Feed & Nutrition

Dairy cattle nutrition can be viewed from a variety of different approaches. Remember back in the day when cows scattered pastures and grazed primarily on grass? These cows loved roaming the land and eating lush green forages.

Utilizing small grains in the crop rotation has gained in popularity in recent years. This strategy has benefited the environment, animal performance and the profitability of dairy operations. However, any practice has pros and cons. Double cropping that produces feed, versus a cover crop, does come with challenges.

Cover crops are “hot topics” in crop systems. Beef producers have used cover crops for fall, winter and spring pasture sources. Dairy producers need to consider adding this system on their dairy farms.

No dairy is immune to the negative effects of mycotoxins on animal health and performance. In tests of the 2017 U.S. corn crop across 23 states, 91 percent of grain, silage and corn byproduct samples contained mycotoxins.

Based on many concepts recently published in some important reviews, and some presentations at the Annual Poultry Science Association Symposium in 2017, suggestions to improve the efficiency of dietary antioxidants with polyphenols have been made.

Dairy farmers are interested in producing higher levels of milk solids, as most U.S. markets are valued or priced based on pounds of milkfat, pounds of true protein (does not include milk urea nitrogen contributions) and other solids (lactose and minerals).