Water, known as the “universal solvent” is a crucial nutrient for life and it makes up about 60% of the human body. In dairy cattle, water is the most consumed nutrient, and it makes up about 65% of a mature cow’s body composition, and about 80% of an unborn calf. Water serves very essential purposes in the metabolism of dairy cows, including digestion, transport of nutrients, regulation of body temperature, waste removal, and importantly, milk production (85% of milk is made

Although it is hard to write this without including a pun, silo gases should not be taken lightly. Even brief exposure to silo gases can be fatal, making them one of the greatest health risks on-farm. There are two main silo gases to be aware of: carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The considerable drought conditions across the northeastern US and Canada have increased the risk for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) production from ensiling, and it has already been observed

In my last Farm Report article, I mentioned having a strong interest in forage quality, mainly due to a research project that I completed last summer with Alltech Inc. and Poulin Grain Inc. This project was presented this past June at the American Dairy Science Association annual conference. I know it is late in the year now to be discussing managing grass silage, as everyone is in the midst of another busy season of corn harvest,

Traditionally we have promoted, myself included, a set volume and quality of first feeding colostrum to calves. Often we recommend 4 L or one gallon of high quality colostrum within the first two hours after birth to our large breed calves. However, this blanket approach might not be what’s best for each individual calf and maybe we should be incorporating a precision feeding mindset when implementing our colostrum feeding recommendations.

Have you noticed your milk fat numbers creeping up over the years? You’re not alone. Data from the Federal Milk Market Orders, including Order 1 (see figure) show a steady rise in both milk fat and true protein concentrations. While we still see seasonal ups and downs (peaking in winter and dipping in summer), the overall trend is clear: milk components are increasing.

As a forage agronomist I usually find myself preaching about how short the optimal harvest window is for hay crop forages. This is because, for most of the season, the optimal window for maximizing haylage yield and quality only lasts for a week or two.

Over the past six years I’ve written extensively in these pages about the agronomic and environmental impacts of tile drainage, as did Eric Young before me, and Ev Thomas before him. With so much ink spilled on the topic, I hope you’ll permit me a quick trip back into the past to help explain its importance to the region, and why it was adopted locally long before it achieved the widespread popularity it now boasts throughout our farming communities.

This past summer was a busy one for all of us. With students on the farm there was a lot of activity and learning taking place each day. Now that the season has ended and our students have returned to school, we’re taking the opportunity to step back and look for areas of improvement. It’s important to identify areas where small changes can make a big impact.

Knowing what’s really in your feed is the first step to making good rations that meet the cows’ needs. That’s why taking and testing feed samples regularly is such an important tool — it helps to avoid nutrient shortages or waste. But the more tests we run, the more we see that feed values can vary a lot, especially in forages and by-products.

Methionine is more than just another nutrient in a dairy cow’s ration. As one of the key building blocks of protein, it influences not only how much milk a cow produces but also how efficiently she uses the nutrients in her diet. Over the years, advances in feed technology have made it possible to deliver methionine in a form that bypasses the rumen and reaches the small intestine, where it can be fully absorbed.

Much emphasis has been on the calf period and improving growth and health of the preweaning period. However, the postweaning period is a very dynamic transition as heifers move to solid feed intake. Consumption of starter or grain and forage can be influenced by age, body weight, previous milk or milk replacer consumption, ambient temperature, availability of forage, water intake and others. How much do we expect them to consume and what is motivating intake during this age?

The period around calving is one of the most physiologically challenging phases in a cow’s life. As lactation begins, the cow’s calcium...

The chain of events following colostrogenesis in the cow, to collection, storage, and calf consumption of the colostrum is an important process to manage on the farm. The timing of collecting colostrum, as well as the proper handling and storage, play key roles in the quality of colostrum being delivered to the calf. Furthermore, minimizing bacterial contamination from the cow’s udder, milking equipment, storage vessels, and feeding equipment will help maintain clean colostru

Thunderstorms are the primary source of moisture for our non-irrigated crops in July. While the rain is often needed by our crops this time of year, these powerful convective storms have the potential to do plenty of damage to them under the right conditions.

There are 365 sunrises and sunsets each year and the average farmer sees every one of them. Whether they are up before first light to...

Readers of the Farm Report should have a fair idea of what’s happening at the Institute, in part because of the regular short articles titled “What’s Happening on the Farm”. But recent subscribers (and some long-term ones) may not know how we got here. Following is a summary of the past 100+ years of agricultural activity at what is now the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute.

Summer has officially arrived, bringing with it the intense heat and challenges that come with seasonal weather changes. Despite the...

Weaning is ubiquitous in the dairy industry and is not exclusive to only heifer calves but also beef crosses and bulls. In that context...

A recent study published in the Journal of Dairy Science suggests that it might be time to rethink how we feed minerals to dry cows. For years, nutrition guidelines have assumed that cows only need extra minerals late in pregnancy, but this new research shows that cows start needing more minerals much earlier — sometimes as soon as 30 to 40 days after conception.

“What?” “I can’t hear you.” “Come closer.” These were common phrases during recent on-farm tours and workshops at Miner. With warm, humid...