FEED & NUTRITION

Forage harvest and quality can be like a wedding. This may seem comical at first read, but stick with me and understand how. With both harvest and a wedding, we start with great expectations, but in some cases those expectations are not met.

Summer months, and the stress that comes with them, can take a substantial toll on herd health and productivity. Understanding heat stress is critical for producers managing herds in warm, humid climates.

As we get into the warmer weather, dairy producers and their consultants should be on the lookout for subtle changes in cow behaviour, along with changes in forage and feedbunk stability.

Corn silage is an excellent source of high-yielding and consistent feed that some consider the most important crop for cows. This makes it important to understand how silage performance is affected by agronomic practices such as plant density.

For dairy nutritionists and dairy managers, it’s frustrating to learn that the ration delivered to cows is not always the ration that was formulated. A diet can’t do its job when it’s not correctly mixed, delivered or managed.

When cows just aren’t performing the way they need to be, the ration often takes the blame. Your nutritionist may need to make some adjustments, but before they do, it might be a good idea to take a look at what is happening to that ration when the formulation moves from theory to practice.