Inoculants and dry matter recovery: What’s at stake?
By Chris Wacek-Driver
“Quality forages…where sound nutrition starts” has become a founding principle for Vita Plus consultants as we work with you to put up high quality forages.
A key to reaching that goal is improving aerobic stability by inoculating … Read more
Effective team meetings at the farm level – Balancing different personalities
By Bob Hagenow
Team meetings are always interesting because everyone brings different experiences and communication styles to the table. Naturally, this can lead to conflict as different personalities favor different approaches for solving challenges. It can also serve as a … Read more
Effective team meetings at the farm level – Meeting structure
By Bob Hagenow
We can’t deny that things like email, texting and Facebook have increased our ways to connect with one another. But are we truly communicating with each other to get things accomplished and avoid mistakes? With all the … Read more
The ever-changing global economy
By Al Gunderson
Browse the Internet on your tablet or smartphone and you know we’re living in a global world where information flows across borders seamlessly. That applies to economics too.
The Greek debt crisis plunged the whole Euro zone … Read more
Goodbye protein… Hello amino acids
By Spence Driver
Over the last five years, nearly 55 percent of the average milk income over feed costs has been derived from milk protein yield and 40 percent has come from milk fat yield. That means that only about … Read more
Optimize heifer performance with TMR management
By Cody Yanzick
Calf raisers invest a lot of time and energy into optimizing calf performance. Good feed management with young heifers can help to keep that momentum going as calves get older. Here are a few tips for introducing, … Read more
Cow observations that make you money
By Jon Rasmussen and Dr. Neil Michael
Critically reviewing a few fundamental cow behaviors can positively impact cow health, performance and the overall attitude of employees. Here are some good areas to watch during your next walk among your cows.… Read more
Choose your corn silage hybrid like you choose your steak
By John Goeser
Corn silage quality has a profound impact on your dairy’s profitability. Highly digestible hybrids reduce your need for corn grain, and everyone understands the value of that in today’s markets. So how do you choose the right … Read more
Positioning your dairy financially for 2012
By Gary Sipiorski
The weather’s getting chilly, which means winter and the New Year are coming up fast. It also means it’s time to once again time to take a hard look at your dairy business and position yourself financially … Read more
Picking the repro measures that can give you an edge
By Dr. Neil Michael
In the simplest form, the goal of all reproductive programs is to maximize the production for quality pregnancies during a specified time period with minimal variation and waste. Producers whose herds show high reproductive performance use … Read more