The high-producing cow has a huge demand for energy to maintain her health and well-being along with the energy needed to produce the volumes of milk she is genetically driven to make.

Performance is a combination of genetics and environment. According to the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB), milk production is 20% correlated to genetics.

For Jessica Oliver, this statement is made at least daily around the farm and anywhere she happens to be close to dairy cattle. As a lifelong member of the dairy community, Jessica is no stranger to hard work and preparing cows for shows across the country.

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.

Are you attending the 2022 World Dairy Expo? This year’s event is a bit different compared to previous years, and the changes are aimed to benefit all those in attendance. Read more below about what these schedule changes mean for you! 

We’ve heard in songs and sayings that “it only takes a spark” to light a fire, but sometimes it also takes several sparks a few different times to really get things going. At least, that was the case for our family farming business when it came to digging deep into the numbers and financials of our dairy and crop operation.

I like to say when I joined National Dairy Council (NDC) 27 years ago, I came for the product, but I stayed for the people. 

For someone with no prior experience in agriculture or the dairy industry, Berta Hansen has certainly found her people through her service as lead interpreter for World Dairy Expo.