North Dakota State University
NDSU Extension Service
Vol. 13, No. 2, July 2002
Editorial
Reproduction
Waste Management
Milk Quality
Forages
Miscellaneous
Many attempts to suppress the decline in milk production in North Dakota have fallen short. Recent closings of milk plants in North Dakota attest to how critical this matter has become. The resurgence of energy put forth by the last North Dakota Dairy Task Force is an attempt to save our existing industry and create a blueprint for growth and expansion. This is not an easy task, but it is evident that the North Dakota Dairy Task Force has a tremendous will to give this task its best. However, the Task Force cannot do it alone; your help is needed.
Please take time from your busy schedule to attend one of these farmyard socials to hear from the Task Force and offer your ideas for change:
Tuesday, June 24
10 a.m.
Mosset Dairy--Jerome & Rita Mosset Two miles south of Linton from Emmons County Courthouse on Highway 83, four miles west on 82nd Street, half mile south
Wednesday, June 25
7 p.m.
CDT Boehm Dairy--Jim & Nathan Boehm West of Mandan on I-94 to exit 140, four miles north to 34th Street, 1.5 miles west to farm on north side of road
Thursday, June 26
10 a.m.
Sand Hills Dairy--Mike & Mary Zimmerman Eight miles west of Towner on Highway 2
Monday, July 14
7 p.m.
Dusty Willow--Swenson & Calderwood Nine miles south of Lakota on Highway 1, half mile east on County Roud 4, or eight miles north of the Pekin intersection (County 15), half mile east
Tuesday, July 15
7 p.m.
Wanzek Dairy--Dwane & Joan Wanzek I-94 exit 242 west of Jamestown, south over interstate, west half mile, south two miles, south entrance
Wednesday, July 16
7 p.m.
Hoff Dairy--Harvey & Janel Hoff Richardton exit 84 on I-94, south 4.75 miles on Highway 8, half mile west on 42nd Street and a quarter mile north
The program will begin with a short tour or
activity followed by a member of the Task Force sharing the vision statement. This will be
followed with your input and helpful suggestions to
improve the future of dairying for your family and the state.
In approximately two hours, with your help, we can embark on a brighter future for the industry we
love. MDA will sponsor milk, coffee, ice cream and cookies.
Review the vision statement below before coming to the meeting. Remember to think about it figuratively and don't be too quick to criticize. Review it as a vision, and help devise a work plan to get there. Together, positive things can happen.
Our vision for North Dakota 20 years from now is...
See you at one of the farmyard socials and a special thanks to our host farms for contributing to this effort.
Regards,
J.W. Schroeder
Extension Specialist-Dairy
Approximately 50 percent of the profit per lactation is generated in the first 100 days of lactation. During this period, the return per feed dollar is usually 3:1, in contrast to late lactation when it is approximately 1:1.
A goal of the reproductive management program should be to have the cow spend as much of her life in the early phase of lactation as possible. Thus, it is critical that the reproductive management program focus on getting a large percent of the cows pregnant quickly after the voluntary waiting period (VWP) so the majority of the cows will spend a sufficient proportion of their lives in early lactation.
We derived equations and obtained estimates of financial benefits for various pregnancy rates (PR) with interactions of milk yield, calving, culling for reproductive failure and days open. Improvement in milk production due to reduction in days open was dependent on days in milk, peak milk production and the monthly rate of decline in daily milk. Costs per day open were calculated to be 50 cents for 100 days, $1.42 for 130 days, $2.99 for 160 days and $4.52 for 175 days. A comparison of a visual heat detection program (16 percent PR — approximate average for DHI herds in Virginia) with three commonly used synchronization protocols (OvSynch, PreSynch and HeatSynch) revealed the following.
Unadjusted cost per pregnancy (out-of-pocket cost) was lowest for the visual heat detection program at $55.40 with the three synchronization protocols ranging from $78.59 for PreSynch to $69.87 for HeatSynch. The number of reproductive culls showed an advantage to the synchronization protocols with visual heat detection resulting in a 10.8 percent cull rate or 37 or the 250 cows not pregnant by 300 days in milk. In contrast, the three synchronization protocols had a similar culling rate of 6.4 percent or 16 of the 250 original cows failing to conceive by 300 days in milk.
The adjusted cost per pregnancy, which included cost of extended days in milk and cows removed because of failure to conceive by 300 days, was $298.35 for the visual heat detection program, $123.46 for HeatSynch, $115.39 for OvSynch and $110.49 for each pregnancy obtained using the PreSynch protocol. OvSynch protocol developed in the mid-1990s allowed for the first timed artificial insemination (TAI) program that obtain conception rates similar to those of cows artificially inseminated to detected estrus. Modifications of the OvSynch protocol to maximize cows between day 5 and 12 of the estrous cycle (PreSynch) have shown a further enhancement in conception rates to TAI.
HeatSynch is a less expensive alternative to PreSynch; however, it requires heat detection and may not work in anovulatory cows. For best results, visual heat detection should be conducted between initial synchronization on first service and resynchronization of cows not detected 18 to 24 days post AI. Pregnancy diagnosis at 33 days allows for accurate determination without a high early post detection embryonic death loss experienced with earlier ultrasonic imaging. All three protocols reduced days open and increased PR with no significant economic advantage of one protocol over the other.
Source: R.L. Nebel, Extension Dairy Scientist, Virginia Tech Dairy Pipeline
With milk prices at 1970s levels, it's a good time to consider the fertilizer value of dairy manure. On the average, about half of the nitrogen (N) in slurry dairy manure is in the ammonia form, the other half is organic N. Much of the ammonia N from fall 2002 manure applications is gone, and only part of the organic N in fall-allied manure will be available for this year's crop. For instance, if last fall we applied 6,000 gallons of manure with 30 percent N/1,000 gallons, that's 180 lbs. total N x 30 percent = 48 lbs. of N available to this year's crop. In addition, a small amount of organic N from prior years will be available.
The situation is somewhat better with phosphorus and potassium, since they don't leach or volatilize. Availability of manure P and K is about as good as the P and K in commercial fertilizer. In fact, research has found that because so much of manure K is in the urine, the availability of K in slurry manure may be greater than that in 0-0-60.
Don't think in terms of tons or gallons of manure per acre; have your manure tested, punch a few buttons on your calculator, and think in terms of pounds of manure N-P-K per acre, because that's what you're applying.
Source: E. Thomas, W.H. Miner Farm Report
How do I use bulk tank culture results to reduce my cell count?
– When looking for contagious organisms, take multiple bulk tank samples over three to four days.
– There is usually an 85 to 90 percent correlation between the numbers of bacteria in the bulk tank and the number of cows infected — but not always. To know how many and which cows are infected, you may need to test individual cow milk samples.
– Improve cow preparation. Target teat ends for cleaning.
– Improve bedding management. Groom sand stalls at each milking or clean and add fresh bedding to the back one-third of the stall daily.
– Reduce overcrowding of animals in a pen.
– Improve postmilking teat dip coverage. Be sure to consistently cover 80 percent of the teat.
Bulk tank culture do's and don'ts:
Source: R. Bey and R. Farnsworth, University of Minnesota
Growth stage (maturity) at harvest is the primary factor affecting forage quality of alfalfa hay. Rain on down hay is the second most important. Generally, forage quality decreases as the maturity stage increases, but we know the quality of hay harvested at a given maturity stage will vary depending on whether it is a first or later harvest, in different years and by the amount of grass in the hay. Therefore, what is the best stage to harvest alfalfa in order to obtain high-quality or prime hay? This is not an easy question to answer. My predecessors recommended harvesting alfalfa at 10 percent bloom in the 1960s and I followed this for most of the 1970s. In the 1980s and early 1990s, I recommended harvesting the first harvest at no later than late bud and the second and third by 10 percent bloom. I now believe that following these recommendations results in harvesting the first harvest too late and the second and third harvests too early!
In 1995, we initiated an alfalfa management experiment primarily with the objective to evaluate if management (harvesting sequence) caused alfalfa varieties to respond differently. We harvested 12 varieties under four management systems (MS): 1) four cuts at mid bud, late bud, 10 percent bloom and following a killing frost based on Dormancy Level (DL) 2 varieties (similar to the way we manage our varietal trials); 2) three early cuts at late bud, 10 percent bloom and 10 percent bloom for each variety, 3) late three cuts at 10 percent bloom, 25-50 percent bloom and 25-50 percent bloom, and 4) MS 2 plus a fall harvest at >20 percent bloom.
Relative feed value (RFV) of Magnum IV alfalfa by management system is represented in Table 1. The highest RFV in the first harvest was 133 when harvested at late bud. Note that MS 1 was slightly less in RFV even though it was harvested at mid bud based on DL 2 varieties (Magnum IV is about two days earlier in maturity than DL 2 varieties and was in late bud stage also). Alfalfa harvested at 10 percent bloom in the first harvest had an RFV of only 118. Obviously, late bud in the first harvest is too late to harvest prime hay (RFV = >151).
Relative feed value of second-, third- and fourth-crop hay was all quite high (Table 1). Note that MS 3, which was harvested at 25 percent bloom, had an RFV of 208 to 212 in the second and third harvests. Obviously, this treatment could have been harvested later and still obtain prime hay. We know that forage yield increases with advancing maturity adding from 0.3 to 0.5 tons/acre under good moisture conditions when harvested at 30-50 percent bloom compared with harvesting at late bud. Therefore, I believe that we generally harvest the second and third harvest too early and could wait to more advanced maturity stages for the higher yield potential and still expect to have prime hay.
Table 1. Relative feed value of `Magnum IV' alfalfa
by management system in 1996.
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Management System Cut 1 Cut 2 Cut 3 Cut 4
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1 129 186 201 303
2 127 226 212
3 118 208 212
4 133 222 229 318
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Crude protein content in the hay followed the
RFV story (Table 2). Prime hay should have >20
percent crude protein. Crude protein was <20 percent in
all management systems in the first harvest, but
>20 percent in all management systems in the
second, third and fourth harvests. Note the loss in
crude protein from MS 1 to MS 4 in Cut 4. MS 4 was taken
at 20-25 percent bloom while MS 1 was taken following
a killing frost. Waiting until after a killing frost
allows translocation of some of the protein to the root
system, which is important in winter hardiness, but it
reduces the protein content of the hay.
Table 2. Crude protein of `Magnum IV' alfalfa by
management system in 1996.
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Management System Cut 1 Cut 2 Cut 3 Cut 4
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- - - % of dry weight - - -
1 18.0 20.0 23.5 21.6
2 17.9 21.8 24.3
3 16.0 21.4 21.8
4 18.1 21.2 24.9 26.7
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Table 3. Forage quality of alfalfa standing in the field
estimated by PEAQ.
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Stage of most mature stem
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Height of Late Early Late Early Late
tallest stem vegetative bud bud flower flower
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inches - - - - - - relative feed value - - - - -
16 234 220 208 196 186
20 213 210 191 181 171
25 191 181 172 163 155
30 173 164 156 148 141
35 156 149 142 135 129
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Why is the quality of second- and third-harvest
hay at mid bloom equal or better than hay harvested
at mid bud in the first harvest? The alfalfa plant
grown under cool, spring conditions remains
vegetative longer than when grown under warm,
summer conditions. As a result, alfalfa in the first
harvest grows longer (about 42 days to mid bud)
compared with 28 to 30 days to late bud in the second and
third harvests. The longer growing period allows the
plant to grow taller, which requires the plant to lay
down more fiber and lignin attempting to keep the
plant standing up. This lowers forage quality rapidly.
Dr. Ken Albrecht at the U.S. Dairy Lab in Madison, Wisc., developed the PEAQ (prediction equations for alfalfa quality) system, which estimates the quality of alfalfa standing in the field. The PEAQ system relies on two components: the stage of development of the most mature stem and the height of the tallest stem. Whether you use this system is your decision, but the height of stem can be used to help determine what maturity at which harvest should begin. Note that the PEAQ system estimates forage quality of standing alfalfa, you must plan for at least a loss of 25 to 30 RFV points from harvesting losses and must begin harvesting by 175 to 180 RFV. That means harvest must begin in the late vegetative stage if the alfalfa s >30 inches or it can wait until the late flower stage if <16 inches in height. Alfalfa in the first harvest typically will be taller than 30 inches while alfalfa in the third harvest more typically is <20 inches even under irrigated conditions.
In summary, use the height of stem (canopy) to adjust the optimum maturity at which alfalfa harvest should be done in order to obtain prime hay. Generally, cut the first harvest earlier (at late vegetative to early bud) and the second and third harvests later (late bud to 10 percent bloom in the second harvest depending on growth and 20 to 50 percent bloom in the third harvest).
Source: D.W. Meyer, Professor, AES Plant Sciences, NDSU
When farmers were asked in an Ohio State University survey what's important when considering relocating to a new area, the following were the top five issues:
Got milk? Apparently many teen-aged girls don't have enough. A new study by Agricultural Research Service nutritionist Shanthy A. Bowman, based on survey data, notes that milk consumption decreases as adolescent girls grow older. Out of 732 girls aged 12 through 19 years, the 12-year-olds had the highest milk intake, with 78 percent drinking milk. The 12-year-olds also had the lowest soda intake — nine ounces on a given day.
Conversely, the 19-year olds had the lowest milk intake, with only 36 percent drinking milk, and a high soda intake of 14 ounces a day. Those who did not drink milk at all had inadequate intakes of vitamin A, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium, the last three of which are most important for building strong bones.
The study is based on an analysis of dietary data taken from USDA's Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals for the years 1994-1996. The data are collected and managed by ARS, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.
Another trend noted in the study is also of concern. Bowman analyzed data from staggered USDA Nationwide Food Consumption Surveys spanning four decades. From the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, milk intakes for adolescent girls aged 12 to 19 years as a whole decreased by 36 percent, while intakes of sodas and fruit drinks nearly doubled. Although other beverages were also consumed, the mean soda consumption far exceeded that of other beverages.
At a time when school districts are
reevaluating whether to continue offering sodas, the report
urges school food service providers to make low fat
and nonfat milk prominently available. Bowman also encourages those who do not enjoy milk to
seek calcium-fortified foods, such as juices, cereals and
soy products. A calcium content listing of 1,145 foods
is available online by going
to:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR15/wtrank/25_rank.html
Need your help!
If you can't measure it, you cannot manage it. This is sound advice for managers, but it is also important to the goals of the North Dakota Dairy Task Force. That's why the Task Force needs your help.
We need to gather some baseline information — an accurate accounting of our resources (both human and facilities) — as well as your long-range plans. To accomplish this, I am conducting a series of short surveys on behalf of the Task Force. The first one will be mailed soon.
Thanks in advance for your help. Your data will remain confidential and will be only summarized with the others.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call:
- J.W. Schroeder (701) 231-7663
- Gary Hoffman (701) 974-3973
- Lori Capouch (701) 663-6501
- Jerry Messer (701) 974-3973
Dairy Connection -- Vol. 13, No. 2, July 2003
NDSU Extension Service, North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Science, and U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. Sharon D. Anderson, Director, Fargo, North Dakota. Distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914. We offer our programs and facilities to all persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, Vietnam era veterans status, or sexual orientation; and are an equal opportunity employer. This publication will be made available in alternative formats for people with disabilities upon request, 701/231-7881.
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