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New Dairy Cattle Nutrition, Management May Improve Production, Profit

Learn the latest information in dairy nutrition and management at the 2021 Four-State Dairy Nutrition and Management Conference to be held June 9 and 10. The virtual platform will include interaction and discussion between participants and speakers. 

On June 9, University of Illinois animal science professor Jim Drakley will explaining a new system for determining the nutrient requirements of young dairy calves. Bill Weiss, Ohio State University, will discuss updated energy systems for dairy cows. Following both presentations, the two experts will join nutritionists in a panel discussion on the future of feeding cows. 

On June 10, Jesse Goff of Iowa State University and Laura Hernandez of University of Wisconsin will discuss hypocalcemia treatment and prevention. Kan Kalscheur, USDA Forage Research Center, will show how to improve lactation performance using high digestible forage. Luiz Ferreretto, University of Wisconsin, will discuss corn silage fiber digestibility.

All presentations are pre-recorded and available to participants before the conference. Speakers will provide a live 5-minute summary, followed by a 45- to 60-minute question and discussion period. Recordings will be available for 45 days following the conference.

Select breakout topics include:

  • Lackluster calves: Using lung ultrasound to identify a “calories-out” problem
  • Interpretation and use of new passive immunity guidelines
  • Optimizing the use of sexed semen
  • Nutritional strategies for alleviating heat stress in dairy cows
  • Dairy heifer coccidiosis research with novel egg antibodies and essential oils
  • Using summer-to-winter ratios to evaluate summer slump
  • What is happening in the gut in the scouring calf and effective fluid therapy
  • Mineral bioavalability

For details and to register, one may visit fourstatedairy.org/ or contact Jim Salfer at salfe001@umn.edu, 320-203-6093. The conference registration fee is $100. This conference is a collaborative effort of Iowa State University Extension, University of Illinois Extension, University of Minnesota Extension, and University of Wisconsin-Extension.

If you will need an accommodation in order to participate, please contact Salfer.

Source : illinois.edu

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Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way



Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

We're a 6th generation family farm in southeast Iowa showing the real ups and downs of pig farming and row crop farming. No script, just the work. Subscribe and follow along.

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