Feed & Nutrition

When discussing robotic milking systems, what does it mean to leverage the economics of the feed table? First, let’s define these terms as they relate to robotic milking and feeding.

Editor’s Note: This is the final article in a three-part series on forage hygiene. The previous articles "Clean up your act: High-quality, hygienic silage starts in the field" and "Creating silage cattle need (and want) to eat".

It is well documented that summer heat can have both short-term and long-term impacts on the production potential of dairy cows.

Undigested starch is useless to the dairy cow. Especially when corn prices are high, one goal should be to minimize starch losses in manure. The first step usually taken to reduce starch loss is to evaluate corn grain particle size and most likely, to grind it finer. But for greater success, more changes may need to be made.

Increasing ingredient costs have wreaked havoc across the dairy industry, leading to elevated ration costs not seen in many years. Feed costs per pound of dry matter (DM) are rising as much as 20% or more as corn and soybean meal prices climb, minimizing farmers’ profit margins.

This is the second in a three-part series on forage hygiene. The previous article "Clean up your act: High-quality, hygienic silage starts in the field" and the final piece will address animal health.