Feed quality and nutrition

Chris Wacek-Driver, Vita Plus forage program manager Alfalfa is a particularly challenging crop to ensile due to naturally occurring compounds (primarily acids and proteins) that effectively buffer the crop.  Practically speaking, this means it takes more acid - and thus more sugar - to reach the correct pH endpoint.  At moistures of 65 percent or

To manage feed costs, we’re looking to maximize the investment of every pound we feed.  For dairy farmers, a big part of that goal is making sure we get as much energy as possible out of our corn silage as opposed to that energy passing through to the back end. Lately, we’ve heard a lot

  Click to download presentation John Brantsen, a Vita Plus dairy nutritionist, remembers the 2011 harvest season well.  In his area of northwest Iowa, the late summer and fall brought high temperatures and a lot of wind.  He said harvesters in the area were racing the weather, trying to get corn silage harvested before it

  Click to download presentation Custom harvesters know that a high corn silage processing score (CSPS) is a top goal for dairy producers as they’re looking to get the most energy value out of today’s expensive feeds.  The catch is that estimating CSPS in the field is not an easy or consistent task. Dr. Brian

   Click to download presentation Dairy producers have expressed interest in feeding corn as Shredlage™. At the University of Wisconsin – Madison, Dr. Randy Shaver has been conducting feeding trials to see what makes it tick inside the cow. He shared his results with those looking to put up feed for dairies at the

With all of the factors that influence forage quality, Chris Wacek-Driver said “it’s pretty amazing we produce as many high quality forages as we do.”  Wacek-Driver, Vita Plus forage program manager, congratulated harvesters for doing such a good job during her breakout session presentation at the Vita Plus Custom Harvester Meeting 2011. Wacek-Driver said, “It’s

In his role as a nutritionist for Vita Plus, Dr. John Goeser developed a report card as a means to track his performance for each dairy operation he services. This report card helps him show those dairies how well he is working for them. Goeser adapted his report card to the forage industry to help