame the Ration | Dairy Herd

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A high incidence of sole ulcers in a dairy herd is probably not the fault of the ration, according to Gerard Cramer, DVM, DVSc, associate professor at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine.

“We’ve been blaming the ration for a long time, and we still have sole ulcers,” Cramer told the audience at a hands-on workshop at the 2022 Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin annual business conference.

His assessment of the most common contributors: standing time, flooring problems, and failure to control digital dermatitis.

Cramer stresses that 100% of cows in a herd should have at least 12 hours of lying time daily. “Not just 80%, but 100%,” he declared.

As a comprehensive approach to preventing lameness, Cramer emphasizes four key fundamentals:

  1. Low infection pressure from digital dermatitis-causing bacteria.
  2. Good horn quality and shape, maintained with mineral supplementation and regular hoof trimming.
  3. Early detection and treatment of lame cows.
  4. Low stress and minimal force on cows’ feet.

Read the full article by Maureen Hanson with DairyHerd.

The Challenges and Rewards of Feeding ByProducts

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Feeding by-products from production, postharvest, and processing of foods and other agro-industrial products to dairy cows has been routine practice for decades. Byproducts streamline diet formulation and constitute, on average, 30% of Midwestern dairy diets.

But this practice has been of utmost importance to dairy operations these last couple of years. Besides providing options to adjust dietary nutrients, feeding byproducts reduce feed costs and aid in navigating through low forage inventories.

Read the full article by Luiz Ferraretto with Wisconsin State Farmer

Clean Feed is Key to Dairy Nutrition

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Feed hygiene is key in minimizing or removing the anti-nutritional factors in feed that can negatively affect animal health and performance.

Key factors in reducing feed contamination include:

  • utilizing loader buckets dedicated to feed only
  • placing silage bags on surfaces to minimize soil contamination
  • properly face silage piles and bunks
  • reduce water runoff through silage piles
  • proper height of disc mowers
  • remove rodents and birds in feed storage and feed alleys
  • tarp hay
  • maintain clean feed alleys

Read the full article by Cassie Worster with Wisconsin State Farmer

Considerations for Breeding Dairy Cattle to Beef Breeds for Meat Production

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Producing beef x dairy cross calves has the potential to increase the market value of these calves compared to straight bred dairy bull calves. However, as the supply of beef x dairy cross calves increases, it’s reasonable to assume buyers will become more discerning. Dairy producers can stack the odds in their favor with a thoughtful beef sire selection.

In Considerations for Breeding Dairy Cattle to Beef Breeds for Meat Production, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Holstein steers, introduce dairy producers to EPD’s (beef genetic proofs), and provide suggestions for beef sire traits to consider when applied to dairy cattle.

By choosing beef sires that improve upon the weaknesses of dairy steers, using beef on dairy can improve feed efficiency, rate of gain and reduce days on feed. Wisely incorporating beef genetics can also improve carcass characteristics over straight bred dairy by increasing ribeye size and changing the ribeye shape, increasing muscling, and moderating frame size while maintaining the marbling ability of dairy animals.

Read the full article by Ryan A Sterry and Amanda L Cauffman with Livestock Division of Extension

The Role of Energy and Omega 3’s in Embryo Development

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As dairy cows produce higher and higher volumes of milk, the need for a higher caloric intake is necessary to help support this huge demand for energy. Dairy cow diets typically contain some form of fat, either from rumen-active sources such as cottonseed, distillers, tallow and roasted beans or from rumen-inert fats such as calcium salts or prilled fats.

  • Palmitic, stearic and oleic are fatty acids we need to support energy in the dairy cow.
  • Cows that transition well do not experience extreme inflammation, thus they will maintain or increase DMI and avoid metabolic issues or milk loss.
  • Minimizing body condition loss and corresponding NEFA levels during the transition period will no doubt help set your cows up to become pregnant faster.
  • Providing base levels of EPA/DHA omega-3s in dairy cow diets will assist in proper oocyte and embryo development and will improve embryo implantation rate and lower pregnancy losses.

Read the full article by Douglas Waterman for Progressive Dairy here.

 

At Cornerstone, we know the small details make a big difference. Our team has been working hands-on and in the industry for an average of over 20 years each. We know your herd doesn’t take sick days. We’re here to work beside you, offer world-class expertise, and provide solutions and resources to achieve the goals you have for your farm. If you have questions on your herd’s nutrition balance, please contact us.

Dairy Productivity, Profitability and Promotion | Dairy Herd

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The standard measure of dairy cow productivity is milk production per cow. But for the purposes of both farm management and larger dairy economic analysis, perhaps a better measure is milk solids production per cow.

Peter Vitaliano, Ph.D, Chief Economist for the National Milk Producers Federation explains, “The liquid component of raw milk determines product yield for only a small proportion of total dairy production. Milk solids production per cow has been growing faster than milk production per cow in recent years, as average milk solids composition of milk has grown.”

Read the full article by Dairy Herd here.

Vitaliano presented the seminar “Dairy Cow Productivity: More Important to the Profitability of Your Dairy Operation Than You Think” during the 2021 World Dairy Expo in Madison, WI. The session was sponsored by the National Milk Producers Federation and is available for viewing here.

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