Scientists at Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine have developed a vaccine that prevents Johne’s disease, a condition that costs the dairy industry $220 million to $250 million annually. The breakthrough is published in the January 2009 issue of the journal Vaccine. The Cornell team identified and prepared the antigen necessary for the vaccine development. Their antigen is licensed to the … Read More
Starch Digestibility
More than half of the digested fiber comes from the starch and sugar portion of the corn kernel. Therefore, it is vital for a producer to evaluate the availability of fiber in feed supplies this winter and look at factors such as kernel particles that can make a difference in the nutritional value of their silage. Energy from starch is … Read More
Different Strains of Inoculants
Have you ever wondered how inoculants work and what job each inoculant strain serves? Scott Dennis, Pioneer Hi-Bred technical services manager for forage additives, sorts through the information, explaining the role for each strain and the impact it has on silages. [audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3?http://zimmcomm.biz/pioneer/pioneer-podcast-44-wdd.mp3] Scott Dennis on Inoculant Strains (5:00 min MP3) To see all archived Pioneer Forage Forum podcasts, click here. … Read More
Pfizer Shows Its Industry Pflair
Dr. Gary Neubauer, Pfizer Animal Health, attended World Dairy Expo to meet dairy producers and he had a lot of them to meet with! I stopped to ask him about all the activity which included what looked like a lot of political campaign buttons. He says it’s called their Industry Pflair program. “What Pfizer is trying to do is have … Read More
New Brochure Available for Johne's Disease
The National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) is offering free copies of a new Johne’s disease prevention and control brochure. Johne’s disease experts maintain that dairy and beef cows are leaving herds way too fast – before they are tested for Johne’s disease. They note producers who have culled one or more animals for unresponsive chronic diarrhea combined with reduced … Read More
Harvesting High Moisture Corn at the Right Time
High-moisture corn (HMC) offers growers some benefits that dry corn may not. Leo Brown, Pioneer Hi-Bred livestock information manager, says high-moisture corn is increasing in popularity because growers have a longer window of time for optimum harvesting, which reduces their field losses. Also helping to reduce losses is the availability of L. Buchneri inoculants specifically designed for HMC at the … Read More
Elanco Purchases Posilac From Monsanto
Here’s an interesting announcement. Elanco has signed an agreement to buy the worldwide rights to Posilac from Monsanto. The deal includes the product’s supporting operations. I hope they have good luck with it. There sure are a lot of activists against it. I don’t think they’ve got any scientific basis for their fears but sometimes perception is reality. I sure … Read More
Alphabet Forages
Have trouble sorting out PENDF, NDF and PEF? Pioneer Hi-Bred nutritional sciences veterinarian, Bill Seglar, explains these acronyms and their value to producers. “This information offers producers the ability to add up physically effective fiber coming from all different types of forages that are being brought into the ration to see if it meets the requirements of the total ration,” … Read More
Moldy Silages
Moldy silages can create a variety of concerns for producers. Pioneer nutritional sciences veterinarian, Bill Seglar, discusses the effects of moldy silages. Additionally, Seglar explains how to identify moldy silages as well as how to reduce and remove the problem. Seglar says moldy silages are the result of an energy-consuming, spore-forming microbe, known as molds, that deplete the silage of … Read More
Dairy Beef Quality Very Important
Want to increase the income of your cull animals? The Dairy Beef Quality Assurance Program can help you identify opportunities for improving the value of market cows and bulls from your operations through management, monitoring and marketing. Quality defects can rob dairy producers of almost $70 per head at market, according to the 1997 National Market Cow and Bull Beef … Read More