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

Seek proof of a product’s value

Posted on September 18, 2014 in Dairy Performance
By Dr. Al Schultz Whether it is a feed additive, a management practice, an equipment purchase or a whole myriad of inputs for your dairy, you are faced with choices.  But which of the choices is the best investment?  How do you know? It is jokingly said that if you feed multiple products that all

Vomitoxin: How much is too much in dairy diets?

Posted on August 29, 2014 in Dairy Performance
By Rod Martin This year’s weather conditions have been conducive to the development of vomitoxin in wheat.   The price for this wheat grain can be significantly discounted depending on the contamination level.  Consequently, dairy producers are asking how they can feed wheat grain in their dairy diets without incurring negative production and health effects. Furthermore,

Video: Evaluating corn silage processing in the field

Posted on August 19, 2014 in Dairy Performance
By Jon Rasmussen Trying to get a handle on corn silage processing while the choppers are moving has gained a great deal of interest in the recent years. A few considerations can help make the evaluation a little less subjective. Start by gathering a fresh corn silage sample in a 32-ounce container (a large soda

Robotic feed pusher: Future driver of dry matter intake?

Posted on July 11, 2014 in Dairy Performance
By Kary Babb In today’s dairy industry, technology is evermore integral to the management and care of dairy herds worldwide.  Increasingly, producers are saying goodbye to manual labor, allowing them to focus their time on other projects. First, we saw a huge change to the industry when robotic milking systems became available.  Since then, an

Building better heifer breeding criteria

Posted on June 23, 2014 in Dairy Performance
By Pat Hoffman For years, dairy producers have been told they should target specific breeding weights and lower the average breeding age of their heifers. There’s just one small problem with this school of thought:  No single heifer calves at the "average" age. Dairy farmers calve distributions of heifers, not the average. In other words,

The ladies like it cool… Starting today (Part 2)

Posted on May 30, 2014 in Dairy Performance
By Rod Martin It’s the end of May and that means heat abatement strategies should be in place on your dairy.  A good method to review your cooling strategy is the 3-M approach:  mechanical considerations, metabolic considerations and management considerations. I discussed several mechanical considerations in my last post, including shade, airflow and water access. 

Caution: Don’t kill your bugs!

Posted on May 12, 2014 in Dairy Performance
By Dr. Michelle Windle Bacterial inoculants are commonly added to forage at ensiling because they result in more desirable fermentations that improve the recovery of dry matter (DM) and energy.  Certain strains of lactic acid bacteria can improve aerobic stability.  Many factors have the potential to affect how well an inoculant works, such as storage

The ladies like it cool… Starting today (Part 1)

Posted on April 25, 2014 in Dairy Performance
By Rod Martin On April 20 here in the Madison area, the temperature soared above 70 degrees for the first time in 190 days.  This was certainly a welcome relief and we are hoping for many more days like that since many of us were wondering if this severe winter would ever end. For 190

Fly control strategies for dairy calves and heifers

Posted on April 21, 2014 in Dairy Performance
By Dr. Noah Litherland Fly control is critically important on all livestock farms.  Flies negatively impact dairy calves in two primary ways: Spread disease such as E. Coli and Salmonella Reduce animal comfort, resulting in increased stress and reduced efficiency of growth The key with any fly management strategy is to start early in the

Motivate frozen employees

Posted on March 6, 2014 in Dairy Performance
By Bob Hagenow Unquestionably, this winter has been tough on everyone and many have reached their tolerance level for cold and snow.  The forecast shows some hope, but March is infamous for surprises and Old Man Winter will probably make a couple more appearances.  So how do you encourage motivation amongst your team while you

So it’s time to hire a new employee on the dairy

Posted on February 13, 2014 in Dairy Performance
By Dr. Al Schultz and Peter Coyne As your dairy business grows or an employee moves on, you are tasked with hiring a quality employee.  Done right, this can be a stimulating process that invigorates the entire team.  But the wrong hire can be a millstone around your neck, a financial drain and a threat