Focus On Profits For Dairy Success

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By Erik Brettingen, B.S.

When sitting down with current and prospective dairy clients, the conversation regularly revolves around farm goals and benchmarks. This is important to make sure the dairy is headed in the direction the owners are striving for. Different dairies may have different goals, which is just one reason the dairy industry is so amazing. It is not unusual though, to find that farms may be scope locked on milk production as a goal without other context to go along with it. Milk production is very easy to measure daily, it has long been a metric of success, and let’s be honest, it is a lot of fun when cows are making a lot of milk. However, milk production alone does not equal profitability for the farm. Profitability, or at least income over feed cost, should be the focus on dairies and is what truly measures success. Profit is harder to measure and track but yields more positive results. Crystal Creek® works with clients to track profitability and comb through data to find opportunities for improvement. This includes tracking and monitoring feeding software programs, understanding of herd management software, DHIA report review and analysis, and diet evaluation to maximize profitability, not just milk production.

Livestock Nutrition Fundamentals That Can Have Big Returns

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By Dan Leiterman

In any life endeavor it is critically important to get the fundamentals done right, or else the whole project is at risk, no matter how much added effort and resources are applied. This is true in any business and is definitely the case in an agricultural business.

When it comes to livestock nutrition, meeting the basic nutritional needs of the animal at the right time of need is fundamental to the success of a livestock enterprise. This is true no matter what the species. In this article I will use dairy cows and calves as my example of concepts that would apply to all livestock.

Working With Mother Nature…Heifer Maturity Matters

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By Dan Leiterman

Not every seemingly good idea spawned with good intentions by dedicated professionals turns out to be an effective, practical solution. The case in point discussed here; What is the proper age for a dairy heifer to freshen at? Research presented at the 4-State Nutrition Conference this year, and reviewed in this article, shows that the industry’s efforts to freshen dairy heifers at 22 months of age vs. 24 months of age are detrimental to the lifetime productivity of the cow and to the farmer’s profitability.

Dry Cow Nutrition and Management: The Key to Quality Colostrum

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By Erik Brettingen, B.S.

Colostrum is one of the most important factors in raising healthy calves. Besides assuring a healthy start to the calf’s life, colostrum is known to have positive effects that increase a calf’s potential as a 1^st lactation heifer. Colostrum is commonly credited for providing antibodies like immunoglobulin G (IgG), but it also supplies hormones, white blood cells and calories. With colostrum being such a vital component of calf health, it is of paramount importance that cows produce adequate volumes of high-quality colostrum. Dry cow vaccination protocols, management practices, and most importantly, dry cow nutrition, all have far-reaching influences on colostrum production and colostrum quality. Guidelines for measuring colostrum quality can be found in the calf section of Crystal Creek’s annual product catalog.

RFV Does Not Love You Back

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By Erik Brettingen, B.S.

Relative Feed Value (RFV) has been used as a method to quickly evaluate forages and make assumptions of animal performance when that forage is fed. Generally, the thought is that the higher the number the better. While there can be some truth to this at times, RFV misses out on arguably the most important piece to the puzzle when feeding forage to cows; neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD). Crystal Creek® focuses on maximizing energy corrected milk with forage by utilizing farm grown feeds in the diet. To do this, we need to dig much deeper when evaluating forages and providing the best rations for rumen health and profitable production. Other tools like Relative Forage Quality (RFQ), and better yet, the NDF digestibility, really help pin down how to maximize forage in the ration and maintain productive cows.

Non-Nutrient Factors That Impact Dairy Diet Performance

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By Erik Brettingen, B.S.

When looking for the next pound of milk, most time is spent evaluating what could be changed in the ration. This often leads to discussions based on individual feedstuffs and ingredients. Dairy cow performance starts with a properly balanced diet, but sometimes the biggest opportunities are unrelated to the nutrient values in the feed. The environment in which a cow spends most of its day, how its feed is delivered, and the management of the cow’s time, all play a role in performance.

The Elegance and Wisdom of Simplicity: As Applied to Dairy Ruminant Nutrition (Part 2)

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By Dan Leiterman

Preface: This is the second part of a two-part article addressing my thoughts about common sense strategies for dairy nutrition. The first article can be found at: https://crystalcreeknatural.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/The-Elegance-And-Wisdom-Of-Simplicity.pdf

The Important Role of Simplicity

In part 1 of this article (published in the April 2021 Crystal Creek® Newsletter), I talked about the important role of simplicity and how complex science needs to adhere to simple, basic and sound principles so information can be easily and efficiently applied with balance. If the concept of simplicity is not paramount, it is easy to lose perspective and forget what we have learned through decades of feeding animals. Simplicity also helps us deal with the overwhelming sea of data. Information that is consistent with simple principles will advance a cohesive and efficient strategy that helps us reach a sustainable goal.

Using Data Collection Devices to Evaluate Progress in Your Dairy Herd

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By Ryan Leiterman, D.V.M.

Director of Technical Services

Dairy producers have been given a new tool to help track a herd’s overall health, fertility and production with activity monitoring systems. These systems provide data that can be measured over a period of time. Crystal Creek® has worked with several herds that utilize these activity monitoring systems and have found them to be an invaluable means of collecting data for making decisions impacting the herd. Nutritionists can collect and organize data from the system on a regular basis. The effects of changes in feeding strategies or procedural changes can easily be tracked by these monitoring systems. A nutritionist can conduct business meetings with the dairy producer and other team members, (veterinarians, breeders, bankers, agronomists, etc.) to review the data collected throughout the year and create goals for the future.

The Skin: The Window to the Immune System

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Dr. Ryan Leiterman holds degrees in both Agricultural Engineering and Veterinary Medicine.

By Ryan Leiterman, D.V.M.

Director of Technical Services

The skin is the frontline defense mechanism for every animal and as a result, it is under constant challenges from toxins, infectious agents and physical stresses. It’s more than just a physical barrier between the body and the environment; the skin is an active immune organ. Specialized immune cells found only in the skin are always on the lookout, patrolling for infection.

The Elegance and Wisdom of Simplicity: As Applied to Dairy Ruminant Nutrition

Click here to view as a pdf: The Elegance And Wisdom Of Simplicity

By Dan Leiterman

Preface: This is the first part of a two-part article addressing my thoughts about common sense strategies for dairy nutrition.

Throughout the ages and in all walks of life, mankind has demonstrated a relentless and instinctive desire to learn, to explore and to discover answers for the many complex mysteries of life and science. The quest for knowledge is essential to our success as a species. However, managing the new knowledge and applying it to our benefit is an ever-increasing challenge. During our journey to learn as much as we can, it is important to remember the role of simplicity as an essential tool to help us manage the overwhelming amount of information we are exposed to every day. No matter how complex the topic, it must adhere to simple, basic and sound principles so information can be applied easily and efficiently with balance. If simplicity is not taken into account, it is too easy to lose perspective on the task at hand, forget the lessons of history, and become lost in a sea of data. Information that is consistent with simple principles will advance a cohesive, wise and efficient strategy that helps us to reach a sustainable goal. Keeping a solid tie to simplicity can provide clarity and help us stay on course in the growing complexity of our world.