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Milking Older Cows- Why Parity Matters

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By Ryan Leiterman, D.V.M.

In the world of dairy farming, the concept of parity—referring to the number of times a cow has calved—can be a crucial tool to optimize herd productivity. As cows age and go through multiple lactations, their productivity trends will shift, impacting their profitability to the dairy operation. Research shows that older, multiparous cows (cows that have had multiple calves) often have significant productivity advantages. This article discusses why parity matters in dairy herds and how milking older cows can boost overall herd productivity and profitability.
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What Our Inoc-U-Lock™ Line of Forage Inoculants Has To Offer For Your Farm

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By Carley Ciolkosz, B.S.
Livestock Nutritionist

One of the main goals on farms is for profitable livestock, and the foundation that profitable livestock rely on is feeding high quality forages. The need to feed high quality forages is critical to a healthy bottom line for any dairy or beef producer. Research has shown that applying a high-quality inoculant to forages at the time of ensiling can in turn provide a significant return on investment for the producer. There are many benefits to a well-designed inoculant program including speeding up fermentation which leads to reducing dry matter loss, reducing protein degradation and energy loss, stabilizing face quality, improving bunk shelf life, enhanced dry matter intake and improved forage digestibility. Crystal Creek® believes that our line of Inoc-U-Lock™ forage inoculants will help producers reach these goals on their farms.

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Products To Always Have On Hand – Cow Toolbox

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By Alex Austin

When it comes to owning dairy cows, the question is not if there will be a health challenge, but when. Most producers carry tools on hand to be prepared for a variety of potential issues, from milk fever to mastitis. Some common tools are bottles of calcium, vet wrap, syringes, etc. This article lists a few Crystal Creek® products that are recommended for dairy producers to carry in their toolbox.

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Crystal Creek® 17% Start To Finish™ Goat Pellets

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20220629_CCWEB_Dr-Darren-ZimmermanBy Darren Zimmerman, D.V.M.

More and more goat producers are raising animals with little to no land base. Hence they rely on purchased feedstuffs more than homegrown forages. Having high-quality pelleted feed allows these producers to raise their animals without having to grow and harvest forages which has some inherent efficiencies as well.

With this in mind, Crystal Creek® has developed 17% Start To Finish™ Goat Pellets.

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Helpful Benchmarks For Raising Calves

Click here to view as a pdf: Helpful Benchmarks For Raising Calves 

By Carley Ciolkosz, B.S.
Livestock Nutritionist

Raising healthy calves is one of the most important and hardest tasks on a dairy farm. Healthy calves turn into healthy cows and the months from birth to weaning sets up the calf for the rest of its life, as well as the longevity of being a high producing dairy cow. To ensure that the calves are getting the best care in order to thrive there are a few factors we need to look at including the mortality rates, morbidity rates, growth rates and colostrum management.
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Know Where You Stand: Helpful Benchmarks To Track On Your Dairy

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By Erik Brettingen, B.S.

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” An arguably overused but truly powerful statement. When evaluating dairies and looking for ways to improve on client farm successes, tracking performance over time and comparing to benchmarks can be very helpful. Tracking key metrics on your farm can help catch issues before they become big problems, identify the next steps to take toward increased profitability, and allow for successes to be celebrated when improvements are made. Crystal Creek® helps clients build reports and uses herd management software to monitor performance of key areas on farms. Lactation performance, economics, transition cow success, reproduction, and calf growth/health are the main areas that are beneficial to monitor.

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Understanding Milk Pricing- If That’s Even Possible: Part 2

Click here to view as a pdf: Understanding Milk Pricing- If That’s Even Possible: Part 2 

By Ryan Leiterman, D.V.M.

In the previous article, we discussed the history of milk pricing in the United States, the equations that govern milk price and how end-product pricing works. This article will be the final part of a two-part series where we will look at the make allowance and Producer Price Differentials (commonly referred to as PPD’s); arguably two of the more controversial parts of the milk pricing process.

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Crystal Creek® Natural, LLC
1600 Roundhouse Road  •  Spooner, Wisconsin 54801
 1-888-376-6777  •  info@crystalcreeknatural.com

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