Most dairy farms feed carefully balanced diets that are formulated to meet the dietary needs of their cows, depending on their age and stage of lactation.

As a dairy producer, you know low milkfat in your herd can take money out of your pocket. Additionally, it can be an extremely frustrating problem with no clear and simple solution.

There are many nutrition and management factors, such as social dominance behaviors and feeding patterns, that can impact rumen pH, both positively and negatively. 

Maximizing your silage space can allow producers to – quite literally – pack more tons of valuable feed into the same space.

Feed costs represent 40% to 60% of the total cost of producing milk on dairy farms in the U.S. and are most dairies’ number one expense. The prices producers pay for purchased forages, commodities and ingredients greatly impact feed costs and the farm’s potential profitability.

Knowledge of cow biology, feed composition and herd information is vast and ever-expanding. Dairy producers and nutritionists have powerful tools available to balance rations and monitor outcomes for specific groups of animals.

Last summer, I had the opportunity to work as an intern for Standard Dairy Consultants in southern Idaho, working with nutrition consultant Tevan Brady.