Feed & Nutrition

This year, we were fortunate enough to attend an excellent dairy conference hosted in a casino resort in the Southwest.

As of January 2017, the FDA began a stricter regulation of antibiotics commonly used in the animal-feeding industry. Livestock and poultry producers alike have been accused of overfeeding various antibiotics, largely for growth promotion purposes (i.e., for increased feed efficiency and profitability).

Since 1996, when bioengineered corn first appeared in commercial corn production in the U.S., corn grain yields have increased 2 bushels per acre per year.

Forage particle size is a “hot” topic on dairy farms. Nutritionists, veterinarians and dairy farmers are asking how long forage fiber needs to be. What it the impact of the fiber source?

Mycotoxin contamination, caused by molds and fungi that appear in feed, is an urgent concern in dairy rations across the country this year. A recent mycotoxin report warns contamination levels in the 2018 crop present a medium-to-high risk to livestock.

Various additives, including micro-organisms, enzymes and chemical compounds, have been added to forages to maintain or improve the nutritive value of a crop as silage. As is the nature of most biological systems, there can be considerable variation in the outcome of using these additives.