Dairy goat farm reduces waste, improves profitability by feeding a TMR

Posted on March 7, 2024 in Dairy Goat Performance
By Sarah Varney, Vita Plus dairy goat specialist | Lester Sterken, and his wife, Helen, own and operate Musty Meadow, a dairy goat farm in Delevan, Wisconsin. Access to well-managed corn silage and haylage allows the Sterkens to feed a total mixed ration to meet the nutritional needs of the herd, reduce feed waste, and support farm profitability.

Managing kids and goats to improve health outcomes

Posted on November 6, 2023 in Dairy Goat Performance
Attention to kid care and management can reduce immunological stress and will increase the survival rate of kids.  During her Vita Plus Dairy Goat Seminar presentation, Kate Stollen, DVM, Stollen Veterinary Consulting and Holsum Dairies LLC, reviewed challenges associated with birth and youngstock care.

Transition doe management

Posted on October 2, 2023 in Dairy Goat Performance
The transition period for dairy goats is the three weeks before kidding to three weeks after kidding. During his Vita Plus Dairy Goat Seminar presentation, Kevin Wellejus, VMD and partner at Calumet Goat Company, explained that during this transition from the dry period to milking, the doe’s physiology changes dramatically.

Advancing rumen development in dairy goat kids during the nursery and grower phases

Posted on August 23, 2023 in Dairy Goat Performance
As a Vita Plus dairy technical specialist, Noah Litherland, Ph.D., has long been interested in rumen development and the physiology of growth in youngstock.  He applies that interest to his family’s farm as they raise dairy goats.  During his Vita Plus Dairy Goat Seminar presentation, Litherland focused on starter intake as a key component of youngstock nutrition and management.

Dairy goat farm focuses on raising healthy, high-producing kids

Posted on May 19, 2023 in Dairy Goat Performance
With the goal of raising healthy, high-producing dairy goats, the team at Blakesville Dairy Farm in Port Washington, Wisconsin, focuses on care and management of kids to enhance lifetime health and performance while continuously being progressive in their farming practices.

Make the most of the dry period: Nutrition (part 2)

Posted on October 18, 2022 in Dairy Goat Performance
Proper management of a doe’s dry period can have significant impacts on the doe’s longevity and productivity as well as kid survival. In this second article in a two-part series, experts discuss nutrition strategies that can lead to success in the dry period.

Make the most of the dry period: Management (part 1)

Posted on October 12, 2022 in Dairy Goat Performance
Proper management of a doe’s dry period can have significant impacts on the doe’s longevity and productivity as well as kid survival. In this first article in a two-part series, experts discuss management factors that can lead to success in the dry period.

Reading a forage report

Posted on August 2, 2022 in Dairy Goat Performance
By Dr. Michelle Chang-Der Bedrosian, Vita Plus | Everyone has their own way of reading a forage lab report and focusing on the information they feel is most important to them. As a forage specialist, I focus on the following items in this order.

5 key points in understanding and managing coccidiosis

Posted on July 14, 2022 in Dairy Goat Performance
By Dr. Danielle Mzyk, Janesville Animal Medical Center associate veterinarian | Coccidiosis is caused by microscopic protozoan parasites called coccidian (Eimeria spp.). These parasites cause severe damage to the intestinal cells of goats, leading to diarrhea, clinical disease, and reduced growth and production. Here are five key points in understanding and managing coccidiosis.

Developing the rumen superpower

Posted on May 10, 2022 in Dairy Goat Performance
By Dr. Lucas Mitchell The ability to turn ordinarily undigestible feeds into valuable meat and milk products should be considered nothing short of a superpower, and it is what makes ruminants a unique, valuable, and sustainable source of food. As such, it is critical to prioritize rumen development early in life so that, later in life, they can more thoroughly digest and make use of fibrous feedstuffs.

Colostrum management (part 2): Successfully feeding high-quality colostrum

Posted on February 14, 2022 in Dairy Goat Performance
By Dr. Noah Litherland In part 2 of our colostrum series, we look at efficient ways to heat-treat, store and warm colostrum. We also review the steps for processing newborn kids and feeding colostrum.

Colostrum management (part 1): Start with the doe

Posted on January 28, 2022 in Dairy Goat Performance
By Dr. Noah Litherland We only have one opportunity per doe to harvest colostrum and to feed her kids quality colostrum, so let’s develop a plan to do it right! Do you have opportunities to manage colostrum more effectively this year?

Virtual Farm Tour: Drumlin Dairy LLC

Posted on November 18, 2021 in Dairy Goat Performance
[gallery ids="16836,16837,16838,16839,16840,16841,16842,16843,16844,16845"] Drumlin Dairy LLC focuses on kid health, year-round production Wisconsin leads the nation in dairy goat production, yet not enough goat milk is produced in-state to make all the goat cheese crafted by Wisconsin cheesemakers.  A few years ago, processors approached the owners of Holsum Dairies, LLC in Hilbert, Wisconsin, to see if they

Managing heat stress in dairy goats

Posted on July 13, 2021 in Dairy Goat Performance

By Dr. David Carlson
Heat stress is a costly condition for many species of livestock, causing suboptimal health and productivity.  Dairy goats experiencing heat stress will compensate in several ways to maintain body temperature, both by accelerating heat loss and decreasing heat production.  These critical management strategies can help animals cope with heat stress.

To drive or not to drive? Wheel traffic and alfalfa yields

Posted on May 21, 2021 in Dairy Goat Performance

In our pursuit for greater alfalfa yield per acre, we created a situation of loss.  What I mean is our alfalfa variety selection process has pushed farmers to select higher fall-dormancy-scored alfalfas that recover more quickly after cuttings, stay vegetative longer into the fall, and green-up more quickly in the spring.  This is accomplished through plant breeding and selection for plants that exhibit faster regrowth.  These varieties possess the desired production traits for higher yields per acre and exhibit crowns that are not as deeply set into the soil.

Use your tax information to calculate true cost of production

Posted on February 16, 2021 in Dairy Goat Performance

By Sarah Adamson
It’s tax season.  Whether you dread it or enjoy it, one benefit of tax season is it provides you with an opportunity to break down and itemize your expenses.  Completing this process provides you with valuable insight into your true cost of production.