Dairy Cattle Ration Management During Summer
Dairy cattle are susceptible to heat stress during much of the summer. Dietary adjustments can help maintain nutrient intake and production.
Dairy cattle are susceptible to heat stress during much of the summer. Dietary adjustments can help maintain nutrient intake and production.
Farmers enrolled in DHI receive several reports regarding herd performance. The Herd Summary Report (HSR) encompasses three main sections: Milk Production, Reproduction & Genetics, and Inventory. The milk production section has eight blocks—the focus related to heat stress will be on Blocks D, F, and G. The Reproduction & Genetics section has five blocks—the focus for heat stress will be on Block L.
Feeding high-quality colostrum to the calf as soon as possible after birth is the most important thing you can do for calf health. It is especially important for dairy and beef x dairy calves destined to leave the farm at a young age to receive colostrum.
Topics include:
Paul M. Fricke, Professor of Dairy Sciences, gives a talk about Pregnancy Diagnosis in Dairy Cows using PAG Levels in Blood and Milk.
With changes taking place in feed testing in commercial labs, Randy Shaver & Luiz Ferraretto help make sense of what’s showing up on the reports that nutritionists and farmers are looking at.
UW-Extension Milk Quality Veterinarian Pam Ruegg shares in this UW-Extension Dairy Science Webinar series research findings associated with the recently published Impact of Bedding Choice on Udder Health Freestall Herds.
In this presentation, Dr. Kent Weigel discusses genomic selection for feed efficiency in dairy cows.
A four part video series covering:
Body condition is an important consideration when deciding when a dairy animal retires into her “second career”. Thin cows with poor condition are often discounted at sale barns, so evaluating which cows may be candidates for improving condition is an important consideration prior to shipping a cull cow to get the most value. It is also important to note that adding condition may be necessary for animal well-being prior to transport.