A blood calcium sampling program involving more than 5,000 transition dairy cows showed subclinical hypocalcemia in an average of 55 percent of the cows tested. In most cases, producers were unaware their herd was at risk, since this form of low blood calcium often goes undetected. When dairy cows experience a drop in blood calcium concentrations around the time of … Read More
Manage Forage Quality Cow Health & Production
Each new harvest season can bring changes in forage quality which can have a negative impact on dairy cow health and productivity. Because nutritive value, mold, yeast and mycotoxins can vary considerably from season to season and from bunker to bunker, producers are encouraged to proactively manage this transition. “Variations in mold and yeast content lead to variations in fermentation … Read More
Immune Health Key to Dairy Cattle Reproductive Function
A well-functioning immune system has been shown to support multiple aspects of dairy cattle health and productivity. For example, research suggests that immune health is a major determinant of reproductive function in lactating cows, according to Peter Hansen, Ph.D., of the University of Florida Department of Animal Sciences. Dr. Hansen notes that a dairy cow’s natural immune function is suppressed … Read More
Managing Heat Stress in Dairy Cattle
Robert Collier, Ph.D, professor at the University of Arizona Agricultural Research Center is speaking at a pre-conference symposium sponsored by Prince Agri Products, Inc., at the 25th Annual Florida Ruminant Nutrition Symposium and reminds dairy producers of the importance of managing dairy cattle to minimize negative impacts of heat stress. “Heat stress is a health and economic issue in every … Read More
Prince Agri Products – More Than Just Mineral
During the Penn State Dairy Cattle Nutrition Workshop, Wendell Knehans, Director of Marketing and Specialty Products for Prince Agri Products, spoke with Chuck about their company’s vested interest in the dairy community. “Many people in the industry think of Prince as a mineral company, which is our heritage. We have been in minerals for the animal industry since the beginning … Read More
Reducing Hypocalcemia
Dr. Dave Beede, Michigan State University, was one of the presenter during the pre-conference symposium of the Penn State Dairy Cattle Nutrition Workshop. He spoke on “Revisiting Prepartum DCAD: Reducing Hypocalcemia of Transition Cows.” The symposium was sponsored by Prince Agri Products. Afterward I sat down with him to ask a few questions including: Why is it vital to maintain … Read More
Growing the Dairy Cattle Nutrition Workshop
The Penn State Extension Dairy Team was hard at working making sure everything ran smoothly for the Dairy Cattle Nutrition Workshop. Two of the team members I spoke with are (l-r) Rebecca White and Virginia Ishler. Virginia says the workshop was born out of conversations about how to do more educational programs for the feed industry. She says they used … Read More
Keys to Good Dairy P&L
Dr. Greg Bethard, G&R Dairy Consulting, conducted a presentation at the pre conference symposium, sponsored by Prince Agri Products, titled, “Keys to a Good P&L: Strategies to Make Money. He presented a number of key components to managing your dairy. One of those is knowing statistics on your business like volume of milk shipped. He says “We’re a commodity business … Read More
Protecting Dairy Cattle Immune Function
The opening speaker at the Penn State Dairy Cattle Nutrition Workshop pre-conference symposium, sponsored by Prince Agri Products, was Dr. Robert Corbett, Dairy Health Consultation. His focus was on how nutritional and management practices can have a major impact on a dairy cow’s immune system during the transition period. I spoke with him after his presentation. He says that minimizing … Read More
Supporting Dairy Education & Research
While I attended this week’s Penn State Dairy Cattle Nutrition Workshop I met many Prince Agri Products representatives including Owen Bewley (center) who is the eastern U.S. sales manager. Owen was one of the people who helped kick off the pre-conference symposium. In his opening remarks he stressed how important customers are to his company. That’s one of the main … Read More
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