Heifers are the future of your herd and your long-term success as a dairy producer. Heifer raising makes up 20-25% of the total cost of milk production. A successful pre-weaning calf program has been proven to increase first lactation milk yield by 1,000 lbs – 3,000 lbs. Genetic selection can account for 150 lbs-300 lbs greater milk production per lactation, but pre-weaning management can increase this 5-fold.
After your forages are harvested is a good time for you and your BioAg consultant to evaluate your forage program and your crop ration.
Evaluate Your Forage
It takes some time to evaluate what you have for forages and to what groups of animals they would best be fed. Some dairy producers have had the experience of feeding more alternative annual forage varieties due to the improved crop rotation and soil health. These dairy producers have been pleasantly surprised by the digestibility of their crops if …
Mastitus
Summer heat and humidity can create the ideal environment for mastitis-causing pathogens to grow. In addition, intense heat can cause the cow to become stressed which results in lowering the immune system function. These two factors together create the perfect storm for mastitis to take a toll on the herd.
Bovine mastitis is the most costly disease for dairy producers. Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland that is usually caused by bacteria that enter the gland through the teat end.
After seeing the success of a neighboring farm using the Midwestern BioAg program, Minnesota-based farmer, Darrell Luhman, decided to try the BioAg Way.
Reluctant at first, he split-tested his hay – applying BioAg product on only half of his hay field. He baled the hay off and was soon visited by his BioAg consultant who requested an experiment. Together, Luhman and his consultant, threw down two bales of hay, one from each side of the field.
To make improvements to dairy farm margins in challenging times, dairies should look “lower” to increase profitability — all the way down to the ground, according to Midwestern BioAg’s nutritionist.
“If you grow your own forages,” says the BioAg nutritionist, “we can help you improve profitability by building a fertility plan to grow a better quality, higher-yielding crop. There’s a lot of revenue potential in the soil, and we can help you unlock it.”
By taking a systems approach to dairy farm management, Midwestern BioAg consultants …
In 1993, the team at R & G Miller & Sons, Inc. opted to make the switch to organic dairy farming. “We weren’t satisfied with the way things were going on the farm,” said Ron Miller, general farm manager. “After becoming organic certified on all 1,550 acres and feeding our cattle organic feed for a year, we became fully organic certified in 1997. Since the transition, our yields have gone up, and I’ve only seen one alfalfa field on the farm that could benefit from pesticide …
