As a beef cattle nutritionist, two things have been drilled into to me from early on: 1) the cheapest way to feed the cow is to let her “harvest” her own feed by grazing, and 2) corn is the cheapest source of energy for fed cattle. However, fluctuations in corn and land prices in more recent years have raised questions regarding the truth in these old adages. The objectives of these proceeding ...

Feed efficiency (FE) is a concept that has gained popularity in recent years in the dairy industry. Monitoring FE is becoming a more common benchmark for monitoring the profitability of milk production relative to dry matter (DM) intake. In today’s markets, feeds and commodities are becoming more costly, which is driving the requirement for more efficient utilization to maintain profitability. ...

Polioencephalomalacia (PEM) is a neurologic condition in ruminants that can be caused by several dietary factors including water deprivation-sodium ion toxicosis, lead poisoning and high sulfur intake. Three month old calves on a 1500-cow dairy experienced neurologic problems during three separate episodes. The morbidity rate approached 75% each time. Based upon post-mortem examination, three o...

Economic decisions on animal health strategies address the cost-benefit aspect along with animal welfare and public health concerns. Decision tree analysis at an individual cow level highlighted that there is little economic difference between the use of either dry cow antibiotic or an internal teat sealant in preventing a new intramammary infection in a cow free of infection in all quarters of...

Grazing is the cheapest way to feed cattle on a cost per pound of nutrient basis. However, producers with limited land resources in Kentucky have been able to use commodities or grain by-products to increase cattle numbers due to low cost and availability of these inputs. Extending the grazing season is one solution that would enable producers to reduce costs and expand production with little o...

Automatic milking systems (AMS) rely upon voluntary cow traffic (the voluntary movement of cattle around a farm) for milk harvesting and feed consumption. Previous research on conventional milking systems has shown differences between dairy cow breeds for intake and milk production, however, the ability to manipulate voluntary cow traffic and milking frequency on AMS farms through breed selecti...

The transition period for dairy cows is generally defined as the time period from three weeks prior to parturition through three weeks after parturition. It is now recognized that defining and meeting the nutritional requirements of the transition dairy cow can greatly impact animal health, production in the ensuing lactation, overall longevity, and animal well-being (NRC, 2001). Nutrition and ...

The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of cow breed-type (two-breed rotations of Simmental x Hereford, Angus x Hereford, and Tarentaise x Hereford) and breeding system (rotational vs terminal sires) on production efficiency to weaning. Cows were limit fed in drylot for one year to simulate weight change of range cows. Both cow breed-type and sire type significantly affected efficie...

Transformation of industrial sludges into vermicompost is of double interest: on the one hand, a waste is converted into value added product, and, on the other, it controls a pollutant that is a consequence of increasing industrialization. This paper reports the feasibility of utilization of vermicomposting technology for nutrient recovery from industrial sludge in laboratory scale experiment e...

Feed intake is determined by many interacting factors and prediction of feed intake is the “Achilles heel” of diet formulation. Many different diet characteristics interact with environment and physiological state of cows, making it difficult to predict feed intake accurately. However, understanding the factors controlling feeding allows us to manipulate diets to optimize feed intake. Eating is...