Well-managed forage programs are a key aspect of any dairy operation, and tools such as MILK2024 are valuable metrics to help make decisions on both the quality and quantity of feed harvested. As technology implementation increases, it is critical to assess what works for an operation and what doesn’t. Understanding the potential impact of these decisions on milk production can help producers do just that. 

Livestock enterprises can use crop acres seeded to cover crops and crop residue to stretch the grazing season and save on feed costs. Crop operations benefit from the nutrient value added through livestock manure and to help with pest management.

Nobody likes to walk through a freestall pen and see manure laden with flecks of yellow corn pericarp. To any dairy manager, herd manager or nutritionist, “pretty poo” is all the rage – and pretty means consistently fleckless. This pretty manure is not only important to the diet but also a key part of every dairy’s bottom line.

The economic impact of high-quality corn silage is often underestimated. A corn silage harvest with excellent starch availability, exceptional fibre digestibility and ideal fermentation profiles can mean milk production and components come easily while maximizing forage in the diet.

In agriculture, rain typically poses two major pain points: challenges to field traffic and harvesting timelines.

The growing season has a large impact on our corn silage, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have options to manage the variables.

In this episode, we will introduce you to the 2024 Nexus Innovation Award winners. They were recently recognized at the Professional Dairy Producers Business Conference.

A new seed treatment for use when planting corn for silage promises to increase total silage tonnage, with more of it being digestible, and decrease enteric methane emissions when the silage is fed.

For the first time, we welcome Progressive Forage’s Joy Hendrix to the podcast studio as she visits with Katie Raver from Rock River Laboratory for a regional analysis of forage quality and what to keep in mind for the 2024 growing season. Then Tyrell and Elanco’s Frank White discuss the results of a recent study analyzing the benefits of monensin products in a cow-calf setting. Finally, don’t miss out on an absolutely riveting conversation on the perils of importing exotic wildlife testicles from overseas.