Midwestern BioAg welcomes two young agriculturalists to our sales team. Meet our newest consultants, Marissa and Kylee!
Marissa Fouraker is a December 2021 graduate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a degree in Agronomy and minors in Soil Science and Precision Ag. She joins our team in Iowa.
Kylee is a graduate of Michigan State University , in May of 2021 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Science with a minor in Agribusiness Management.
Winter Dysentery
Winter has arrived and as the colder temperatures have set in, Winter Dysentery may be affecting the herd. Winter Dysentery is a highly contagious GI disorder that affects adult dairy cattle primarily during winter. Current research indicates that it is caused by a particular strain of Coronavirus that attacks the intestinal lignin of adult dairy cattle. Winter Dysentery is typically spread through fecal-oral transmission, but viral particles present in respiratory secretions of affected animals may further enhance transmission.
As we all know, spring weather in the Midwest can be really variable. Rain, snow, and cold soils are all things we deal with during the planting season. Getting the seed in the ground under the right conditions is the first step in fulfilling yield potential, but unfortunately, there isn’t always time to wait until those conditions occur. There’s not a crop grower out there who hasn’t had to plant under less than ideal circumstances; it’s just a call that has to be made sometimes.
The best way to prevent cattle from catching illnesses and diseases is cleanliness. Keeping cattle clean starts with their bedding. Nice, dry, clean bedding prevents the cattle’s coat from being covered in manure and mud. Many benefits come from clean, dry bedding as the insulation properties of the cattle’s hair coats are enhanced due to them being clean and maintained. In cold weather, a clean cow coat helps cattle use less energy to stay warm, and more energy goes into immune function growth.
The Effects of Sunlight on Laying Hens
As the days get shorter, egg production starts to decline. Hens need a certain amount of daylight in order to maintain peak egg-laying. A hen’s reproductive cycle is controlled by photoperiod, or light exposure. Hens require at least 14 hours of light per day to lay eggs. Chickens produce eggs at a maximum rate with 16 hours of light exposure. Once daylight is less than 12 hours, egg production slows down considerably if not ceasing completely.
A probiotic is defined as “live-organisms which, when consumed in adequate amounts, confer a health effect on the host.” There are two general classes of probiotics: fungi and bacteria. Fungal probiotics are primarily live yeast. Probiotic yeasts work within the rumen to improve fermentation, scavenge oxygen, stabilize rumen pH, improve fiber digestion, and increase microbial growth. Probiotic yeasts remove oxygen (scavenge oxygen) from the rumen and provide a better anaerobic environment for bacterial growth. The anaerobic environment helps in the protection of rumen bacteria from damage …
