Milk production and components

By Randy Greenfield You don’t have to know me well to know I like to work with data. Many producers aren’t quite as likely to get excited about data and spreadsheets, but I think everyone can appreciate the value in tracking dairy herd data to best manage health and performance. We not only have sophisticated

By Rod Martin In the past couple months, we have heard a lot of discussion on lower milk production and higher components. We typically see this phenomenon every year during the fall season, but it seems to be more pronounced this year. Consultants and producers have been evaluating and implementing ration strategies with the goal

By Dr. Eric Schwab In our never-ending quest to improve economic returns and efficiencies, we’re always looking at how we can include cost-effective feed ingredients in the diet without sacrificing production.  A recent meta-analysis published in the Journal of Dairy Science shows that canola meal can fill that niche. The analysis looked at 88 diets

By Dr. Eric Schwab Consumers and processors in the Upper Midwest demand solids to produce high quality dairy products. But how do we produce high solids milk without giving up production? First, let’s take a step back to understand why milk solids play such a big role in the milk check.  World demand for dairy

By Spence Driver Over the last five years, nearly 55 percent of the average milk income over feed costs has been derived from milk protein yield and 40 percent has come from milk fat yield.  That means that only about 5 percent of that income is derived from milk volume. Clearly, that means that increasing

(Editor's note:  In his 2011 article below, Randy Greenfield shares the basics of various dairy risk management tools.  A new tool to add to the list is the Dairy Margin Protection Program, as explained in the following 2014 update.  Contact your Vita Plus consultant if you're interested in further discussing these tools and strategies.) 2014