CowManagement US december 2013

ED ITION U .S. V O LU M E 5 N O 6 DE CE MBE R 2013

IN THIS ISSUE

H EA LTH

New diagnostic tool helps to improve milk quality FEED IN G

Competition at the feedbunk affects DMI and milk production BREED IN G

The best use of genomic selection in commercial herds CMUS06_Cover.indd 2

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Spoil your ladies

this holiday season.

EMBRACE THE FUTURE AND SUCCEED Lely innovation and technologies are changing the way producers live their lives and care for their herd during

,

Seasons Greetings & Warmest Wishes! www.lely.com 1-866-LELY USA CMUS06_p02.indd 2

the holidays! By embracing the future now, you can put your dairy in a position to succeed, year after year.

innovators in agriculture 27-11-13 13:51

CO NTENTS

FEATURES

4 15 26 27 31 33

Cow talk Beyond the barn: jewelry Vet practice: vitamins and selenium Barenbrug news Lely information CRV breeding information FARM REPORTS

10 An eye for detail at Reuter Dairy 36 Switching to Jersey in the UK BREEDING

16 Milk components MANAGEMENT

34 On-farm safety

Dan Reuter: “Seven out of ten cows with mastitis are able to cure themselves” 10

Amy Ryan Celebrate the year!

With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas right around the corner, it truly is the time of year to celebrate and give thanks with family and friends.

We hope you take time to slow down and enjoy the festivities of the season.

The December CowManagement features rations. We all think about the most efficient way to feed our animals, without sacrificing production and profits. The special section includes articles that address this particular topic.

The first is focused on how fresh feed affects intake. “Freshness matters” on page 20 highlights new research that discusses how, what and when cows eat and its impact on behavior, digestion, health, productivity, feed-to-milk conversion, welfare, and longevity.

Also included in this section is an article featuring a herd in Iowa. It discusses the role that automated feed pushers have played in making the herd the seventh highest producing

Jersey herd in the U.S. Cinnamon Ridge Dairy owner John Maxwell describes how automatic pushers have improved forage intake, milk production and overall herd health on page 24.

This issue’s farm report highlights Reuter Dairy in Peosta, Iowa, an operation which prides itself on detailed management. The 850-cow dairy has achieved a 30,000 pound rolling herd average with a 76,000 SCC without antibiotic use. Read their story on page 12.

Early mastitis detection is important not only to milk quality, but future production and reproductive performance. “Early detection, more savings” explores a new technology that helps pinpoint mastitis earlier in lactation.

You will also find management articles on genomics in commercial herds and the importance of developing an on-farm safety culture to safely produce quality products.

Happy Holidays from our staff!

Health Mastitis detection

Special section Rations

Breeding Genomic selection

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Quarter milk sample test results provide a clear picture of infection level.

Frequent delivery of fresh feed may enhance dry matter intake.

Genomic selection can assist with more than picking the right animals.

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APHIS veterinary services reorganization In November 2013, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reorganized its Veterinary Services (VS) program. Under the new structure, VS is organized into four strategically focused units: • Surveillance, Preparedness and Response (SPRS) for animal health needs in the major animal commodity groups • National Import Export Services (NIES) for import and export initiatives from policy setting to inspection at ports of entry

• Science, Technology and Analysis (STAS) building on scientific, technical, and analytical foundation to support VS in meeting its mission • Program Support Services (PSS) for providing key support services for VS personnel and stakeholders.

For additional information on the newly structured Veterinairy Services visit the APHIS website, click on Animal Health and then the Basics on VS Reorganization.

Source: www.aphis.usda.gov

Zoetis introduces Excenel® RTU EZ An innovative, easier-to-use version of a popular anti-infective is now available. Zoetis introduces Excenel® RTU EZ (ceftiofur hydrochloride) Sterile Suspension, a new formulation of the responsible, fresh cow treatment that producers and veterinarians have trusted for more than 20 years. To improve ease of use, EXCENEL RTU EZ takes advantage of a lower viscosity formula, improving syringeability by 40 percent.

Excenel RTU EZ offers the same

benefits for which the brand is known and is backed by the Residue Free Guarantee™ from Zoetis.

Dairy producers and veterinarians can use EXCENEL RTU EZ as an effective treatment for: • Acute, postpartum metritis • Bovine respiratory disease (BRD), pneumonia, shipping fever • Foot rot Producers and veterinarians should note an important change in the meat withdrawal for cattle. EXCENEL RTU EZ

has a meat withdrawal time of four days. This remains one of the shortest in its class. Producers should work with their veterinarian to review protocols and make necessary adjustments in animal health management.

EXCENEL RTU EZ is easy to use and ready to go. Learn more about EXCENEL RTU EZ on the recently launched DairyWellness.com or by contacting your veterinarian or Zoetis representative.

Source: www.online.zoetis.com

NMC 53rd annual meeting Registration is open for the 53rd National Mastitis Council (NMC) Annual Meeting. The meeting will be held January 26-28, 2014 at the Worthington Renaissance Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas.

The three-day event will highlight the latest advancements in milk quality and mastitis control from around the globe.

Milk quality specialists, veterinarians, milk plant field staff, dairy suppliers, dairy producers, university researchers, extension specialists and students are all invited to attend.

The annual meeting will kick-off Sunday with seven specialized short courses. General sessions open on

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Monday and will run through Tuesday.

‘New and not-so-new technologies for detection and management of mastitis’ will be the featured symposium Tuesday afternoon. Four additional short courses will be offered Tuesday evening.

Rounding out the educational opportunities will be the Technology Transfer sessions held on Monday and Tuesday.

Other key features at the upcoming meeting consist of the National Dairy Quality Awards and the NMC Award of Excellence for Mastitis Prevention and Control, the NMC Scholars and a fun and engaging fundraiser for the National Mastitis Research Foundation.

The complete agenda can be found online at: http://nmconline.org/annualmeet/2014/

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New FARM program report released Dairy farmers participating in the industry’s program to quantify animal care practices are continuing to improve the manner in which they adhere to the program’s standards, according to a new review report issued by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF).

Available to all dairy farmers in the United States, Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) is a voluntary, national set of guidelines designed to demonstrate farmers’ commitment to outstanding animal care and a quality milk supply. Cooperatives, proprietary milk processors, and individual producers are using the program to assure consumers that the dairy foods they purchase are produced with integrity. Since enrollment began in September 2010, the FARM Animal Care Program has been implemented by suppliers accounting for 70% of the nation’s milk supply.

At the NMPF annual meeting in Phoenix, a newly-released annual assessment derived from 8,000 secondparty evaluations, found universal adoption of many of the best practices from the program. Findings included: • 98% train employees to handle calves with a minimum of stress • 94% farms enrolled in the program

train their employees to properly move animals that cannot walk • 99% of farms observe animals daily to identify health issues for early treatment • 93% have protocols developed with veterinarians for dealing with common diseases, calving and animals with special needs • 92% train workers to recognize the need for animals to be euthanized.

On the other hand, the report found some areas still in need of improvement.

For example, the report indicated less than 82% of farms in the program have a valid veterinarian-client relationship, and just 67% of farm operators apply antiseptic to the navels of calves after birth as a preventative health measure.

Participants are given training materials and are evaluated by a veterinarian or another trained professional. Evaluators provide a status report and, if necessary, recommend areas for improvement.

NMPF also released its 2014 safe use manual for antibiotics and other animal drugs. The Milk and Dairy Beef Drug Residue Prevention Manual permits producers to quickly review those antibiotics approved for use with dairy animals. It can also be used to educate

farm managers in how to avoid drug residues in milk and meat.

New in the 2014 edition is a section on multiple drug screening tests, as well as an updated drug and test kit list. The 2014 manual also includes a certificate that can be signed by both a producer and veterinarian to demonstrate commitment to proper antibiotic use.

The residue prevention manual was sponsored by Charm Sciences, Elanco Animal Health, IDEXX, and Zoetis. No government funds were used in its development.

For more information on the FARM program go to www.nationaldairyfarm.com Source: www.nmpf.org

USDA funds research to improve plant production The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has announced nearly $9 million in grants for research into issues affecting plant breeding and production.

The awards were made under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Foundational Program priority area of plant breeding for agricultural production. The funded projects focus on classical breeding to include cultivar development, prebreeding and germplasm enhancement, related – species introgression and novel approaches to phenotyping, among other areas.

AFRI is NIFA’s flagship competitive

grants program and was established under the 2008 Farm Bill. The AFRI Foundational Program addresses six priority areas to continue building a foundation of knowledge in fundamental and applied food and agricultural sciences critical for solving current and future societal challenges.

The six priority areas include: plant health and production and plant products; animal health and production and animal products; food safety, nutrition and health; renewable energy, natural resources and environment; agriculture systems and technology; and agriculture economics and rural communities.

NIFA focuses on investing in science and solving critical issues impacting people’s daily lives and the nation’s future.

For more information and a list of grant recipients, visit: www.nifa.usda.gov

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Mastitis: now you see it; n

Early detection, m A new diagnostic tool helps producers make objective decisions sooner to improve milk quality. Producing quality milk yields more milk, bigger quality premiums, lowers mastitis rate, improves cow longevity, boosts reproductive performance and reduces mastitis pathogen transmission. Rapid detection is key.

by JoDee Sattler

20 quarters that continued to be infected on day 14, only three (15%) self-cured by day 28 and the other quarters remained infected.

“One possible explanation for higher potential self-curing of a quarter in the first weeks of lactation could be related to the composition of colostrum following parturition,” says Reha O. Azizoglu, now senior scientist at Advanced Animal Diagnostics (AAD) and formerly with NCSU’s department of population health and pathobiology.

It is known that colostrum is rich in nutrients, antibodies, immune cells and growth factors, as well as antimicrobial components, such as lactoferrin, lysozyme and lactoperoxidase

N

ow you see it; now you don’t. That’s often the case when you’re monitoring for mastitis during the first week of lactation. But early lactation is the best time to look. If mastitis goes undetected, particularly in early lactation, a cow will forfeit milk production and not return to her genetic potential during that lactation – even if she eliminates the mastitis infection.

Finding and treating mastitis early can prevent production losses, which is especially important when cows are approaching peak lactation. Research by Wilson et al., 2004, shows that milk production drops dramatically during the first three months after calving when a cow experiences a case of mastitis. This affect on early lactation milk production influences peak milk production and production for the remainder of that lactation. While production levels vary, Wilson’s team estimated average milk production losses at nearly 1,540 pounds for first lactation cows and 2,640 pounds for second-plus lactation cows.

Best time to detect infection To determine the best time to look for mastitis in early lactation, North Carolina State University (NCSU), Raleigh, N.C., researchers (Azizoglu et al., 2013) cultured quarter milk samples on days two, four, 14 and 28 of lactation. Nearly one-fourth of the quarters (23.7%) were culture positive at some point during the sampling period. The majority (86.8%) of the culture positive quarters were infected during early lactation. Out of the 17 quarters that showed culture positive results, both at the beginning and end of the first month of lactation, 93.7% were infected with the same bacteria throughout screening. None of the 17 quarters exhibited any clinical signs of mastitis by day 28. Of the early-infected quarters, nearly 40% “self-cured” by day 14 and showed no infection later. On the other hand, among the

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see it; now you don’t

n, more savings (Chaneton et al., 2011; Kertz, 2008; Pakkanen and Aalto, 1997). “All of these system and antimicrobial components of colostrum may promote self-cure of the infected quarters,” says Azizoglu.

Based on this study, the NCSU researchers suggest collecting quarter milk samples during the second week of lactation to detect mastitis.

Taking samples earlier may result in some management errors, due to the apparent selfcures, if treatment decisions are based off these early lactation diagnostics. Additionally, the milk quality experts say there’s no reason to put off taking the first test (past the second week) for assessing infection because limited self-cures

occurred between days 14 and 28. Timely diagnosis and treatment of subclinical mastitis improves a successful outcome (van den Borne, B., et al., 2010). Also, these practices reduce the risk of clinical mastitis developing and contagious infections spreading throughout the herd.

CMT requires interpretation Historically, many dairy producers turned to the California Mastitis Test (CMT) as a mastitis detection tool. While quick, inexpensive and easy to run, it leaves a lot of room for interpretation, according to Donald Pritchard, NCSU Extension dairy specialist. “CMT only provides subjective ratings (not actual somatic cell or leukocyte counts).”

With subjective interpretation, Caroline Viguier, a life

Healthy, mastitis-free cows produce high quality milk that generate profit-enhancing milk premiums

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sciences technologist at IDA Ireland, says CMT readings may result in a significant number of false positives and negatives. Consequently, dairy producers may incorrectly treat or not treat lactating cows based on CMT results, because CMT has low specificity and low sensitivity.

Identifying leukocytes and ratios within “A key response of the cow to infection by pathogens is localized entry of leukocytes (white blood cells) from the blood vessels in the infected tissue into the tissue near the site of infection,” says Walter Hurley, University of Illinois animal sciences professor. “Because movement of leukocytes is localized, then only the udder quarter that is infected will have a significant increase in concentration of leukocytes.”

A new diagnostic tool – QScout MLD (milk leukocyte differential) – identifies and differentiates leukocytes in milk. The highly accurate test provides results – by quarter – in about three minutes. Unlike somatic cell count (SCC), a relatively crude estimation of immune system status, QScout MLD analyzes the individual leukocytes as lymphocytes (scout for pathogens), neutrophils (fight infection by releasing enzymes that kill bacteria) and macrophages (scout for pathogens and engulf and digest cellular debris and pathogens). This test provides a total leukocyte count, which is highly correlated with SCC. What makes QScout MLD from AAD different than other mastitis detection tests? It looks for combinations of the leukocyte types that indicate immune system status. Problematic ratios indicate the presence of subclinical mastitis, which is not visible to the naked eye. (Milkers can easily detect clinical mastitis when forestripping a cow. The milk contains clots, which are visible to the naked eye.) An elevated percentage and number of neutrophils indicates the cow has subclinical mastitis in that quarter. The portable QScout Farm Lab is required to run the QScout MLD test. (AAD plans to introduce other diagnostic tests.) Colorcoded results are easy to interpret, with green indicating no infection and red indicating inflammation indicative of mastitis infection.

Sample by quarter

Quarter milk sample test results provide a clear picture of a cow’s udder infection level

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QScout also differentiates itself from several other mastitis detection tools because users collect quarter milk samples – not composite (milk from all four quarters are collected and tested as one) milk samples. Composite milk samples can “dilute” subclinical mastitis hiding in a quarter.

Many producers wouldn’t get too alarmed about a composite SCC of 123,000. Yet, milk from one quarter could be harboring the majority of the

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infection-fighting neutrophils. For example, one quarter could have the equivalent of 450,000 SCC, with the other three quarters averaging less than 25,000 SCC. Depending on a dairy’s standard operating procedures, mastitis treatment could be given in just the infected quarter – an opportunity to lower treatment costs and labor. This practice also leads to more judicious use of antibiotics.

Seeking to lower the herd’s involuntary cull rate, Bruce Whitmire of Si-Ellen Farms in Jerome, Idaho, thinks the best opportunity to do this lies in reducing mastitis. “The biggest killer of dairy cattle is ‘going down the road for beef’ due to a challenging mastitis infection.” The herd of 7,200 milking cows runs a 135,000 average SCC.

Si-Ellen finds CMT unreliable Historically, Si-Ellen’s hospital milkers ran CMT to find subclinical mastitis. “By participating in some early QScout MLD trials, we discovered that the CMT was not picking up very many (subclinical mastitis) positives,” says Whitmire. “We really want to catch mastitis in the subclinical stage – before it goes bad (becomes clinical).”

Whitmire relies on his milking staff of 44 to pick up 100% of clinical mastitis. “While they’re well trained to pick up clinical mastitis, they can’t detect subclinical mastitis because they can’t see it.”

Instead of using CMT, Si-Ellen has had the AAD field trial team using the QScout MLD to detect subclinical mastitis during the second week of lactation. “It’s unbelievable!” says Whitmire.

“QScout is picking up subclinical positives that the CMT wasn’t finding. This mastitis diagnostic tool is more accurate than the CMT.” Whitmire is sold on QScout MLD. It detects mastitis by quarter – before symptoms appear.

This allows for treatment by quarter.

It’s no secret that mastitis is the dairy industry’s most costly disease, averaging $200 per cow across the nation’s dairy herd. Losses occur from decreased milk production, treatment and labor costs, non-deliverable milk, veterinary fees, reduced milk quality, reduced milk price, increased risk of subsequent mastitis, cow culling and death, and lower value of culled cows.

And then there’s the consumer perspective.

Lower quality milk can negatively affect milk’s image and appeal. Higher quality milk holds its shelf life longer and enhances cheese yields. l To learn more about Advanced Animal Diagnostics’ innovative technologies, call 855-Q2COUNT (722-6868) or visit www.AADiagnostics.com and www.QScoutLab. com

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Aantal koeien: 850 Jaarproductie (365 dgn.): 14.000 3,8 3,2 Hoeveelheid land: 340 hectare

R E P O RT

Hygiene is the key word in the calf barn

The double 12 milking parlor runs 23 hours a day

Antibiotic use is shunned as a management tool at Reuter Dairy

An eye for detail Over the last eight years, the average somatic cell count at Reuter Dairy has been 76,000. Strict protocols for mastitis, sand stalls, and low protein rations contribute to the notable performance of the 850-head dairy farm.

by Jaap van der Knaap

N

o piece of straw lies out of place, no crumb of feed is spilled on the farmyard. The hygiene in the calf sheds resembles a hospital and the 850 cows are in excellent condition.

Whether dealing with feed rations, housing, work flow, or the breeding philosophy, Rick (57) and Dan (37) Reuter from Peosta, Iowa, have clearly considered every detail of the management of their operation. For example, for the last six months all the cows have been dried up without antibiotics, following the policy introduced earlier of no longer using antibiotics in cases of mastitis. It seems

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Low protein, better resistance inconceivable with an herd average of 31,000 lb milk with 3.8% fat and 3.1% protein that antibiotics are no longer used.

Reuter Dairy is not organic, but a deliberate decision was made not to use antibiotics. “Of course we do have mastitis, but if you ensure that the cows are healthy, seven out of ten cows with mastitis are able to cure themselves.

The other three cows we don’t want to work with.”

“We work with a strict protocol,’ Rick says. “When a milker finds a cow with mastitis, the cow will be given an injection of oxytocin whereby the udder

C OCWOM WAMNAANGAE GMEEMN ET N JTA D N EU CA ER M Y /B FE ER B 2 R 0U 1A3R Y

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is also really well milked out. After that we use an uddermint oil on the udder.

The cow then has two days to prove she will recover. If she doesn’t, she leaves immediately. The advantage of our system is that we no longer run the risk of milk with antibiotics in the tank,” Rick says. An important factor in the strict mastitis policy is the large number of young stock on the farm and the high beef prices. “A culled cow brings in $1,200, while raising a heifer costs $1,500,” Dan calculates. “Many producers are not aware that culled cows are an important contribution to the total income of their dairy operation.”

Anyone who thinks that the replacement rate is high, is wrong; with The barns of Reuter Dairy

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850 5 dgn.): 14.000 3,8 3,2 d: 340 hectare

Reuter Dairy No antibiotic use, a high production and Peosta healthy cows. Strict protocols and perfect managment are the secrets for Dan and Rick Reuter in Peosta (Iowa).

day

Number of cows: Amount of land: Rolling herd average: Cell rate:

850 830 acres 31,000 3.8% f. 3.1% p.

76,000

a cull rate of 30% it is below average.

Also the dry period is without antibiotics.

“By radically changing the environment and the feed ration you create stress and as a result the cow dries up nicely, regardless of production,” Rick says, basing his thoughts on experience. He points out the eight year average tank cell count stands at 76,000. “The cell count demonstrates the resistance and the health of the herd.”

What is the secret of the high production and good health of the herd?

“Sand bedding, a low level of protein in the ration and focus in breeding,” says Dan. He has worked for some years as a hoof trimmer and mentions the combination of sand bedding and rubber on the floor as an important basis for good hoof health.

Rick is clearly the feed specialist. “The

Sand bedding keeps the cell count low

reduction of the protein in the feed rations to 15 percent has also contributed greatly to the health and resistance of the herd,” he says. Rick mentions TMR ration that all groups are fed: 75 lb corn silage, 11 lb alfalfa hay and 28 lb of a concentrate mix which includes cotton seed, soya, bone meal, cereals and minerals.

Small feed mixer During the interview we look at the mixer wagon that at 615 cubic feet capacity appears small for this number of cows. “We make 14 feed rations per day,” Rick explains. “The choice for this small feed mixer wagon has been made deliberately; it has just one vertical auger. We have noticed that this mixes the best. We want every bit of the ration to be the same for every cow.”

At the end of each year the wagon is exchanged for exactly the same new wagon, to avoid high maintenance cost and to be sure the mixer wagon works every day.

The bunk silos are remarkably clean with hardly any loose corn silage spilled on the floor surface. Moreover, there is only corn silage, all the alfalfa hay is purchased. “We grow corn on every acre we own. In two days we chop everything and every load is weighed. In this way we know exactly what a field produces, how much corn we must buy and which field we must fertilize heavier next season.” No alfalfa itself is cultivated.

“Alfalfa changes too much in quality because of the weather and the seasons.

Also the yield is lower than corn silage.

We buy alfalfa with the exact protein values that we want,” says Dan.

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The bunk silos are remarkably clean with hardly any loose corn silage spilled on the floor surface

Every day 70,000 lbs of milk leave the dairy operation. The milkers, in total a staff of 15, milk the herd three times a day and keep the 2x12 herring bone milking parlour running 23 hours a day.

“The milking parlour has recently been modernized but we did not extend it and kept it simple,” Rick explains when the cows calmly come into the parlor.

The cows and first calf heifers are kept in separate, but there are no other groups. Not even a transition group or a group of hospital cows. “We don’t need one,” says Rick. “For a year we kept the fresh cows in a separate group with the idea that they could get stronger before they went to the main group. But we got more problems. Now cows go from the dry group in as short a time as possible to the calf barn and several hours after calving to the large group.”

Calf raising is also strictly organized.

The hutches are in a ventilated barn where hygiene is the key word.

Everything is clean and seems brand new, despite the fact that the facility is

already a few years old. This year a new, identical calving barn has been built.

“We want to use this barn to reduce the risk of infection,” Rick explains. “It gives us the opportunity to leave one of the two barns empty for a while so that the bacteria and viruses disappear. During this period we can easily use the barn for feed and straw storage and after a time fill it with calves again.”

Use of older genomic bulls In addition to the business organization there is also time for a hobby; keeping a number of special breeding cows. In three special pens are three animals that originate from the Reuter Bailey, a cow they have bred themselves at 95 points, a Goldwyn daughter from the family of Regancrest Barbie.

“We like to give a couple of cows a bit of extra attention,” says Dan. “There is A.I. interest in these animals. We have flushed Bailey and there are more than 25 daughters from her on the operation.”

Is she also the type of cow that is best suited to the farm? Dan laughs. “We want to breed cows that produce 100,000 pounds in three lactations. We are looking on average for large cows that produce a lot of milk.”

Reuter Dairy also has a breeding strategy. “We use genomic bulls on our yearlings. It gives our calves the quickest genetic progress”, according to Dan. Half of the dairy cows have progeny tested bulls as a partner and the other half older genomic bulls. “I am not a huge fan of genomics because I think that progeny tested bulls are underestimated. Therefore I also continue to use them,” states Dan. “Furthermore, we use some older genomic bulls whose fertility indexes are known. With them we can keep up to the speed of genetics, but we can exclude genomic bulls with poor fertility.” It all sounds so simple and logical, but it is another example of the well thought-out management at the Reuter Dairy. l

The small feed mixer wagon of 615 cubic feed mixes the best and makes 14 rations a day

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B E Y O N D

Name: Location: Profession: Hobby:

T H E

B A R N

Kathy Swift Gainesville, Fla. Cattle veterinarian Jewelry making

Inspiration comes from her daily life

Two loves: art and ag

by JoDee Sattler

Not many 12 year-olds stick with their career plans, but Kathy Swift did. The Virginia farm girl knew she wanted to become a large animal veterinarian, so she embarked on a heavy factbased educational path, earned a bachelor’s degree in dairy science from Virginia Tech and graduated from The Ohio State University as a doctor of veterinary medicine. This tract left little time to pursue her other interest – making jewelry.

Four years after becoming a veterinarian, Swift met a silversmith at a mutual friend’s barbecue and took her silversmith class. “I finally took time to gain some art skills,” says Swift. Additionally, Swift studied at the University of Florida and Penland School of Craft to hone her skills.

The veterinarian strives to make realistic cow art. “Too often I looked at jewelry charms and thought, ‘that’s not a cow.’ My time working with farm animals translates into my jewelry.”

Initially, Swift gave away some of her sterling silver charms as gifts. “It wasn’t long and people wanted to buy the charms I made,” she says. Her Cow Art and More business (www. cowartandmore.com) took off from there.

Swift believes in creating jewelry that is distinctive, while being fun to wear. Much of her inspiration comes from the simple aspects of daily life. “Jewelry making gives me a creative outlet that I don’t typically get from being a veterinarian.”

Swift compares her passion for metalsmithing with do-ityourself home projects but on a smaller scale. “I get to use some cool tools and there’s something about being able to visualize something in your head and making it into something real.”

As a youth, Swift benefited from scholarships and travel opportunities, including the 1990 National Holstein Convention where she was named a Holstein Distinguished Junior Member finalist. “I am very thankful for those who have helped me get to where I am today and I want to help the next generation,” she says. Thus, she created two charms that benefited the American Jersey Cattle Association youth scholarship fund and National Holstein Women’s Scholarship Organization fund.

Cow Art and More started in 2008 as an online art gallery, catering to the art of agriculture. Besides her creations, the business offers paintings, stain glass, textiles and metal sculptures from other artists.

CCOOW WM MAANNAAGGEEM MEENNTT DOE CC TE O MBBEERR 22000193

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B R E E D I N G

Milk components are where the money is found

Manage for the market No matter what your tank average is, in most areas fat, protein, and other solids now matter more than pounds of milk. Look at your market to uncover the cash cows in your herd.

by Lucas Sjostrom

I

f your farm is looking for revenue, it comes down to protein, fat, and the other solids in our milk. The rest of the product is water – about 87% of it – so it’s the components that keep milk a demanded commodity.

Imaginary cows Let’s create a pair of hypothetical cows and compare how they would compete in two dairy states; California and New York.

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We’ll start with a Jersey that made a 305-day lactation of 20,500 pounds of milk. Then, compare her to a more

productive Holstein with 23,000 pounds of milk over 305 days.

According to DHIA records published by the USDA’s Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory, in 2012 Jersey cows averaged 4.77% fat and 3.64% protein. Meanwhile, Holsteins averaged 3.65% fat and 3.08% protein. We’ll use the reported figure of 8.81% solids nonfat from 2010, giving our Jersey 5.17% other solids and Holstein 5.73% other solids, see Table 1.

Table 1: Two imaginary cows and their production in 305 days

Jersey milk fat protein other solids

Holstein

pounds

percent

pounds

percent

20,500 978 746 1,059.85

— 4.77 3.64 5.17

23,000 840 708 1,317.90

— 3.65 3.08 5.73

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A Jersey and a Holstein: are you breeding the right kind of cows for your market?

While there are many factors that go into a milk check we won’t get into, we’ve created two price scenarios using New York and California markets with simply butterfat, protein, and other solids. It should be noted that California doesn’t calculate protein prices, but instead calculates the total solids nonfat price, so the two systems can’t be compared apples-to-apples.

If these were real values, our Jersey would see revenue of $9,019.92 in California, but the Holstein dairy cow would top her at $9,742.01, see Table 3.

Over 100 cows, that’s an extra $70,000 per year.

Breeding the right kind But in New York, we see a different story. With butterfat valued slightly higher and protein and other solids separated, our Holstein would earn $4,529.39. But this time the Jersey earns $200 more, valued at $4,714.39.

Why? Different markets demand different components.

Are you breeding the right kind of cows for your market? While these are

only hypothetical prices, components demand different values depending on your federal milk order and the plant you ship to.

Genetics, nutrition, and market all matter when it comes to the costbenefit exploration of milk components.

The national trend is that component values continue to rise in all regions.

In Federal Milk Order One, which is composed of New York, New England, and the mid-Atlantic states, Greek yogurt has continued to drive dairy news.

While you can’t make a direct correlation between regional growth in yogurt production and component prices, which are derived from national wholesale market prices, a 100,000 pound producer (about 50 cows) receives $554 more in value each month than if components tests hadn’t grown from the levels of year 2000, according to staff at the Federal Milk Marketing Order One office in Albany, N.Y. One milk cooperative in that region is St. Albans Cooperative Creamery based in northern Vermont. According to Leon Berthiaume, general manager, Class II is the largest growth class over the past five years. That is due in part to Greek yogurt being a three-to-one ratio of milk to yogurt, versus one-to-one like regular yogurt.

Without the growth in Class II, that milk would have needed to go to Class IV production to gain the same value.

Berthiaume notes, “The Class II price has really assisted the overall price, because at a minimum the Class II price is $0.70 per hundredweight higher than the Class IV price.”

Today, about 40% of St. Albans’ milk volume – including milk, cream, and other by-products – is used for Class II products like yogurt and ice cream.

Depending on the given month and value of fat, protein and other solids, Tom Gates, cooperative relations manager for St. Albans Cooperative, says that their producers are receiving additional value of $0.75 to $1.25 because of the multiple component pricing system versus the pre-2000 pricing scheme.

California New York butterfat price/pound protein price/pound other solids price/pound total component value

$1.50 $3.50 $0.60 $5.60

Table 2: Market prices in dollar/pound

California Jersey value Holstein value

New York

$9,019.92 $9,742.01

$4,714.39 $4,529.39

Table 3: Value in dollar per cow

“Our average components have risen dramatically since multiple component pricing was put in place,” Gates says.

“We’re getting calls from nutritionists to ask our fat and protein prices so they can determine their concentrate formulations. We never received those calls seven or eight years ago.”

Decrease of Class I milk On the other side of the country, it’s butter, nonfat dry milk, and cheese taking a higher percentage of milk, according to Annie AcMoody, director of economic analysis with Western United Dairymen. For example, numbers from the California Department of Agriculture show that 77% of California milk went to butter, nonfat dry milk, and cheese in September 2013. In September 1996, only 64% of milk was used for those products.

“Class I [fluid milk consumption] has decreased a lot, so that has had a negative impact on the pool price over time,” AcMoody explains.

Fluid milk consumption during the same period dropped about 10%; 24% in 1996 compared to 14% today. This isn’t a California only problem, but the growth in California cheese, nonfat dry milk, and cheese production definitely adds to the emphasis on fat and protein over milk pounds alone.

More is more There is no “perfect” cow. Depending on the pounds of components and what your market pays for them, a profitable cow in your area may be less profitable somewhere else. l

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S P E C I A L

R A T I O N S

The way cows eat and what they eat significantly influences behavior Page 20 Cool season grasses are unfairly penalized Page 22 Frequent feedings boost forage intake and milk production Page 24

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R A T I O N S

Let me count the ways… how fresh feed delivery helps cows

Frequent delivery of fresh feed and adequate feedbunk space may enhance DMI

Freshness matters The way cows eat, when they eat, and what they eat significantly influences dairy cattle behavior, digestion, health, productivity, feed to milk conversion efficiency, welfare, and longevity, according to new research.

by JoDee Sattler

N

aturally, cows eat eight to 12 meals per day. Many feeding programs today provide only one fresh meal a day.

According to Trevor DeVries, University of Guelph, Kemptville, Ontario, Canada, department of animal and poultry science associate professor, delivering fresh feed (not simply pushing up “old feed”) is clearly an important factor in stimulating cows to eat. “Increased frequency of feed delivery can greatly influence feeding behavior patterns and, thus, also affect cow health and productivity. Research suggests that feed push-up does not have the same stimulatory impact on feeding activity as does fresh feed delivery. Nonetheless, feed push-up does play a vital role in ensuring that feed is accessible when cows want to eat.”

When cows only get fresh feed once a day, significant feed consumption occurs immediately following that feed delivery compared with twice-a-day (or more) feeding. This behavioral response, or “slug feeding,” may predispose cows to subacute ruminal acidosis. Why does this occur? Ruminal pH declines following meals and the

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rate of pH decline increases as meal size increases. “Super-sized” meals also decrease daily salivary secretion, which decreases the rumen’s buffering capacity and thus contributes to lower rumen pH. With more delivery of fresh feed, cows usually consume feed more uniformly across the day. This helps maximize rumen health, efficiency, and productivity.

Additionally, DeVries explains that subordinate cows get short changed when fresh feed is only delivered once a day. With more frequent feed delivery, “shy cows” don’t get displaced by dominant cows as often. This allows subordinate cows greater access to feed, particularly fresh feed and not the leftovers.

Minimize feed sorting Several studies (DeVries et al., 2005; Endres and Espejo, 2010; Sova et al., 2013) show that providing fresh feed two or more times daily reduces the amount of feed sorting, compared with once-a-day feeding. Reducing feed sorting leads to more consistent nutrient intakes throughout the day.

More constant ration intake fosters a more stable rumen pH, which supports enhanced fiber digestibility

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and ultimately improves milk fat yields and production efficiency.

For example, a 2011 study (Rottman et al.) found that feeding four times daily increased milk fat by 0.22 to 0.45% units.

A 2013 field study (Sova et al.) demonstrated that feeding twice daily compared with once a day resulted in an increase of 3.12 pounds of dry matter intake (DMI) and 4.4 pounds of milk, and less feed sorting. This study showed that every two percentage point increase in selective refusal (i.e., sorting against) of long ration particles on a group level was associated with a per cow reduction of two pounds per day of 4% fat-corrected milk.

Overstocking and feed access Just like frequency, feed access plays an important role in feed intake. High stocking densities limit cows’ access to feed. Juliana Huzzey, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, says that when feedbunk competition is high, due to overstocking/limited feedbunk space, increases in aggressive behavior limit the ability of some (submissive) cows to access feed at times when they’re motivated to eat, particularly after feed delivery.

Consequently, the increased competition triggers cows to eat bigger meals and eat less often.

Additionally, feedbunk competition may force some cows to change their eating patterns. Less aggressive cows will consume feed after a significant amount of time has lapsed from fresh feed delivery. In other words, the more timid cows will eat the “leftovers.” These leftovers are not the balanced ration on paper or the ration that was delivered.

What’s left, most likely, has been sorted, leaving the less palatable, undesirable portion of the ration.

“Reducing feedbunk competition, by providing adequate feedbunk space, will improve access to feed, particularly for subordinate dairy cattle,” says DeVries.

“This contributes to more consistent DMI patterns, both within and among animals, and promotes healthy feeding behavior patterns.”

One of DeVries’ graduate students, Amy Sova, looked at the connection

between increasing feedbunk space and the impact on milk fat production and somatic cell count. She found that for every 4 inches per cow increase in feedbunk space, group average milk fat rose 0.06 percentage points and somatic cell count decreased by 13%.

Furthermore, with more feedbunk space, cows don’t have to choose between lying down too quickly after milking or competing for a feeding spot.

Michel Wattiaux, professor of nutrition and management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, recommends feeding cows immediately after milking so they remain standing for at least one hour before they lie down. This practice helps reduce the risk of an intramammary infection.

Check water availability Don’t forget about water access, says DeVries. His group’s research showed that providing cows with greater water trough space was associated with greater test day milk yield. “We found that milk yield tended to increase by 1.7 pounds per day for every 0.8 inch per cow increase in water trough space. This result illustrates the importance of water availability for group-housed cows.”

Based on these observations, one can conclude that housing and management play as large of a role as nutrition in cow performance. Alex Bach, a scientist at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Research, Caldes de Montbui, Spain, led a research team that confirmed this conclusion through a 47-herd study.

The herds were fed the same ration.

Researchers found that 56% of variation in observed milk production among herds was attributed to non-dietary factors, such as presence or absence of feed refusals, freestall stocking density and feed push-up frequency.

Thus, to maintain excellent cattle health, efficiency, production and longevity, consider implementing dairy cattle feeding strategies that promote consumption of frequent, small meals throughout the day. Additionally, use practices that discourage extensive feed sorting and encourage standing after milking (40 to 60 minutes). Push up feed frequently and provide adequate feedbunk and water trough space. l

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Cool season grasses are unfairly penalized

Simple as needed A new assessment of forage quality, called total tract neutral detergent fiber digestibility (TTNDFD), allows comparisons across forage species and is now used to balance rations.

TTNDFD is an improved assay that predicts the rate of fiber digestion, the rate of passage and total fiber digestibility.

by Samantha Miller

A

lbert Einstein is frequently credited with saying that “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”

While the composer Roger Sessions appears to be the actual author of this quote, it accurately captures the sentiment of a statement that Einstein did make describing the role of true scientists as they state hypotheses for testing.

“It can scarcely be denied that the supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single datum of experience.”

Peter Ballerstedt, Barenbrug USA’s Forage Product Manager, believes that the failure to observe this advice has produced the epidemic of chronic disease facing America today and has limited the use of grass in rations for today’s high-producing dairy cows.

“We’ve misunderstood the role of carbohydrates in both cases,” Ballerstedt explains. If that’s hard to follow, perhaps some of Ballerstedt’s experiences will make it clearer.

“Six years ago at Christmas, I took a family portrait. When I looked at myself in that picture, I didn’t like what I saw.” He was, “An obese, prediabetic, balding 51 year-old.” Today, he says, “I’m just balding.” What

changed? His diet. Today he eats a diet that is high in fat (primarily from animal products) and low in carbohydrate. “The official dietary policy and advice is based upon two overly-simplistic and unfounded hypotheses,” he says.

First, that the heart-healthy diet is one that is low in fat, low in cholesterol, with restricted consumption of full-fat dairy and other animal products. “Since the arterial plaques of atherosclerosis contained cholesterol, it was speculated that the solution was to limit dietary cholesterol and saturated fat intake,” Ballerstedt adds.

“Second, that since fat contains almost twice as many calories per gram than carbohydrate, replacing dietary fat with carbohydrate would prevent obesity,” he continues. Despite the fact that dietary carbohydrate was understood to be “uniquely fattening” in the human diet, Americans were directed to consume diets where the majority of their calories would be supplied by carbohydrates. “A calorie is a calorie, we were told, despite the fact that isocaloric amounts of fat, carbohydrates and protein produce different hormonal responses.”

Understanding of forage quality Both these hypotheses were adopted despite the lack of proof and the presence of conflicting evidence. Thus the products of forage agriculture, red meat and full-fat dairy products, were

Digestibility of cool season grass NDF is higher than NDF from alfalfa or corn

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We are what our body does with what we eat!”

So, what’s this got to do with the role of grass in today’s dairy rations?

Unjustified oversimplifications have unfairly penalized cool season grasses.

First, there’s the current understanding of forage quality. “Our concept of forage quality has been, basically, that lower neutral detergent fiber (NDF) means higher quality.” This was an unjustified oversimplification.

Cool season grasses

Two percentage point increase in TTNDFD can produce an additional pound of milk per day

falsely accused of promoting obesity and cardio-vascular disease. “Now that I understand these erroneous oversimplifications, I want folks in animal agriculture, especially ruminant agriculture, to become familiar with the information I’ve learned over the past six years.” Ballerstedt concludes by saying, “We are not what we eat.

The fact that cool season grasses have higher NDF was assumed to mean that they were lower quality than alfalfa.

But NDF readings cannot be compared between grasses, legumes and corn silage. “Despite this, relative feed value (RFV) and relative feed quality (RFQ) values have been used to compare different forage species,” according to Ballerstedt. “The key fact is that the digestibility of cool season grass NDF is higher than NDF from alfalfa or corn.”

Another oversimplification was relying on a single laboratory parameter to predict animal performance from forage samples. Work conducted by dairy scientist, David Combs and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin, has produced an improved assay that incorporates the rate of fiber digestion, the rate of passage and the total fiber digestibility. This new assessment of forage quality, called total

tract neutral detergent fiber digestibility (TTNDFD), allows comparisons across forage species and can be used to balance rations.

Selection criteria in grass Not only can TTNDFD be used to balance rations, it can be used as a selection criteria in developing new grass varieties. “All grasses are not created equal!” Ballerstedt states.

“Barenbrug has developed varieties that have the highest NDFD and TTNDFD of their species.” Up to ten percentage point differences between grass species and varieties within a species cut at the same growth stage have been documented. “Remember, a two percentage point increase in TTNDFD can produce an additional pound of milk per day from an already high-producing cow! Barenbrug’s NutriFiber brand assures the farmer of the greatest genetic potential for the highest NDFD and TTNDFD.” Ballerstedt finds it ironic that his personal and professional interest should be so tied to carbohydrates. “In humans, there’s no such thing as an essential carbohydrate. Dairy cows, on the other hand, must have two types of carbohydrate: non-fiber carbohydrate (NFC), starches and sugars, to support high levels of milk production; and digestible NDF to promote rumen health, butterfat production and animal well-being.” l

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Bunk management is as important as the ration composition

Frequent feedings boost nutrition management Frequent feedings result in increased forage intake, more peace in the herd, higher milk production, and a positive effect on cow health according new research.

by Ben Smink

C

ows are “nose eaters,” so they are attracted to forage by scent and sight. In order to stimulate milk yield, feed must be fresh, of high quality and sufficiently available.

Labor is often a limiting factor in making fresh feed available to cows around the clock but thanks to modern technology, this problem is a thing of the past.

The constant delivery of wellmixed, fresh feed encourages cows to consume more and provides more opportunities for low ranking animals to eat. For many producers, however, it is difficult to pull away from the various farm chores to feed cows their natural consumption of 8 to 12 meals per day.

Automatic feeding with modern technologies, such as Lely’s Vector automatic feeding system, relieves this daily stress with 24-hour frequent supply of fresh feed in the feed bunk. This stimulates extra cow traffic, especially at night when feed is seldom pushed up to the fence. This results in higher dry matter intake (+3.5%), less wasted feed and gives an equal quality ration day and night.

Impact of feed management Dr. Trevor DeVries, (University of Guelph, Department of Animal Science) spoke in March 2013 at the Western Canadian Dairy Seminar

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on the “Impact of Feeding Management on Cow Behavior, Health and Productivity.” The takeaways from what he presented: • Increased feed deliveries can greatly influence feeding behavior patterns and also affect cow health and productivity.

• Delivery of fresh feed provided once daily can result in slug feeding and predispose cows to SARA due to large diurnal fluctuations in ruminal pH. • Cows fed more frequently (four and five times daily) tend to consume feed more evenly after each feed delivery.

• Subordinate cows are not displaced as frequently when fed more often.

• Such desirable feeding patterns are conducive to more consistent rumen pH, which likely contributes to improved milk fat; fiber digestibility, and possibly production efficiency.

• In a recent cross-sectional study of free-stall, parlor-milked herds in eastern Ontario, DeVries’ research group found that feeding TMR twice per day versus once per day was associated with 2.0 kg (4.4 lb) per day more milk per cow.

the adoption of modern technology.

Expanding to 260 Jerseys in the past year and standing as the seventh highest producing Jersey herd in the U.S., the Maxwells credit their success, in part, to robotics. “It is our goal to be No. 1 in milk for Jerseys,” says John Maxwell. “We think automation is one of the ingredients for that recipe.”

With the installation of a Lely Astronaut robotic milking system, the Maxwells also opted for Lely’s Juno

Meet Cinnamon Ridge Dairy For more than six generations, the Maxwell family, including brothers John and Edwin, and John’s daughters, Amy and Kara, have been farming in Iowa. During that time, Cinnamon Ridge has seen immense growth with

Cows fed more frequently tend to consume feed more evenly after each feed delivery

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John Maxwell: “Automation is one of the ingredients needed to be No. 1 in milk”

automatic feed pusher to ensure constant feed availability for their herd without the need for additional labor.

The Juno saves Cinnamon Ridge valuable time, giving the family the flexibility and freedom to devote energy to other tasks such as their 1,500 acres of corn and soybeans, beef cow and

embryo operations, 10,000 head swine facility, poultry egg production, country store and tours which exceeded 3,000 visitors last year alone. As if the Maxwells didn’t think that was enough to keep them busy, in their new barn facility, they incorporated a restaurant and event center.

“We hope to make the event center available to the public for events,” says John. “It is very important that we all promote and educate the public about the dairy industry and that includes robotics.”

Not only does fresh feed with the help of automation enhance cow health and productivity but, it also saves time and money on the farm. A quick calculation shows that, based on three 10-minute feed rounds each day, the Juno automatic feed pusher saves users, such as the Maxwells at least 183 hours, or 22 (eight-hour) working days a year. l

Food for thought A recent study conducted by Lely Farm Management Support (FMS) regarding the frequency of providing fresh feed revealed the following results.

Providing fresh feed frequently: 1. Stimulates cows to visit the bunk more often.

2. Reduces the amount of feed left over at the bunk.

3. Increases the intake of dry matter per cow.

A cow spends 6-8 hours per day eating, consuming 9-14 meals per day. The overall results of the study revealed maximized results when fresh food is provided frequently, resulting in improved cow health, activity and feed behavior patterns.

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F R O M

T H E

V E T E R I N A R I A N

D R .

R I C H

P R A C T I C E

V E E M A N

Dr. Rich Veeman from Veterinary Services of Oregon discusses the importance of vitamins and minerals for optimal cow health.

Research proves the smallest things keep cows productive and healthy

Vitamins boost performance S

tudies show the importance and necessity of vitamin E and selenium in dry and milk cow rations. The cost of added vitamin E is minor compared to the reduction of just one case of mastitis let alone a 22% reduction as some research has found. That’s not to mention the reduction in other ailments due to a properly functioning immune system when you have the right vitamins and minerals in a ration.

As proof, in 1997, Weiss et. al. undertook a study feeding vitamin E at different levels to three groups of dry cows, all of which were on low selenium (0.1ppm/lb of body weight or 1ppm in the ration). The first group received 100 IU and the second 1,000 IU for the full dry period. The third group received 1,000 IU in the far off stage and 4,000 IU to the close-up dry period.

The quarter incidence of mastitis was 25% for the low vitamin E group, 16.7% for the medium vitamin E group and only 2.6% for the group receiving 1,000/4,000 IU of vitamin E. Current recommendations listed in Dairy NRC (NRC 2001) are 1,000 IU for dry and 500 IU for milking cows.

In 2000, a study by Baldi et. al. looked at feeding 2,000 IU of supplemental vitamin E from two weeks before to a week after calving and recorded significantly lower SCC, and fewer services per conception.

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Two studies looking at injecting 3,000 IU of vitamin E at one and two weeks before calving, (Erskine et.al., 1997; and LeBlanc et. al., 2002) reduced incidence of retained placentas. Some suggest if you are feeding the 0.3ppm IU/lb of BW, or 3ppm in the ration to supplement vitamin E at 2,000 IU to the dry cows and 1,000 IU to the milking cows.

Vitamin E is essential in the immune system and the function of neutrophils (a class of white blood cells which fight off infection). Research has shown that the function of neutrophils in the mammary gland is dependent on vitamin E status.

Another research study showed that supplementing vitamin E and selenium during the dry period reduced the incidence of retained placentas, metritis, and cystic ovaries (Harrison et al., 1984).

Also remember, overcrowding close-up pens will negate any benefit from proper vitamin and mineral levels due to reduced dry matter intakes, poor sanitation, less rest, and increased psychological stress. Reducing intakes causes the cow to have lower levels of not only trace minerals but also essential macro nutrients lowering her immune system.

Reducing overcrowding in dry pens and supplementing with vitamin E is one way to help reduce the mastitis in your fresh cows and heifers.

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FORAGE NEWS

Luke Wilson: country strong Blacktop roads viewed through bug-splattered windshields are familiar to Luke Willson, Barenbrug USA’s Midwest Territory Manager.

Luke covers all or portions of 12 states and keeping his pickup’s tires warm servicing forage customers in all corners of his territory. From high-quality forage in the Great Plains to NutriFiber grasses in the dairy heartland, and from grazing dairies in southern Missouri to fodder crops across our country’s croplands, Luke provides service and consultation, delivering quality, proven products for many applications.

Luke’s 6 foot 4 inch stature and his chosen hobbies earn him the description “country strong.” Luke was a college football standout at Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, Mo. as a linebacker. After his playing days, Luke pursed another hard-nosed activity, professional steer wrestling. The sport of jumping off a horse running at full speed and

tackling a 600 pound horned animal is certainly not for the weak. As a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, Luke traveled most of the Great Lakes/Great Plains Circuit – including notable rodeos like Cheyenne Frontier Days. “It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed all of the guys I competed with. We traveled a lot of the country and those experiences I will never forget,” comments Wilson.

Luke lives in south central Iowa with his family and jointly operates a family farm with his father and brother. Luke has been in agriculture in one manner or another all of his life. Luke spent many years as a representative in the corn and soybean seed business before returning to the farm full-time. In 2011 Luke joined the Barenbrug USA forage team where he’s become a leader within the company and the whole forage industry. “Luke has a tremendous work ethic; he works hard for his customers, and is dedicated to the industry. He knows the importance of product performance to the profitability of

Luke Wilson

farming,” says Barenbrug Sales Manager Justin Burns. “I have heard him called country strong, I would say that’s right, but not only in stature but more importantly he has strong integrity.”

Luke Wilson, Barenbrug USA’s Midwest Territory Manager (ND, SD, MN, IA, MO, WI, MI, IL, IN, NE, KS and Western KY), can be reached at lwilson@ barusa.com or 319.883.1717.

For more information visit www.barusa. com

Spring nutrition conferences Looking for more information on how to get effective digestible fiber into your dairy ration? To learn more about NutriFiber, join Barenbrug this spring at the World Ag Expo and the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin Business Conference.

The World Ag expo will take place

in Tulare, California February 11th through the 13th. The World Ag Expo is the world’s largest annual agricultural expo with over 2.6 million square feet of show grounds and an annual average of 100,000 attendees. The expo will feature free seminars on a variety of topics relevant to dairy producers, farmers,

ranchers and agribusiness professionals.

The Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin Business Conference is to be held in Madison, Wisconsin on March 12th and 13th. This year the conference has the theme of “Exceeding Excellence” and will showcase the latest and most innovative ideas and products the dairy industry has to offer. Uniting leaders in the dairy industry, farmers, veterinarians, academia, and more, the conference provides an excellent venue for networking, education, and exploring new ideas.

Mark these premier events down on your calendar and visit the Barenbrug booth.

For more information on BARENBRUG products and services contact customer services: Tel. 800.547.4101 BARENBRUG web address: www.barusa.com • BARENBRUG email address: info@barusa.com COW MAN AG E ME N T

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B R E E D I N G

Genomic selection can assist dairy producers with more than picking the right animals to keep in the herd

Money in the gene pool

Genomics can save heifer raising costs, manage pedigree risk and genetically advance a herd

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Resource management, reduced waste, reduced heifer rearing costs, better risk management, and being more proactive in decision making are among the benefits of genomic testing.

by Amy Ryan

W

hen genomics became available to the industry, it was a tool for A.I. companies and those looking to supply the industry with male genetics and identify genetically superior female dams. That all changed in 2009, when it became available to all dairy producers.

The biggest change came in August 2010 with the introduction of a more economical, low density genomic chip technology. Then any producer could utilize genomic testing on a large scale and/or commercial basis.

Mike Bruette of Sugar Creek Farms in New London, Wisc., is using genomics in his 1,225-cow operation to save heifer raising cost, manage pedigree risk and genetically advance the herd.

Their 975 heifers go to a heifer raiser at one week of age and return to their heifer raising facility between five to six months old.

He began using the Zoetis Clarifide genomic test in January of 2012 and has tested close to 990 heifers in the past 22 months. His first tested heifers are entering the milking herd today.

“With an $1,800 cost of raising heifers and the selling price of bottom heifers after calving being $1,500, it just made sense for us to identify and cull these heifers sooner rather than later,” says Bruette. “Along with cost savings, we value the ability to progress our genetics faster. Genomics has helped with sire parentage issues that were unknown to us before we tested.”

Bruette works with Cheryl Marti, Dairy Production Specialist at Zoetis, to best utilize the genomic information to make breeding and culling decisions.

Marti has developed a custom ranking combining Net Merit $ (NM$) and Holstein Association USA TPI, which ranks animals so that he may apply his two strategies: decide what to keep or sell as young calf, and as yearlings, generate more females via sexed

semen from the better group of heifers.

Bruette tests baby calves monthly, and then they cull heifers that fall below 200 points in this formula, which is about 10-15 percent of their heifers.

Approximately nine months later, the remaining top 25 percent are bred to sexed semen, the next 25 percent receive one dose of sexed semen and the rest are bred to conventional semen.

On average, producers pay about $45 a sample, but save around $1,300 to $1,500 in costs per replacement due to earlier culling at 2.5 months old.

Benefits beyond genetics Marti says that most of the herds she works with use NM$, a breed association index, or some custom combination of traits from both to rank their animals.

The ranking is the most important part of the results as herds apply their strategies to the ranking. However, some herds also use Cheese Merit $ (CM$) or Fluid Merit $ (FM$) depending on their product marketplace. This evaluation can be customized quite easily on a herd by herd basis.

Faster genetic progress, due to more accurate information to make decisions, is an obvious benefit of genomic testing.

Marti adds, “I can’t think of any other technology that is permanent, additive, or rate-limiting like genetics.”

Along with more rapid genetic progress, Marti cites other benefits of genomic testing. First, although there is no genetic feed efficiency trait, genomics inherently builds feed efficiency benefits into a herd because owners can sell those individuals with a low chance of producing high milk for their body size. By virtue of only keeping needed replacements, producers reduce feed inventory needs so that they can use more of their feed for milk cows or sell excess crops on the open market.

Albert De Vries: “Genomic testing provides more reliable estimates of the true genetics of an animal”

And, they have reduced heifer raising costs. Some herds producing beef-cross calves may generate a slight premium over selling dairy calves.

Long-term, herds should see more return for their investment as genetically superior animals produce better upon entering the herd. Risk management is also facilitated due to parentage validation and correction.

Using it through a mating program manages risks by avoiding higher levels of inbreeding.

Better genetic rankings Albert De Vries, an Associate Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Florida cites the ability to identify genetically superior animals as one of the top uses of genomics on the commercial level.

Once identified, producers can more selectively use sexed semen or embryo transfer to accelerate genetic progress.

He adds that genetic progress comes when genetically better animals are used as parents of the next generation and/or only the better animals are raised to enter the milking population.

“The added reliability of genomics can speed genetic progress,” De Vries states. “Genomic testing provides more reliable estimates of the true genetics of an animal. Then if we rank our potential mothers and select the best ones to create the next generation of

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B R E E D I N G

Have a plan in place to best utilize the information received from genomic testing

calves, we create a better average population the next generation.”

Genomic testing also involves parentage verification (for those with sires and dams prior tested). This helps a herd avoid high inbreeding levels in the next generation when utilizing a good mating program.

It also benefits A.I. progeny testing programs and the industry by having more correct daughters in a bull’s genetic evaluation.

This has been a key benefit for Bruette. “We had issues with sire misidentification on many heifers and found those issues with genomic testing,” Bruette says. “We are now able to use this information in our mating program to advance our herd genetics.”

be kept to populate the adult herd.

Along with the genomics, De Vries also says to take into account conditions at birth, health issues or mortality rate that affect the number of available replacements. Finally, producers must keep in mind that health, weaning weight and environmental factors play a role in animal performance.

Marti points out others, including the potential of not using dairy semen on all animals. And, genomics is a group strategy movement and herd improvement comes with this.

Finally, female herd population dynamics and selection applications are very different in dairy herds than for A.I. bull populations.

A paradigm shift

De Vries and Marti agree that using genomics to the highest potential in commercial herds is based on having a plan to use the information.

De Vries and Marti stress that genomics requires a change in paradigms, namely that not every calf born should

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Have a plan

“One clear advantage of genomics is more rapid genetic progress,” notes De Vries. “For this to be achieved, herd managers must have a plan in place and I highly recommend working with a genetic consultant to develop it.”

Bruette sees the importance of this plan. “The up-front investment in genomics can help save unneeded heifer raising costs,” he says. “Using the information once you have it is key, whether it be for culling, breeding decisions or in mating programs.”

Marti concludes, “Most herds using one primary strategy can be economically justified, while herd owners like Mike, who are using the technology more than once, will reap even greater returns. Ultimately, those that use technology in more than one way or time and have the ability to be more ‘choosy’ will achieve even greater rewards with genetic progression and more profitability.” l

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L E LY I N F O

Lely Juno 100 and 150 automatic feed pushers With the Lely Juno feed pushers, Lely provides you with the ultimate solution. The feed pusher moves along the feeding alley automatically.

When in operation, the machine pushes feed without disturbing the cows. Since the Lely Juno is a standalone machine, barn modifications are seldom required and it can be used in almost any type of barn.

The Lely Juno 100 serves as the “little brother” of the Lely Juno 150.

Both the Juno 100 and Juno 150 offer constant feed availability, more frequent use of a milking robot (if

available), improved animal well-being and significant cost savings. The Juno runs the desired feed route which is programmed into the E-link control unit on the machine and afterward returns to a charging station located at a convenient point in the feed alley between each run. The Juno operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Key benefits: • 24-hour operation and increased feed intake • Improved animal well-being • Uniform quality forage available day and night • Labor-saving and more flexibility • More frequent use of the milking robot • A quieter herd For more about the Lely Juno 100 & 150, visit www.lely.com

Learn more Automatic feeding with modern technologies, such as Lely’s Juno automatic feed pusher and all-new Lely Vector automatic feeding system, relieves the daily stress of feeding by providing 24-hour operation. No one offers more knowledge and experience in robotic milking than Lely and its Lely Center dealer network.

To stay connected with the most up-to-date information on dairy innovation, and to learn more about automatic feeding, visit www.lely.en/feeding. Be sure to follow our blog at www.lelylife. com to learn about Lely innovation, including webinars and open houses.

Lely Vector automatic feeding system Efficient, high quality milk production largely depends on feeding cows consistently, on timely schedules, and providing sufficient feed. The Lely Vector automatic feeding system is the next major step in automated methods within dairy farming, matching the importance of the milking robot.

Feeding your cows with the Lely Vector automatic feeding system offers you optimum flexibility. You can implement your feeding strategy without any compromises, regardless if you want to feed your cows several times a day, provide different rations, and feed different groups. You will be rewarded with better cow health and increased production. Because the Lely Vector ensures that correct rations are fed to cows consistently and on time, farmers are now able to achieve greater efficiency in milk

production. A complete and efficient feeding system, The Lely Vector allows modern dairy farmers to control their business the way they want while saving money, labor, time and energy.

With the Vector, Lely has developed a unique economic concept that allows for 24/7 flexible and fresh feeding of cows. The Lely Vector is a state-of-the-art concept, developed in close cooperation with our customers, allowing for optimal results while maintaining maximum respect for your cows.

Key benefits: • Fresh, well mixed portions 24/7 • More frequent robot visits • Suitable for all group sizes • Quick and easy feed type changes • Savings of eight hours of labor a week • Higher feed intake For more about the Lely Vector, visit www.lely.com

For more information on LELY products and services, call 1-866-LELY USA. LELY web address: www.lely.com, LELY email address: usa@lely.com COW MAN AG E ME N T

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CRV

B R EEDIN G

N E W S

CRV introduces ‘Better Life Efficiency’ and ‘Better Life Health’ Feathers joins CRV in Pennsylvania

Ralma O Man Cricket is one of the highest Better Life Health bulls in the CRV line-up

With the introduction of two new indicators by CRV, farmers will now be able to breed specifically for a healthier and more efficient herd.

Starting from the April index run, all of CRV’s European and American Holstein bulls and MRIJ dual purpose bulls will have two new indicators: Better Life Efficiency and Better Life Health. Other breeds will follow at a later stage. Using these indicators, farmers will be able to breed specifically for an efficient, easy-to-manage herd of cows that stay healthy as they age.

Both indicators are expressed as percentages, which makes it easy to see the effect that farmers can expect from a given bull.

Better Life Efficiency The introduction of Better Life Efficiency will help reduce feed costs and at the same time improve utilization of natural resources. It indicates the extent to which a bull contributes to more efficient milk production. The more energy is converted into milk, the better it is for efficiency. As a general rule, productivity combined with

longevity leads to high efficiency. A bull with a score of +5% generates a financial gain of $335 per cow life in an average herd.

Milk yield and longevity are particularly important in calculating Better Life Efficiency but persistency, maturity rate, fertility and weight are also taken into account in the calculation.

Better Life Health Better Life Health indicates the extent to which a bull contributes to a healthier herd. A high score means that a bull’s progeny will have a low rate of health incidents such as mastitis, lameness, difficult births or failure to get in calf.

Using bulls with a high score for Better Life Health has the advantage that the herd becomes easier to manage and that cows stand a better chance of aging healthily.

Better Life Health is calculated on the basis of a bull’s genetic capacity in terms of udder health, fertility, hoof health, calving ease and calf vitality.

A bull with a score of +5% generates a financial gain of $95 per cow per year in an average herd.

Scott Feathers, New Enterprise, Pa., has joined CRV as an area sales manager. Coming to the organization with more than 25 years of experience in the A.I. industry, Scott has a strong working understanding of the dairy industry.

“Scott has a strong relationship with his customers,” states Brett Haines, managing director of CRV USA. “His strong sales experience, dedication to his customers, and dairy industry knowledge will ensure his success.”

As an area sales manager, Scott will be responsible for developing distributor networks, service support teams and reproductive management support for dairy producers to continue improving how they operate. Working with field, office and his extensive network, Scott will identify and recruit the tools and people needed to provide better solutions to dairy owners and herd managers.

Better Life CRV is introducing its two new indicators under the name ‘Better Life’.

This is a result of its commitment to sustainability: CRV aims to contribute to sustainability in milk and beef production in a manner that is also economically sustainable for farmers.

The two new indicators are clear examples of this. They will contribute towards 1) improving cow health and longevity, 2) producing milk with the best possible use of natural resources and 3) reducing feed costs and veterinary bills.

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M A N A G E M E N T

On-farm safety doesn’t just happen – it’s achieved by fostering safety and empowering employees

Creating a culture of safety Farming accidents can have a devastating impact on families, the agricultural community and beyond. Having safety procedures in place, and having everyone from the top down follow the rules assures business profitability and sustainability.

by Amy Ryan

W

hile you may think of lost productivity and the costs associated with farm injuries, Frank Gasperini, Executive Vice President and CEO of the National Council of Agricultural Employers, points out more unfortunate losses, like the loss of family members, neighbors or an individual who might be a valuable part of the future of farming. There is also potential to lose a family farm.

“Agriculture needs you and your employees to grow food for the world,” he says. “As producers, you have legal, profit and moral obligations to your employees and society to change the on-farm safety culture.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), agriculture ranks among the top five most dangerous occupations in the nation. While most dairy producers understand the potential ramifications of workplace injury or fatality with regards to productivity and income, the implications of these accidents are far reaching beyond the farm. The importance of developing a safety culture on-farm is unmatched.

At the recent Agriculture Safety and Health Conference of America (ASHCA) North American Safety Summit, Gasperini discussed the dangers of the industry, challenges facing agriculture

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in regards to safety, and keys to creating a safe work environment.

In fact, Gasperini says a good goal is zero accidents/zero fatalities. One way to achieve this is developing that safety culture and empowering employees to be safe. Promoting a safe work environment starts with education, providing necessary safety equipment and programs and requiring everyone to participate in training.

Use your resources “A business that is successful longterm does what is morally and ethically right as well as what is legally right,” he says. “Safety does not happen by accident; it is always a result of intentional planning. It is not a program or a project or a booklet, but requires a relentless commitment to creating a culture of safe work in every aspect of your operation.”

In agriculture, organizations like ASHCA, an industry-led initiative to make the agricultural workforce the safest and healthiest in the world, can offer assistance to producers in developing that on-farm culture. Not only can they provide education and materials to help build a plan and process, they can direct producers to resources (see sidebar).

“The best place for farmers to start

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developing their on-farm safety culture is with a whole farm safety audit,” Gasperini says. “Many times, insurance companies will assist with this process and it may even lead to lower insurance rates.” He notes that now is a good time of year to conduct these audits and develop safety plans as activities on the farm may slow down.

Consider the hazards When looking specifically at dairy farming, Gasperini says that risk factors are even higher for the following Children, manure pit, animals and machinery equals a lot of potential for farming injuries and accidents

On-farm safety resources Agriculture Safety and Health Council of America: http://ashca.org/ National Council of Agricultural Employers: http://www.ncaeonline.org/ eXtension – Ag and Safety Health: http://www.extension.org/farm_safety_ and_health UW Center for Agriculture Safety & Health: http://fyi.uwex.edu/agsafety/ UW River Falls Center for Farm Safety: http://www.uwrf.edu/ CenterForDairyFarmSafety/ The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH): http:// www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/agriculture/ Penn State Extension Agriculture Safety and Health: http://extension.psu.edu/ business/ag-safety

reasons: it is seven days a week, many producers work alone on a daily basis, and work long hours. In addition, beyond all the normal on-farm risks, dairy farms also have animals which present unpredictability.

“One other difference is that dairy operations are less regulated by corporate rules and regulations than other industries,” says Gasperini. “That means that the responsibility for onfarm safety really falls on the owner, owner’s family and their employees and this is where the everyday commitment to safety comes into play.”

This is particularly true in a family farming situation where younger people and heavy equipment are involved. He states that regardless of the law, when young people operate equipment, it presents an increased risk of litigation.

For this reason, NCAE worked with Mary Miller from the Department of Labor and Industries in Washington to develop a youth worker best practices policy for U.S. Agriculture.

More specifically, these practices detail guidelines for youth training and supervision, job assignments and work hours. The overall goal of this project was to improve working conditions for youth in agriculture and bring supervisors and employers the resources they need to create a positive work experience for young people. While this policy was not adopted by the NCAE Board of Directors, it is available to the industry for reference.

He further stresses the importance of training all employees on equipment operation and especially using the operation manual for training. “As a producer, understanding the equipment manuals and training employees to operate equipment according to those manuals is critical,” he says. “If an accident does occur that leads to litigation, knowing and following the operator’s manual is huge.”

The public perception Since on-farm safety is currently the major responsibility of farm owners and operators, it is not only important within the industry, but even more important in the public’s eyes. And, Gasperini says that the public’s detachment from the farming community is another big

challenge facing producers. “With the current population being many more generations removed from the farm than ever, the public perception of our industry is quite distorted. They no longer have a realistic perception of what producers do and are easily influenced by media reports that paint an inaccurate picture of farm life.”

Gasperini continues to say that this is an obstacle for various reasons with the most prominent being government imposition of rules and regulations. He emphasizes that the long-term answer for this concern is individual farm families initiating the aforementioned culture of safety on their operation.

When asked about specific regulations that may be impacting agriculture producers in the future, Gasperini says that there will be a call for increased worker protection in agriculture.

Namely, expect more regulation on the federal and state level for worker safety, worker’s compensation and youth labor.

“Child labor laws will come back into the spotlight and producers that don’t have written safety plans and processes in place will face challenges,” he says.

“Having record of an on-farm audit and a safety plan is important, but most important is training and empowering all family members and employees (regardless of age) to be aware of safety hazards and work safely.”

Don’t become a statistic!

In closing, Gasperini says that every accident that ends in injury or fatality negatively impacts the future of agriculture in various ways. If agriculture doesn’t move away from being one of the most dangerous occupations, there will be more regulations for the industry. It is possible for every job to be done safely if the operation has a good plan in place and promotes safety through training and daily on-farm practices.

“Every accident pushes us closer to more regulatory burdens and these costs are only added to the terrible burden everyone who has experienced such an accident carries with them for the rest of their lives,” he concludes. “America needs you, your family, your employees and the next generation of agriculture working and growing to feed the world, not populating DOL accident statistics!” l

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H E R D

R E P O RT

Award-winning producer puts the profit back into family business

Fate and fortune Switching to Jerseys and a change of focus have turned the fortunes of one Nantwich England-based unit around – and seen its 22-year-old manager crowned the winner of a national dairy award. All this in just two short years and with no prior aspiration to run his family’s dairy herd. Read on to be inspired. text Rachael Porter

I

f you’d asked William Patten two years ago where he’d be today, the last place he’d have said was back managing his family’s dairy unit. As for winning an award for his dairying expertise – that would have been further from his mind. Yet he was one of two dairy producers to be crowned Young Producer of the Year, at this year’s Farm Business Cream Awards.

William is the herd manager on his family’s Nantwich-based unit, which is home to a 190-cow pedigree Jersey herd, and his hard work and dedication during the past two years stunned the competition judges. They were staggered by the phenomenal amount of responsibility shouldered by 22-yearold William, when he returned to the family farm after graduating from the university, and how he’s turned the fortunes of the business around with a change of management.

It was in June 2011 that William began not only working with Jersey cattle, but also changing his career path completely. He’d just finished an English literature and creative writing degree at Aberystwyth University, when his father Brian became too ill to run the family farm. So despite taking little real interest in the farm before, beyond helping on the odd weekend, William agreed to take on managing the herd and the direction of the business.

Better suited But some dramatic changes were needed in order for the farm to remain viable. “We needed to update some equipment and introduce new nutrition and health regimes in order to improve the health and welfare of the herd. These changes were needed to increase milk yields and improve profits,” he says.

He also had the unenviable task of convincing his father to gradually replace the black-and-white herd with Jerseys. “I felt the breed was more suited to the farm and its facilities.

It also offers better fertility, hoof health and milk quality,” says William.

He already had two Jersey heifers: Breed switch: William says the Jerseys have better fertility, hoof health and milk quality

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The Patten family William (centre) has made considerable and outstanding changes to the management of his family’s unit. His efforts have earned him a national dairy award.

Age: Number of cows: Average yield: Milk constituents:

Nantwich

22 years 190 13,200 lbs 5.6% fat 3.9% protein

Tomorrow’s milkers: breeding goals are set to maximize the genetic merit of the herd

“And the more I costed out a Jersey system and learned about the breed, the more certain I was that they were the cows for me and this unit.”

“But then came the tricky part, convincing a man who had kept black and whites for 30 years to milk Jerseys – not an easy task I can promise you.”

But when Brian saw with his own eyes what William saw – cows that were aggressive feeders with sound feet and that fitted into the unit’s facilities much better than the larger black and whites – he was sold on the idea. “We did go through a transitional period, so I could prove to Dad that it would work. I didn’t want to push him out – I wanted to take him with me. He’d been doing things his way for 30 years and then I come in and want to make significant changes – that must have been hard for him.”

Individual attention William had to get his mother Gillian on his side too. She and Matt Dykes, who works full time with the family, are in charge of calf rearing and Gillian also does all the relief milking in the winter.

“Mum is impressed with the vitality of the Jersey calves and they’re also extremely pretty. What’s not to like?”

Today William is using American and

Canadian genetics to help boost the type, strength and productivity of the herd, with the aim to produce cows that are able to milk for many lactations and still produce good yields with high solids.

“Cows need to be healthy, fertile, productive and efficient. But they also need to be valuable, so I’m looking to maximize the genetic merit of the herd,” he says.

The top fifty percent of the herd is bred to the best Jersey bulls that the business can afford and the bottom fifty percent are inseminated with Belgian Blue semen.

Switching breeds and management changes mean that he’s on top of lameness and cell counts are down from an average cell count of 500,000 cells/ml to 63,000 cells/ml, with all fresh calved cows calving in with low cell counts. But, most importantly, conception rate to first service has risen from 25% to 65%.

“Our focus is no longer on simply pushing the cows for more and more milk. We focus on each cow as an individual. It’s all about balance between milk yields and milk quality now – the Jerseys’ high butterfat and protein production also helped to sway my father.”

The herd average yield is now around 6,000 litres (1,585 gallons), rather than 8,000 litres (2,113 gallons), but milk constituents are considerably higher – at around 5.6% butterfat and 3.9% protein – ideal since the milk is sold to Fayrefield Foods and goes for cheese production.

“We’re looking to gradually expand the milking herd to between 200 and 250 head. There’s no rush. Our focus is on quality, so we want to do this using our own replacements.”

On-farm processing William says that he’d also like to move into on-farm processing in the future too. “I want to do something that no one else is doing and make a completely different product. That shouldn’t be too difficult because Jersey milk is so versatile.”

And what about the writing? “Yes, I’d love to get back into that. But the Jersey’s are my first love right now. I’m really enjoying it and the highlight for me so far was quite recently when the first calf that I’d bred was born. It was amazing to watch all the potential hit the sawdust and now I can watch it grow.” l

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C O N TA C T S

SHOWS AND EVENTS 2014 January 13-15: January 15-16: January 26-28: February 4-5: February 5-7: February 17-19: February 19-21: March 3-7: Dinner time at the bunk Picture: Harrie van Leeuwen

April 1-3: April 11-14: April 18: April 19: May 19-23: May 27-30

C O N TA C T S

40th Annual Southern Dairy Conference, Atlanta, GA 9th Annual I-29 Dairy Conference, I-29 “Moo-University” – Educating, Ag-Vocating for the Future, Sioux Falls, SD National Mastitis Council 53rd Annual Meeting, Ft. Worth, TX 25th Annual Florida Ruminant Nutrition Symposium, Gainesville, FL Southern Farm Show, North Carolina State Fairgrounds, Raleigh, NC Dairy Genetics Workshop: Advancing Dairy Cattle Genetics – Genomics and Beyond, Tempe, AZ Virginia State Feed Assn & Virginia Tech Nutritional “Cow College” Roanoke, VA 2nd IDF Symposium on Microstructure of Dairy Products and 5th IDF Symposium on Science and Technology of Fermented Milk, Melbourne, Australia Dairy Calf and Heifer Association Conference, Green Bay, WI New York Dairy Carousel, Syracuse, NY Midwest Spring Red & White Show, Jefferson, WI Midwest Spring National Show, Jefferson, WI ICAR 39th Biennial Session 2014 and Interbull Session, Berlin, Germany 27th ADSA Discover Conference – Strategies for improving US Dairy Cattle Welfare, Itasca, IL

Cow Management is published six times per year by CRV Publishing

Editorial team Chief editor Jaap van der Knaap Contributing writers Kayla Dolan, Samantha Miller, Rachael Porter, Amy Ryan, JoDee Sattler, Lucas Sjostrom, Ben Smink Editing, design and production CRV Publishing

Chief editor’s address

COMING UP

F e e d i n g an d d air y p ro d u ct io n in Ger m an y February – In our first issue of 2014, we will look at the quality of the ration at the bunk and the affect that reducing variability in a TMR can have on dry matter intake and milk production. We also have a special herd report from Germany.

P.O. Box 454, 6800 AL Arnhem The Netherlands Phone 0031 26 38 98 829 Fax 0031 26 38 98 839 E-mail veeteelt@crv4all.com

Subscriptions Cow Management is available free of charge to customers of CRV, 2324 American Lane, Madison, WI 53704.

If you want to ask for a subscription or to cancel a subscription send an e-mail to info@crv4all.us

Advertisements Bock & Associates, Inc.: Tom Bock and Lindsay Boelter Phone 952-905-3210 E-mail tom.bock@bock-assoc.com

Illustrations/pictures Photographs by CRV Publishing Photography, Stefanie Buisman (35), Tom Baker (36, 37) Michelle Martin (5, 12,13,14, 28, 34) and Rick Mooney (19).

Disclaimer CowManagement does not necessarily share the views expressed by contributors. No responsibility is accepted for the claims made by advertisers. No responsibility can be accepted

by CRV Holding BV for the opinions expressed by contributors. Whilst every effort is made to obtain reliable and accurate information, liability cannot be accepted for errors. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher.

Printer Schumann Printers Inc.

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