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The Penn State Dairy Heifer Diet Formulator

The Penn State Dairy Heifer Diet Formulator Precision feeding is a strategy for productive heifers and a healthy bottom line. The Penn State Dairy Heifer Diet Formulator (PSU-HDF) program encourages an approach to heifer feeding that is driven by the desire to precisely meet metabolizable energy and nitrogen needs of growing dairy heifers while still allowing farmers to meet their desired goals for growth, age at first breeding, age at first calving, and first lactation production. Formulating dairy heifer rations is an...

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Water for calves is important

Water for calves is important Water for calves is important. Water plays essential roles in hydrating a calf and also in rumen development. Baby calves are on a liquid diet, so it may seem that offering water is not necessary, but that is not true. Offering water separate from milk will increase weight gains by increasing dry feed intake. According to the National Dairy FARM program Animal Care Manual Version 3.0 (2016), best practice is to provide calves access to clean, fresh...

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IS A FRESH GROUP NEEDED?

IS A FRESH GROUP NEEDED? The use of a fresh pen continues to grow in popularity, especially for dairies that are expanding herd size and/or building new facilities. A fresh pen allows a dairy to house fresh cows separately from other cows in the lactating herd to facilitate monitoring of health problems, minimize social stress, and provide a diet specifically formulated for fresh cows. The optimal duration for cows to remain in a fresh pen is unknown but likely is unique for each dairy...

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PROTEIN NUTRITION FOR YOUR TRANSITION COWS

PROTEIN NUTRITION FOR YOUR TRANSITION COWS It’s widely recognized that protein nutrition during the dry and fresh periods affects lactation performance and health. The quality of the crude protein (CP) sources and the availability of fermentable carbohydrates in the diet for microbial growth in the rumen will impact the dietary protein needs. The supply of metabolizable protein (MP) provided from rumen undegradable protein (RUP) and microbial protein can be estimated by diet formulation models, such as CNCPS. The protein recommendation for mature...

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Don’t blame nutrition for fresh cow problems

Don’t blame nutrition for fresh cow problems Look to this list of 11 issues that derail transition cows. Although they gave independent presentations at the World Holstein Conference in Toronto, Canada, both Ken Nordlund, D.V.M., and Gerard Cramer, D.V.M., agreed that the nutrition programs on most dairy farms are up to par. With that conclusion, don’t blame your nutritionist for underperforming cows concluded this pair of veterinarians. “Providing enough bunk space is more important than the ration when it comes to preventing fresh...

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Rehydrate the post-calving cow for a quick recovery

Rehydrate the post-calving cow for a quick recovery For the fresh cow, the entire transition period is a series of stress events. From decreased dry matter intake close-up to challenges with rehydration and re-establishment of feed intake post-calving, the dairy producer needs solutions that encourage a healthy recovery and optimal lactation performance. One of the most fundamental needs of the post-calving cow is returning to a proper hydration status. With calving fluid and tissue loss approximately equal to the weight of the calf,...

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Improve metritis diagnosis and treatment to boost reproductive performance

Improve metritis diagnosis and treatment to boost reproductive performance Properly identifying uterine diseases like metritis and developing effective treatment protocols can be a bit of a challenge for dairy farmers and their management teams. Metritis can have significant negative effects on dairy cow productivity and reproductive performance, so you want to be vigilant in dealing with the disease. But the criteria and protocols to diagnose metritis are not consistent, making effective treatment choices difficult at times. Bacterial burden It seems that most, if...

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Ration-balancing sophistication: It’s not crude protein and energy anymore

Ration-balancing sophistication: It’s not crude protein and energy anymore 20 October Written by  Print Ration-balancing sophistication: It’s not crude protein and energy anymore Most dairy nutritionists have different philosophies when it comes to dairy cow ration formulation. But we can all agree on one thing: It’s not just crude protein and net energy of lactation anymore. Dairy cow ration balancing has become much more sophisticated in the last 15 years with advances in nutrition research,...

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15 ways to reduce somatic cell counts

15 ways to reduce somatic cell counts 24 October Written by  Print 15 ways to reduce somatic cell counts More and more dairy producers are driving down somatic cell counts (SCC) in their bulk tanks, but there is always room for improvement, even on the best operations. The University of Minnesota Extension Dairy Team offers these ways that dairy producers can further improve their milk quality. They are: 1. Keep cows clean and dry at all times....

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TIME BUDGET OF A DAIRY COW

TIME BUDGET OF A DAIRY COW 22 November Written by  Print The 24-h time budget (Figure 3) represents the net behavioral response of a cow to her social and physical environment (Grant, 2004). Deviations from benchmarked behavioral routines reflect departures from natural behavior and may serve as a basis for estimating DMI, performance, health and economic losses due to inadequate management strategies. Dairy cows at approximately100 percent stocking density in free-stall...

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