Feed quality and nutrition

By Dr. Michelle Der Bedrosian, Vita Plus forage products and dairy technical specialist
The excessive rainfall this growing season has many forages going into the bunker wetter than normal, which predisposes these feeds to some bad bacteria. If you suspect you have some bad bacteria in your feeds, here are some options you have available.

By Dr. Damon Smith, University of Wisconsin-Madison assistant professor and extension specialist
In the last 10 years, foliar fungicide applications have gained popularity in alfalfa meant for dairy production. These applications can be used to target foliar diseases, but they are now also being used to boost plant health and to protect yield potential.

By Abby Neu, University of Minnesota extension educator
Ash can be internal or external. External ash is undesirable soil contamination, provides no nutritional value, adds unnecessary weight to forage, which increases cost, and can be influenced by the type of hay rake used.

​By Dr. Eric Schwab, Vita Plus dairy technical specialist
Mycotoxins are present in a wide range of livestock feeds. If you determine that a mycotoxin challenge exists, here are 3 mitigation strategies to help alleviate the situation.

By Barry Visser, Vita Plus dairy technical specialist
With the introduction of reduced-lignin alfalfa, some producers wonder if pairing it with BMR corn will result in too much digestible fiber.  Although research is limited, some producers are having success with this feeding strategy.

By Dr. Damon Smith, University of Wisconsin-Madison assistant professor and extension specialist 
Tar spot has hit the Midwest heavy and hard.  Researchers are doing everything they can to understand this relatively new corn disease and how it will affect yields and quality.

By Dr. Rick Grant and Wyatt Smith, William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute president and MS graduate student
Current research at the Miner Institute looks at the impacts particle size may have on fiber digestibility.

By Pat Hoffman, Vita Plus dairy technical specialist
You send in a new batch of haylage to the forage testing lab and the analysis reveals it has a relative forage quality (RFQ) greater than 200.  This raises feeding and production expectations, but let's slow down and ask, "What does this 200-plus RFQ really mean?"

By Nathan Hrnicek, Vita Plus forage products specialist
Producers across the Midwest have been asking when they should harvest first-crop alfalfa.  Two great methods to help predict alfalfa quality prior to harvest are the PEAQ stick and scissor clippings.

By Kyle Taysom, Dairyland Laboratories, Inc.
Forage minerals can have many impacts on animal health and production.  Although minerals are relatively inexpensive to supplement, failing to account for the variation of minerals within forages can lead to substantial over- or underfeeding.

By Jon Urness, Vita Plus national forage specialist
Nutritionists sometimes use RFV and RFQ to describe how a certain forage is feeding.  However, these two values mean more when you compare the relative dollar value of different forages in the market.

By Jon Urness, Vita Plus national forage specialist
For the past 40 years, Midwest corn growers have increased plant populations in an effort to find that happy place where optimum yield and quality meet.  At the Wisconsin Custom Operators and Midwest Forage Association Symposium, Dr. Joe Lauer, University of Wisconsin-Madison, spoke about research conducted to find that 'sweet spot.' 

By Jon Urness, Vita Plus national forage specialist
It can be frustrating when you feel like you did everything correctly to put up quality forages and then the fermentation analysis shows a volatile fatty acid profile that is far from perfect.  In this particular case, the producer had unusually high acetic acid levels and we sought an answer. 

By Dr. Michelle Windle, Vita Plus forage products and dairy technical specialist
Each year, inoculant companies and their representatives vie for your business.  Decisions should be based on proven facts rather than marketing, smoke and mirrors.  To help, we'd like to share some myths we've heard as well as some scientific responses to help "clear the smoke."

By Pat Hoffman, Vita Plus dairy technical specialist
Anyone who has worked with lactating dairy cows has likely made a comment about loose manure and passage rates, but what do we really know about forage passage rates and how can that help us formulate better diets for our lactating dairy cows?

As harvest season wraps up here in the Midwest, check to see how your area has been doing.