Feed & Nutrition

Early in my career, I had a feed store manager tell me, “Only the rich can afford cheap feed.” While he was partially correct, feeding dairy cows does allow us the opportunity to feed a variety of byproducts, based upon their nutrient value. There are a variety of software options that can describe the relative value of byproducts compared to more traditional feedstuffs, such as alfalfa hay, corn silage, corn and soybean meal.

Any nutritionist will tell you that optimizing dry matter intake (DMI) is one of the most important factors in achieving target milk production.

A cow’s ration is the recipe for success for producers, providing vital nutrients their cows need to stay healthy and optimize performance. Producers have a variety of feed ingredients they can choose from to help support their cows’ needs and meet their production goals, but balancing different nutrient profiles and ingredient availability can be challenging.

Pounds of milkfat and milk protein shipped, also known as milk component yield (MCY), accounts for more than 75% of the milk check. With milk volume supply constraints in play, maximizing MCY has never been more important.

The goal of any forage program for a dairy is to grow and harvest the highest-quality feed for the cows.

The value of a forage report comes from its analysis and the actions taken by the farm thereafter.