Springtime has been good on the ranch for the Eppich family with cows and bulls in the pasture and healthy foals.
Tag Archives dairy cows
Seeds are in the ground and foals arrive
Eppich News: Springtime has been good on the ranch with cows and bulls in the pasture and healthy foals
The five-minute tricks to identify good dry matter intake in dairy cows
Dairy Corner: Checking the condition of cows, and a quick look at the ration, can tell the story
Checking the animals’ condition, and a quick look at the ration, can tell the story of the dry matter intake (DMI) of dairy cows.
Well-balanced starch and forage levels make milk
Dairy Corner: The amount of starch in corn and barley silage can vary greatly between harvests
Starch levels in corn and barley silage can vary widely between harvests, so they need to be balanced in a dairy ration, nutritionist Peter Vitti says.
Watch dairy heifers grow on well-balanced diets
The Dairy Corner: There are numerous ways to get a quality mix to a farm’s heifers
I have balanced many dairy heifer replacement diets in the last few months. It’s a pretty easy exercise once I put it down on a PDF spreadsheet and email it to the dairy producer. I am confident all heifer nutrient requirements are met, given how heifers consume it. Plus, I want to make these diets […] Read more
Increasing AI use has many advantages
Animal Health: There are improved technologies for breeding and synchronization, for which AI makes more sense
Over the last decade or so, artificial insemination (AI), not to be confused with the other AI (artificial intelligence), has seen an upsurge in the commercial cattle population. This has been happening for a lot longer in the purebred cattle industry and a lot of the reasons are the same. If one is considering AI […] Read more
How field peas fit in dairy lactation diets
Dairy Corner: Research and some practical trials show peas can be fed to cows with no effect on milk yield
A few years back, there was a surge of investment in pea processing for the plant-based protein industry. A multimillion-dollar plant was built in Manitoba, along with other smaller related food and processing businesses. There was more than just talk about growing more peas in Western Canada in which an offshoot would be feeding more […] Read more
Good early-lactation nutrition cuts risk of cystic ovaries
Dairy Corner: A drop in proper metabolic function will pose reproductive challenges in cows
Most producers usually wait until estrus appears in a dairy cow at 60-70 days postpartum, then place an emphasis on getting her pregnant by 90 days. This practice maintains a 13-month calving interval. Unfortunately, the onslaught of cystic ovaries in 30 per cent of all breeding cows makes it a challenge. Yet, there is hope […] Read more
Keep a full feed-bunk for optimum milk production
Availability of feed is important for maintaining cow body condition score
The common feed bunk in dairy barns should be managed to get a consistent daily intake of nutritious feed into lactating cows. This practice stabilizes feed’s rate of passage and its fermentation/digestion in the cow’s rumen and lower digestive tract. In turn, it ultimately meets the essential requirements of energy, protein, effective forage fibre, minerals […] Read more
There’s a reason if cows aren’t chewing their cud
It's important to look at the structure of fibre in the ration
This fall I visited three similar dairies milking between 100 and 150 cows. It was about 10 a.m. in two barns (different days) and midafternoon in the third. In each case I noticed less than 10 per cent of resting cows (three-quarters were lying down) were not chewing their cud. I reviewed the TMR in […] Read more
Canada’s year-end cattle herd continues shrinking
Slaughter beat pre-pandemic pace in second half, StatsCan says
Year-over-year contraction continued for Canada’s cattle herd at the start of 2021, while newborn piglet counts kept Canada’s hog herd on the rise during the same period, according to Statistics Canada. StatsCan on Monday reported 11.2 million cattle on Canadian farms at Jan, 1, 2021 — down one per cent from the year-earlier date and […] Read more
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