World Dairy Diary

Great Lakes Manure Expo Encourages You to “Keep It In the Root Zone”

Three land-grant universities are cooperating to teach and demonstrate effective, efficient, and sustainable manure handling strategies this July. Michigan State University, Purdue University, and The Ohio State University are working with the Midwest Professional Nutrient Applicators Association to host the 2006 Great Lakes Manure Handling Expo July 27th in St. Johns, MI.

Ranging from the Economics of Manure to Odor Control and Composting, speakers from five states will present the latest in research and application, with a number of presentations focusing on issues specific to the dairy industry, such as bedding innovations.

No registration fee is required, and lunch will be available. You can download the promotional flyer, or visit the event’s information website to learn more about the Expo.

As Temperatures Rise, So Does Alfalfa Weevil Feeding

Scouting for field crop insects is not just left to corn and soybean growers. Now is the time for alfalfa producers to begin scouting their fields for alfalfa weevil, an insect that can cause severe defoliation if left unchecked.

Many areas across the country have warmed up enough to where alfalfa weevil feeding will become more prevalent. Growers in the South should be scouting fields now, and in the central and northern cornbelt, being scouting fields over the next one to two weeks.

Ohio State University research entomologist Ron Hammond notes that “alfalfa weevil feeding is tied to temperatures. The need for scouting is especially true in southern counties where heat unit accumulation has reached the 300 heat units needed for egg hatch and beginning feeding. Remember that fields that have a south-facing slope tend to warm up sooner and need to be checked for weevil earlier.”

To effectively scout alfalfa fields, entomologists recommend that growers collect a series of three 10-stem randomly selected samples from various locations in a field. Place the stems in a bucket and vigorously shake them, counting the number of alfalfa larvae that fall into the bucket. The height of the alfalfa also should be recorded.

“Economic threshold is based on the number of larvae per stem, the size of the larvae and the height of the alfalfa,” Hammond said. “The detection of one or more large larvae per stem on alfalfa that is 12 inches or less in height indicates a need for rescue treatment. Where alfalfa is between 12 and 16 inches in height, the action threshold should be increased to two to four larvae per stem depending on the vigor of alfalfa growth.”

The adult alfalfa weevil is a small, brown, snout-nosed beetle with a dark stripe down its back. The alfalfa weevil larva is green with a black head and a white stripe down its back. The larvae develop through four stages, or instars. Larvae that are in their third or fourth instar cause the most foliar injury. First cuttings of alfalfa are at the highest risk for defoliation damage.

“Fields that are severely defoliated are left with a brown or bronze appearance,” Hammond said. “Once you see it you don’t forget it.”

The alfalfa weevil is controlled naturally by parasitoids — beneficial species that prey on the weevil and help keep its populations in check. In cases of high populations, the alfalfa weevil can be controlled with insecticides.

Iowa State Groundbreaking Planned

Iowa State University is about to break ground on a new project. It looks like we’re all invited.

Iowa State University invites you to a groundbreaking ceremony at 2:30 p.m., Saturday, April 22, 2006, for the new Dairy/Animal Science Education and Discovery Facility south of Ames. Make plans to attend and learn how this state-of-the-art facility will enhance dairy science education, research and extension at Iowa State. The program will begin promptly at 2:30, followed by a reception at ISU’s Ag450 Farm classroom located just across the road and a quarter mile to the west.

For more information, call (515) 294-6022 or e-mail dkenealy@iastate.edu.

What Are You Feeding Your Cows?

How well do you know your nutrition program? Are you squeezing every drop of potential production out of your milking string? I just read an article discussing how your profitability will suffer if you either over or under estimate forage requirements for your herd. With that in mind, you might consider making plans to join me in Fort Wayne later this Spring.

Purdue, Michigan State, and The Ohio State University invite you to the 15th Annual Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference at the Grand Wayne Convention Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Universities are joined by experts from a whole host of University and industry areas of expertise. The Conference, held April 25 & 26, will feature discussions on nutrition and animal health, ration formulation and forages, and nutrition and the environment. The overall theme of the conference, “New Developments in Dairy Nutrition and Feeding Systems,” will be extremely relevent because of the impact of dairy farms and dairy nutrition on the environment and the public perception of agriculture.

Some specific session topics include feeding corn disteller grains and the maximum inclusion rate, recent research on energy intake and reproduction, digestibility of fat supplements, in-vivo digestibility of forages, and starch digestibility of corn and corn silage. Speakers will hail from Cornell, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Illinois, Elanco, USDA, Utah State, South Dakota State, K-State, Penn State, and Virginia Tech.

Registration is $130, and is due by April 7th.

Monsanto and UC Promise to Play Nice

On the very day the patent infringement trial was to begin, Monsanto Company announced they had reached a licensing agreement with the University of California resolving a dispute over bovine somatotropin or BST. Monsanto markets BST under the brand name Posilac, but the product was patented by UC back in 2004. BST, of course, is used to enhance milk production and efficiency of dairy operations.

Under the terms of the agreement, Monsanto has exclusive commercial rights to manufacture BST. The University, meanwhile, retains non-commercial rights for research and educational purposes. The University agreed to drop the lawsuit, and in exchange, Monsanto agreed to pay the University $100 million in royalties upfront, with an ongoing royalty of 15 cents per dose of Posilac sold through the expiration of the patent in 2023. The University will be paid a minimum $5 million in those royalties regardless of how many doses Monsanto sells. That means the company will have to sell over 33.3 million doses just to cross that threshold.

Monsanto’s Executive Vice President for North America Commercial Operations Carl Casale pointed out that “this agreement illustrates that we are willing to work jointly to resolve disputes, and it allows us to avoid the expense and inconvenience of protracted litigation.

Nitrogen Cost Management Tools Are Available

If you raise your own corn, either for grain or silage, you’re probably giving a lot of thought to how much more money you are going to be spending this year on nitrogen. As the cost of all our energy inputs have ebbed and flowed, Nitrogen costs are the one input no expected to soften, even as Natural Gas prices have retreated to more reasonable levels. To assist in planning your application rates, there are two great new tools available. The first is a Nitrogen Energy Estimator available at USDA’s website. This energy consumption tool enables you to calculate the cost of nitrogen product use on your farm. NRCS agronomists have developed these cost estimates based on nitrogen fertilizer management methods for the predominant crops in your state.

The second tool is available from The Ohio State University. They have developed a Nitrogen rate calculator that figures your application rate based on both desired yield AND both the cost of Nitrogen couple with the price of corn at which you will market. The combination provides for maximum efficiency by taking into account the profit potential of the crop and balancing those concerns at the time of application. OSU Extension soil scientist Robert Mullen commented that “Historically, we’ve treated excess nitrogen as cheap crop insurance. While that used to be the case, it’s not true any more.”

Each calculator is customized to your geography, and allows you to input several variables to get the most specific recommendation possible.

Perennial Lactation – Keeping Cows In Milk Longer

The typical dairy cycle is for a producing cow to enter a dry period from between 45 and 60 days prior to calving. That cycle, however, may not be the most profitable production practice available. Dr. David Zartman, Professor Emeritus at The Ohio State University’s Department of Animal Sciences recently released an article examining the concept of perennial lactation – a lactation lasting over two full years, and in several cases, three and four years without a dry period. I spoke with Dr. Zartman on the subject, and you can listen to his comments here: David Zartman Interview (8:54 mp3 file)

Low Quality Silage May Turn Your Cow’s Stomachs

From Mr. Buckeye Ag Radio Network himself, Andy Vance.

Animal health experts want you to get poor quality silage out of your cows’ diet. Not only because of the lower nutritive value, but because it could kill them. Literally. Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center microbiologist Dr. Jeffrey LeJeune said this week that listeriosis can be caused by such poor silage. What veterinarians often refer to as circling disease because of a common reaction in affected cows, listeriosis is technically caused by Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium found on plants, in the soil, and in natural waterways. Studies have found the bacterium isolated in manure from dozens of species, and the bacterium is often present without symptom.

Dr. LeJeune says for the most part, exposure to the bacterium is harmless, but “using feed that has been inadequately ensiled and does not reach an acidic pH of less than 5 can pose a problem.” He says that under such conditions, “Listeria naturally present on the feedstuffs can slowly multiply in storage, resulting in a large number of organisms accumulating in feed by late winter and early spring.”

Listeria often presents itself with the symptomatic circling pattern many affected cows walk, but also can lead to late-term abortions, mastitis, and other conditions. Dr. LeJeune suggests that if you experience death loss and suspect listeria, save samples from the deadstock for veterinary analysis and confirmation. To prevent the disease, he suggests taking “precautions when silage is chopped and packed to make sure it reaches the appropriate pH conditions.”

Cheesemaking Classes At WSU

Have you ever wanted to become a cheese maker? Me, I just like to eat cheese. Any kind of cheese too. If you live in the northwest you can take a course at Washington State University.

There’s the 2nd Annual Farmstead/Artisan Cheesemaking Course, February 21-23, 2006, Portland, OR – “Designed for farmstead and small business operators interested in learning or improving cheesemaking procedures and processes.”

Or

There’s the 21st Annual Washington State University Cheesemaking Shortcourse, March 6-9, 2006, Pullman, WA – “Designed for experienced cheesemakers, supervisory, management, quality control and marketing personnel from commercial/industrial plants.”

You can see more information about the courses and how to register here.

Go Online For Dairy Certificate

The University of Illinois is offering an online series of training modules as part of their Dairy Certificate Program. The next one kicks off at the end of this month. You can find out more here.

The Dairy Certificate Program in Dairy Science includes a series of structured courses delivered by the Internet using an interactive course delivery system and supplemented by CDROM modules.

AnSc 499: Milk Secretion, Mastitis, and Quality
Time: Tuedays, 7:00-8:00 pm (CST)
Starts: January 31, 2006
Ends: April 18, 2006

Registration