Join the University of Wisconsin-Madison – Division of Extension’s Dairy Program bi-weekly on Tuesdays from 1 to 2:30 p.m. CST for the Badger Dairy Insight webinar series. Local Extension Dairy Program Educators and UW Specialists will present – and lead discussions – on current dairy topics.

There is no charge to participate in the sessions, but pre-registration is required to allow access to the session. Register online at http://go.wisc.edu/FarmReadyResearch.

Date, topics, and presenters include:

• March 1: Ins and Outs of Cocktail Forage Mixes for Dairy Rations. Cocktail forage mixes have been increasingly used in dairy cattle rations, however little field or feeding research is available for these mixes. These mixes can often either be a boom or a bust depending on growing conditions and management. This talk will discuss how these mixes may fit into a forage rotation, useful tips for management, and recent field, feeding, and fermentation research being done in Wisconsin. Presenters are Luiz Ferraretto, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist-Ruminant Nutrition, and Matt Akins, Assistant Scientist and Dairy Extension Specialist.
• March 15: Managing Heifer Maturity Pre & Post Breeding Matters. Although the dairy heifer’s age at breeding and calving are vitally important factors, the driver behind earlier calving is getting the animal to a breeding size that is 55% and calving size at 95% of the dairy herd’s mature body weight. Learn the impact of a heifer’s maturity at time of breeding and calving on her first-lactation performance and how to properly maintain the correct rate of gain in bred heifers. Presenters include: Matt Akins, Assistant Scientist and Dairy Extension Specialist, Megan Lauber, UW-Madison Animal & Dairy Science Graduate Research Assistant, and Tina Kohlman, Extension Fond du Lac County Dairy & Livestock Agent.
• March 29: The Randomness of Repro. Like a flip of the coin, reproductive outcomes are measured as a yes or no (binomial) outcome. Learn more about interpreting reproductive records, and the pitfalls of making decisions based only on one good or bad herd check. Paul Fricke, Professor & Extension Specialist-Dairy Cattle Reproduction will present this topic.

Badger Dairy Insight webinars are a part of UW-Madison Extension’s Farm Ready Research winter programming for farmers and ag professionals to improve business profitability and lifestyles through informed decision-making.

Learn the most up-to-date information on topics from dairy and livestock production to forage and farm management. Farm Ready Research webinars continue through May 2022. For more information on the Badger Dairy Insight, or additional webinars through Extension’s Farm Ready Research program, please visit http://go.wisc.edu/FarmReadyResearch.