News + Insights
Water: The Essential Nutrient
KEY TAKEAWAYS IN THIS ISSUE OF TECHNICAL TOPICS: Outside of oxygen, water is the most vital nutrient to life. Reduction of water intake causes reduced feed intake and production. Poor water quality can impact water intake, as well as supply unhealthy levels of minerals. Each dairy and well is different, and the type of mineral present changes how bioavailable, and thus how much of an impact it will make. Water treatment options are available to improve water quality.
Feed inventory management: It’s not a game, but it can feel like one
Planning and managing forage inventory on the dairy can sometimes feel like playing Tetris. Like Tetris, we see things begin to pile up or disappear faster than our feed center is prepared for, with consequences more financially weighty than a fistful of quarters at the arcade.
5 ways your operation can manage shrink during the winter
The harvest has come and gone, taking much of the opportunity to prevent shrink in your feed storage, but these winter shrink tips from three nutritionists across the U.S. can help your operation save money and protect your herd’s health no matter what kind of weather winter throws your way.
Milking for Components
KEY TAKEAWAYS IN THIS ISSUE OF TECHNICAL TOPICS:
Higher butterfat and protein production will bulk up your milk check.
Feed for higher butterfat by maintaining a consistent rumen environment that does not cause drops in rumen pH…
Reproductive efficiency and body condition score: Are you in the high-fertility cycle?
KEY TAKEAWAYS IN THIS ISSUE OF TECHNICAL TOPICS: Cows with higher BCS at dry-off or calving are more likely to lose BCS during transition. BCS loss during transition is associated with reduced reproductive efficiency. Attempts at altering BCS at calving to reduce…
Congratulations to Whitesides Dairy on their 40th Anniversary.
Whitesides Dairy has been a valued customer of Standard Nutrition for many years. Steve Whitesides tells how it all got started in this video. Check it out!
2019 Forage may need shorter particle length to maximize production.
KEY TAKEAWAYS Poor planting and harvesting conditions, combined with alfalfa winter kill, means more high NDF and low energy forages used for feed over the next year. High fiber forages can lower dry matter intake (DMI) in dairy cows. Adjusting particle length of such...
Subclincial Hypocalcemia: Rethinking an old problem.
KEY TAKEAWAYS: A reduction of blood calcium after calving is needed to provide negative feedback for the animal and allow for the metabolic changes that will maintain blood calcium levels during lactation. Measuring blood calcium at calving or within the first 24...
Feed efficiency: Are you telling the whole story?
This year, we were fortunate enough to attend an excellent dairy conference hosted in a casino resort in the Southwest. As we walked among the ringing and flashing slots to our next meeting, smoke and the occasional outburst of a fortuitous (or not so fortuitous)...
