Va. Dairy Conferences Keep Farmers Up To Date CAY BROWNLEE Virginia Correspondent DAYTON, Va. At the Mon tezuma Hall on Dec. 11, a group of dairy farmers that gathered for the 2003 Valley Dairy Confer ence heard in-depth information from Virginia Tech representa tives and guest speaker, Phillip Jardon, from West Central Soy, Ralston, lowa. The local conference was third in a series of five being conducted in the state. The four other events scheduled were in Southwest Vir ginia, Rocky Mount, Farmville, and Culpeper. The topics presented included the latest studies relating to nu trition and management of dry cows, monitoring anionic salt programs by urine pH, shorter dry periods, mastitis control, se lecting sires for daughter preg nancy rate, and manipulation of light (photoperiod) to increase milk in lactating dairy cows. Also, farm management when milk prices are low, farm efficien cy in difficult times, and manag ing finances well in difficult times were also on the agenda. Speakers included Dr. Steve Nickerson, head of the Virginia Tech Department of Dairy Sci ence. When he discussed new de velopments in mastitis control, everyone was listening. Nickerson said the association of bulk tank somatic cell count with herd mastitis status and re sults in financial losses to the tune of $lBO per cow every year. At that rate, a small herd of 50 head will generate an annual loss well above $9,000. When the herd is comprised of 400 cows, the losses climb to $72,408. “Its a very expensive disease,” Nickerson said. “We need to do all we can to decrease the somatic cell count.” , In addressing the problem,-dry cow therapy has a number of ad- Stainless Steel Sorter Scales C-Central Software The only system that ties everything together Following the 2003 Valley Dairy Conference Jerry Swisher, left, from Fairfield, and Dennis Showalter, a dairy farmer from Montezuma, discuss relevant topics. Photo by Gay Brownlee, Virginia correspondent. vantages. It reduces the IMI dur ing early dry-off, reduces infec tion at calving, cure rate is higher than lactation, tissue may rede velop before calving, clinical mas titis at calving is reduced, and antibiotic contamination is mini mal. While exterior teat sealants for deterring bacteria may look good on the surface, Nickerson said they dont really work. Those who are using the teatseal product Or beSeal in conjunction with dry cow therapy, however, are defi nitely on the side of prevention, he said. “1 always say treat with a dry cow product and follow with Or beSeal,” Nickerson said, assuring those present that the product is officially approved for organic use. “ Basically, we are looking at prevention during the dry peri od.” Nickerson said. He also said that with heifer mastitis, flies are definitely in volved. “Heifers are our future cows. me’s merit Hogs \\ Weve got to take care of them.” Phillip W. Jardon spent con siderable time discussing the nu trition and management of dry cows the rumen, immune sys tem, normal calcium levels, and positive energy balance. He also discussed the high (bad), low (good), and variable DCAD (dietary cation-anion dif ference). in feeds. Jardon said that sometimes farmers over-fertilize fields. “In general, we put too much emphasis on alfalfa,’’ Jardon said. “Cows like grass and 1 like grass in a close-up diet. It has a good scratch factor.” “Even experts disagree,” he said, about the controversy over fiber content in the diet of a close-up cow. “We dont have it figured out, although we think we do.” Jardon also referred to a recent article, “Shorter Dry Periods Look Good,” written by Robin Rastani and Ric Grummer, in Hoards Dairyman (December 2003) and copied with permis sion. During a break in the con ference, dairyman Dale 0 0 Srg* For All Your Concrete \rj\ \VX V s tt» c - Wa,k And \\ Construction Needs Agriculture - Residential - Commercial Invest In Concrete, Quality Work That Will last A Lifetime CALL FOR FREE ESTIMATES CONTACT AND SEE HOW AFFORDABLE ROY SENSENIG CONCRETE WALLS CAN BE 717 -355-0726 Authorized Dealer For Keystone Concrete Products © fP) E [l © E CONCRETE r WALLS, INC. Heatwole from Dayton said that he was interested primarily in learning about close-up and dry cow management for his mixed herd of 60 Holstein and Brown Swiss cows. “I would like to try some Orbe- Seal in the teats of a dry cow, and shorten the dry period 111 be doing more of that,” he said. “Im going to try dry-treating heifers before they freshen,” Heatwole said. Bennet Cassell, extension dain scientist in genetics and manage ment, covered the gamut of in formation relating to sire selec tion in regard to daughter pregnancy rate (PR). This covered fertility, genetics, breeding values, and selection programs to reduce the costs of production. Manipulation of photoperiod to increase milk yield in lactating cows was a topic Iris D. Peeler discussed. Peeler is a masters de gree student in the Vermont De partment of Dairy Science. She referred to a number of sources supporting her presenta tion and concluded that b> sim ply manipulating light (a long day of 16 hours light and eight hours dark, for example) is a sim ple and cost-effective way for dairies of all sizes to increase milk yield in lactating dairy cat tle. The light technology that is se lected should be as close as possi ble to natural light. Aaron Musick addressed the issue of how to manage the dairy farm when milk prices are low. Musick is the herd manager at the Tifton Research Station, Uni versity of Georgia. He defined a good manager and talked about short and long term planning, noting the specific issues that are entailed in sound management practices. The dairy business person must have intimate knowledge of his/her operation, past and pres- 601 Overly Grove Rd.,New Holland,PA 17557 Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 27, 2003-A33 ent, before he/she can plan its fu ture. Facilities, diary animals, equipment, employee relations, and financial accounts (business and personal) are all part of the picture. Maintaining a records system accurately is essential to a suc cessful operation. Professor Ronald E. Pearson, the Vermont Department of Dairy Science, in his presentation on managing dairy operations in difficult times, said “The extreme fluctuations in milk price accen tuate the need to use times of higher price to pay down debt, improve efficiency, and stockpile cash to survive the next down turn.” When problems arise they first have to be identified and the cause of them diagnosed. Alter native solutions must be examin ed, followed by the decision about how to solve the problem. Form a tactical plan about who does what, when, where. Last, follow up to determine if progress has been made. “You have to go back and check if the problems are solved,” Pearson said. The financial aspect of man agement was covered by Gordon Groover, the Vermont extension economist. “Critical decisions are made when times are good. When times are good, thats when you set the stage foi whats going to come back and haunt you,” Groover said. Groover said farmers need to understand why they farm and they need to learn how to focus on the opportunities rather than the problems. The conference was hosted by Alan Grove, extension dairy agent working out of the Rock ingham Extension office and Tina Horn, extension dairy agent from the Augusta Extension of fice. 0 m
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