Status of the 2012 alfalfa crop
By Dr. John Goeser
Let’s take a look at the last few months. First, we had a warm and dry winter. Next, summer came early in the upper Midwest with March temperatures in the 80s. Then the chilly temperatures … Read more
On-farm biosecurity: Reduce risk
By Ann Hoskins
Biosecurity refers to those measures taken to keep diseases out of populations, herds or groups of animals where they do not currently exist or to limit the spread of disease within the herd. The responsibility for farm-level … Read more
Bunker density: Are you ahead of the pack? Ask that question now
By the Vita Plus Loyal Dairy Team
Managing your forage program is a challenging job and has many components. Selecting the right hybrids, managing your equipment or custom harvester and selecting the proper harvest time are all very important, but, … Read more
Keep dry cows cool too
By Dr. Bruno Amaral
With an uncommonly warm March, we’re already starting to think about keeping cows cool. Now is our chance to strategize and get ahead of the heat.
We all know the value of heat stress abatement for … Read more
Get ahead of ketosis
By Dr. Neil Michael
Managing fresh cow performance is a challenge. When ketosis becomes an issue, cows start slowly and you can expect significant losses due to direct treatment costs and lost future income.
Contributing factors
Much of the variation … Read more
Why ship water when you get paid for solids?
By Dr. Eric Schwab
Consumers and processors in the Upper Midwest demand solids to produce high quality dairy products. But how do we produce high solids milk without giving up production?
First, let’s take a step back to understand why … Read more
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