inner-banner

The Advantage

What’s New with Mycotoxin Concentrations in Forages?

By Dr. James C. Coomer, Ph.D., PAS Mycotoxins seem to be discussed everywhere in livestock nutrition press these days and it appears mycotoxins are an inevitable part of nutrition now and into the foreseeable future. DSM recently released their December mycotoxin survey, including their corn mycotoxin survey results for 2023. The survey of 123 corn […]

Impact of Energy in Diets on Newly-Received Calves

By Dr. Adrian Baker, Ph.D. Managing new cattle is challenging and the receiving period can have long-term implications on future health and growth during the finishing phase (Wilson et al., 2017). High-risk calves may have been exposed to stressors like commingling at auctions and transportation stress, including extended periods without feed and water (Arthington et […]

Cow Efficiency Equals Carbon Efficiency

By Dr. David F. Jones, Ph.D., P.A.S. Methane production from ruminant animals has received a lot of attention in recent years and is still a primary focus today. Since methane is a waste product from rumen fermentation, it is possible to minimize the process of methane production with nutrition and products that promote greater efficiency […]

Dry Cow Nutrition and Her Calf’s Potential

By Dr. Dan Schauff, Ph.D., P.A.S. Practical and research observations have long shown a healthy calf is more likely to become a healthy, productive dairy cow. Most also recognize that a successful colostrum feeding/management program is essential and foundational to support a calf’s health, future growth, and milk production. There is growing evidence, however, that […]

Cows feeding

Get The Most Out Of Grain

By Dr. Louisa E. Koch, Ph.D., P.A.S. Cereal grains represent a major source of energy for the high-producing dairy cow and can greatly impact feed efficiency. Transforming every pound of nutrients into saleable product is the cornerstone of achieving optimal feed efficiency. In most dairy production systems, corn is the predominant cereal grain. The largest […]

manure

Manure: What Does It Tell Us About The Cow?

By Grace Thomas, M.Agr.Sc. P.A.S. Consistency is the key when it comes to all things dairy. This is also relevant when it comes to cow manure. The cow manure evaluation is one of the best indicators of cow performance and any changes to it can be due to reduced rumen function and/or feed digestion. You […]

mycotoxins dairy

New Approaches to Dealing with Mycotoxins

By Dr. James C. Coomer, Ph.D., P.A.S. The word mycotoxin appears to have been first used in a publication by Forgacs and Carll (1955) where they are describing diseases of animals caused by toxins produced by fungi (microbial toxins = mycotoxin). The word usually refers to a structurally diverse family of naturally occurring, fungal-elaborated toxins. […]

Cows getting ready to eat

Fire and Ice: Feeding Crops Stressed by Drought and/or Frost

By Dr. Gene P. Gengelbach, Ph.D., P.A.S. Fall is the time of year many people associate with colorful foliage and football. For the livestock producer, this is the time of year they must evaluate their forages and devise a feeding strategy for the upcoming winter months. Many parts of the country experienced drought conditions for […]

haylage

Treating Forage for Decreased Dry Matter Loss

By Lucas A. Krueger Why does dry matter loss matter? With summer forage harvests behind us and fall crop silage in full focus, evaluating dry matter loss from harvested forages is never more important. From a practical standpoint, dry matter loss equates to wasted fuel consumption; seed, fertilizer, herbicide, and pesticide use; and acreage. Dry […]

Cows

High-Ammonia Forages

By Dr. David Jones, Ph.D., P.A.S. Along with amino acids and peptides, ammonia is part of the soluble protein (or ‘A’ fraction) of routine protein analysis. It is generated by the deamination (removal of nitrogen-containing amino groups) of proteins, which reduces the overall quality of the protein. Ammonia is a source of nitrogen for rumen […]

ADVANTAGE SIGN UP
close slider

Newsletter

Please fill out the form below to sign up for our newsletter.