Taking on low milk prices

Posted on August 1, 2016 in Dairy Performance

By Rod Wautlet
The Class III futures are looking better than they were, but they still aren’t great.

How much is feed shrink costing you?

Posted on July 25, 2016 in Dairy Performance

By Dr. Andy Kniesly
Feed costs represent one of the largest expenses on a dairy farm. As dairy farmers look for ways to improve their profitability, they often look for ways to reduce their feed costs. One area that sometimes gets overlooked in the quest to reduce feed costs is feed shrink.

Don’t let summer heat spoil your feeds

Posted on July 13, 2016 in Dairy Performance

By Dr. Michelle Windle
The sun is shining, the smell of grilled brats is in the air, ice cream is on my mind and the kids are laughing as they run through the sprinkler. 

There’s no denying it.  It’s summertime and with warmer temperatures come TMR heating and spoiling.

Feeding to win (Part 2)

Posted on July 8, 2016 in Dairy Performance

By Nick Uglow
As I mentioned in the first article of this series, following the same management practices as in a commercial setting - keeping calves clean and dry in a facility with proper ventilation, offering clean water, and managing them in a consistent manner - will keep the fair-prospect calf, in any barn, on par with the desired growth. 

Feeding to win (Part 1)

Posted on July 7, 2016 in Dairy Performance

By Nick Uglow
“There she is!” you think to yourself. 

“She” is that special heifer born the first week of September, who happens to be a couple inches taller than the older August heifers rooming in the same place as her. The daughter of the giant brood cow is easily spotted when pushing up feed to the headlocks.  This heifer would be the perfect candidate to take to the county fair for this year’s 4-H project.

The 10 commandments for feeding cows during low milk prices

Posted on June 24, 2016 in Dairy Performance

By Dr. Eric Schwab
When times of plenty pass and margins shrink, pencils are sharpened and costs are scrutinized. Savings need to be found and efficiencies gained. Here are opportunities to fine-tune your operation.

Hire employees focused on service

Posted on May 13, 2016 in Dairy Performance

By Brittany Gevelinger
Anyone can be a leader as long as he or she understands that service is the basis of leadership, knows that being authentic means being a leader in every aspect life, and has a servant’s heart.

Milk the money-makers

Posted on April 25, 2016 in Dairy Performance

By Stacy Nichols
With the current low margins, more emphasis needs to be placed on the factors that impact dairy farm profitability.   Dairies should milk as many profitable cows as possible to maximize the milking parlor – without exceeding the capacity to take care of cows. 

The right time to put the seed in the ground

Posted on April 12, 2016 in Dairy Performance

By Jon Urness
What does it cost in corn silage yield or – more importantly – milk yield per acre when planting for corn silage is delayed? 

In a word - a lot!

Walls or no walls?

Posted on March 23, 2016 in Dairy Performance

By Randall Greenfield
Walls or no walls?  This question inevitably comes up when considering storage options for ensiled forages and grains. The answer, of course, is always “it depends.” For any specific situation, the ultimate solution could be different than the next. For the purpose of this article, however, I’ll make some generic comparisons.

Manage dairy heifer feed cost control points

Posted on March 2, 2016 in Dairy Performance

By Pat Hoffman
With the cycle of lower milk prices upon us, we are often asked how to control feed costs, including the cost of feeding dairy heifers. 

The Impact of the Top 5 in 2016

Posted on February 16, 2016 in Dairy Performance

By Gary Sipiorski
Most agricultural products are commodities.  That means corn looks like corn whether it is grown in Iowa, Brazil or China.  Milk looks like milk no matter where in the world the cows are milked. 

The market price of commodities moves based on supply and demand.  As the supply and demand of commodities change - or worldwide cow numbers change – the result is a rollercoaster ride of income on the local farm.

Vita Plus Dairy Summit 2015: Stepping Forward

Posted on February 1, 2016 in Dairy Performance

Vita Plus Dairy Summit, held this past December in Baraboo, Wisconsin, brought together more than 450 progressive producers from across the Midwest as well as leaders in dairy research and management.

Deciphering dairy data

Posted on December 4, 2015 in Dairy Performance
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

Estimating feed intake of dairy heifers: A quick discussion

Posted on November 20, 2015 in Dairy Performance
By Pat Hoffman Estimating feed intake (dry matter intake) of dairy heifers is an important part of dairy heifer nutrition, but there is a little catch and a trick to get it close. Many of us use heifer bodyweight to estimate feed intake of dairy heifers.  Bodyweight-based heifer feed intake equations “sort of” work, but

TMR mixer checkups do matter

Posted on November 11, 2015 in Dairy Performance
By Rod Martin The total mixed ration (TMR) is an efficient and effective method to feed high-producing dairy cows and has been universally adopted on today’s dairy operations. Yet, many factors can lead to significant TMR inconsistency, resulting in suboptimal milk production, components and potential herd health issues.  Potential variances at each step of the