Understanding starch digestibility inside and out

Posted on August 11, 2015 in Dairy Performance
By Pat Hoffman We feed lactating cows starch sources that may be ground, flaked, processed, rolled or ensiled.  In addition, we store feeds containing starch in bags, bunkers and bins at different moisture contents for different lengths of time. With all these possible combinations, figuring out starch digestibility in the feeds we put in front

Conflict: Cows can be the easy part of farm management

Posted on July 31, 2015 in Dairy Performance
By Jack Hales and Barry Visser The care and comfort of the cows is of utmost importance, but, some days, managing the cows is the easy part.  The biggest conflict from the cows’ perspective may be resolved by moving the dominant cow to another pen. It’s not so easy with people. Occasionally, “big picture” conflicts

Help farm workers meet goals with performance evaluations

Posted on July 20, 2015 in Dairy Performance
By Jim Lewis and Andy Nytes Improving farm business performance presents an everyday challenge for employers and owners.  Continuing at the current level of performance is never really considered an option for goal-oriented people, whether they are owners or supervisors. As managers, however, we quickly learn that we cannot accomplish improved performance on our own.

Inoculant applicators: Keep the bugs alive!

Posted on June 17, 2015 in Dairy Performance
By Dr. Michelle Windle Bacterial inoculants are a valuable part of your forage program, but they must be handled correctly to make the most of yoru investment.  In this video, I provide a few steps to keep inoculant bacteria alive.  These common-sense strategies can significantly protect the effectiveness of inoculants and make the most of

The dairy dozen: 12 key financial indicators (Part 2)

Posted on May 27, 2015 in Dairy Performance
By Gary Sipiorski Think about your last check-up at the doctor’s office.  What questions did your doctor ask you?  How did he or she determine you’re healthy or uncover any potential risks or problems? Now it’s time for you to be the doctor for your farm’s finances.  Pull out your balance sheet and cash flow

The dairy dozen: 12 key financial indicators (Part 1)

Posted on April 27, 2015 in Dairy Performance
By Gary Sipiorski Think about your last check-up at the doctor’s office.  What questions did your doctor ask you?  How did he or she determine you’re healthy or uncover any potential risks or problems? Now it’s time for you to be the doctor for your farm’s finances.  Pull out your balance sheet and cash flow

12-point check for small grain forages

Posted on April 7, 2015 in Dairy Performance
By Pat Hoffman Producers used to only plant small grains in the spring for forage when they faced alfalfa winterkill or needed a companion crop for alfalfa seedings. Times have changed and small grain forages are now commonly and diversely used to augment a wide array of forage needs.  In addition, small grain forages are

The 3 R’s for coaching employees

Posted on March 11, 2015 in Dairy Performance
By Jon Wilcox Bobby Knight, a college basketball coach with more than 900 victories and nicknamed “The General,” was perhaps most famously remembered for his fierce, combative, expletive-laden, chair-throwing style.  Yet he’s loyally defended and fanatically revered by most of his former players. Contrast him with the quiet and calm Tony Dungy.  Dungy’s accomplishments include

Vita Plus Custom Harvester Meeting 2015: Sharpen skills, adjust the knowledge bar and gain the edge

Posted on February 26, 2015 in Dairy Performance
More than 130 custom harvesters, Vita Plus employee owners and industry peers came together February 17 and 18 for the Vita Plus Custom Harvester Meeting in Onalaska, Wisconsin.  Follow the links below for complete event coverage, including articles, videos, photos and speaker presentations. Introduction to NIR moisture testers Dr. Michelle Windle, Vita Plus | Near

Video: First Winter in a New Calf Barn

Posted on February 5, 2015 in Dairy Performance
By Ann Hoskins In most respects, it's been a mild winter.  However, the recent cold and snow blasts have brought back memories of last winter's polar vortexes and that little Pennsylvanian groundhog just said we have six weeks to go. Many calf barns went up last summer in response to the previous harsh winter.  That

Maintaining heifer performance in cold stress

Posted on January 8, 2015 in Dairy Performance
By Pat Hoffman We're all feeling the immense chill right now, especially as we're out working with animals.  We place particular focus on young calves as changes in feeding and management are required to help calves not only survive, but also grow to their potential despite the temperature outside. What we might now focus on

Vita Plus Dairy Summit 2014: The 20-Year Climb

Posted on December 23, 2014 in Dairy Performance
More than 400 dairy producers, Vita Plus consultants and industry peers came together December 10 and 11 for Vita Plus Dairy Summit 2014 in Red Wing, Minnesota.  Follow the links below for complete event coverage, including articles, videos, photos and speaker presentations. Business Management Weather for Agriculture:  What Will 2015 Bring? Dr. Elwynn Taylor, Iowa

Fall milk slump and low digestible forages?

Posted on November 20, 2014 in Dairy Performance
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

Bank on corn silage in your rations

Posted on November 10, 2014 in Dairy Performance
By Dr. Darin Bremmer Looking back a number of years, it was rare to feed a milk cow diet with more than 50 percent of the forage dry matter (DM) coming from corn silage.  Today, it’s common to feed diets with at least 80 percent of the forage DM coming from this crop. That pushes

HMSC: Don’t forget the H

Posted on October 15, 2014 in Dairy Performance
By Jon Urness Dairy producers have successfully harvested, stored and fed high moisture corn for many years. By now, most have the routine down pat. But when things go wrong, it’s often the lack of high moisture that causes problems.  Naturally, too much moisture can be a challenge as well, but the material won’t pack

Optimal packing density: Harvest is the time to get it right!

Posted on September 24, 2014 in Dairy Performance
By Barry Visser Achieving a tight pack and attaining a high density are extremely important aspects of harvesting and storing silage.  Reaching goals of high density is important for two main reasons: Density and dry matter (DM) content determine the porosity of the silage, which affects the rate at which air can enter the silage