Dairy Nutrition
From what’s being observed in some south Georgia pastures this fall, oats are struggling, with growers seeing issues from cold damage, nutrient and moisture stress, and possible barley yellow dwarf virus.
A device about the size of an electronic key fob, paired with a smart phone, will allow livestock producers and consultants to conduct real-time on-farm feed analysis
Successfully preserving stalklage is not that different from making good corn silage or haylage.
Constant light pollution, particularly in large dairies operating around the clock, can be a problem.
Rapid growth of corn plants can lead to higher levels of lignification.
Making sure there are no amino acid deficiencies—particularly lysine and methionine--is the surest way to encourage milk protein production.
Candidates for extended dry periods are younger, lower risk, healthy cattle.
Using the right data to find and fix the problem is critical.
The additive reduces methane emissions and potentially increased feed efficiency.
There is still room for improvement to reduce incidence of scours and respiratory disease.
Dry cows should maintain a body condition score in the range of 3.0 to 3.25.
Weight at calving not only determines first-lactation performance, it sets in stone lifetime performance.
The accelerated milk replacer provides about twice as much dry matter per calf per day as traditional replacers.
When an auto-feeder calf barn proved to be too expensive, this positive-pressure barn equipped with mob feeders is proving to be a viable alternative.
These include harvesting at optimum plant moisture, proper chop length, sufficient kernel processing and silo packing.
Research shows feeding bypass amino acids helps boost milk protein
Higher production does not guarantee profitability, but it does provide the opportunity to pay more bills as long as costs are contained.
The key is to move cattle more frequently during wet weather.
Research studies shows how higher protein fresh cow rations can improve performance.
Late planting dates will impact quality and digestibility.
‘Numbers are only useful in decision making if they are used.’ Lane Ely, University of Georgia.
Do everything to maintain dry matter intake to maximize component levels.
Dairy farmers should consider alfalfa as a solution on prevent plant acres.
Chopping forage more finely can result in more consistent particle size and greater feed intakes.
Sorghum has a number of properties that make it a desirable dairy feedstuff, particularly for growing heifer rations.
The majority of operations, 59.2%, hand-fed colostrum to calves from bottles or a bucket. But on average, calves received hand-fed colostrum 3.3 hours after birth. Veterinarians and calf specialists typically recommend feeding colostrum within an hour of birth to optimize absorption of critical nutrients and to transfer immunity.