Mold can grow on your feed, but it won’t grow on you

Veterinarians from across Minnesota and the upper Midwest gathered recently at the University of Minnesota for the Minnesota Dairy Health Conference. Just one of the two days of speakers was Lon Whitlow of North Carolina State University. He shared why we should pay attention to our practices and, more specifically, our feed in order to prevent the growth of molds that produce detrimental mycotoxins. “It’s the low levels of mycotoxins over long periods of time that will cost producers the most,” Whitlow said.

Many producers first realize they have a mycotoxin problem if milk production drops substantially or a cow dies. However, Whitlow says that continuous low levels present in feed can take a cut out of your milk check. Another speaker at the conference, Jeremy Schefers, shared what cows and brewmasters have in common. That commonality was that the quality of the end product could be impacted heavily by the presence of mold. He recommends finding a reputable, cost-effective forage-testing lab that will test for molds to see if you are being challenged with mycotoxins.

Another topic at the conference we thought was really interesting was the topic of stockmanship. Paul Rapnicki of the University of Minnesota presented a how-to of calm cow handling and key concepts of Bud Williams, a well-known educator on low-stress livestock handling. Learn more at the Bud Williams website here.

Midwest Manure Summit at Lambeau Field

Capturing and managing the value in your farm’s waste stream was the focus of the Midwest Manure Summit held March 24 and 25, 2009, at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wis. Two full days of featured speakers educated producers, consultants, and others interested in manure management. Optional tours of the historic Lambeau Field were also a popular draw of the conference.

Frank Mitloehner of University of California-Davis took several questions after his discussion on odor management. Mitloehner described mitigation strategies for reducing odor on farms, as well as his experiences with projects on UC-Davis’ campus, and a village in Germany that will, and have, reduced odors. Both of these systems generated power through the use of methane digestion, and the German village is now off of the power grid.

Another speaker, Keri Cantrell of the USDA-ARS in South Carolina, outlined research on emerging technologies that turn waste into energy and are not yet commercially available. Instead of methane digestion, Cantrell described a potential for thermo-chemical conversions such as pyrolysis. Pyrolysis could greatly reduce hauling involved with typical manure management and produce a product known as bio-char which could be used as a soil amendment. If implemented, these technologies have the potential to allow farms to expand animal units without adding land needed for nutrient management planning.

Proceedings of the entire conference are expected to be available online shortly on the Midwest Manure Summit website.

All systems are go for Western Dairy Management Conference

The curtain rises in just 9 days on the dairy industry's largest educational event and it's already clear that the economic slowdown isn't going to derail things at all.

The 9th installment of the Western Dairy Management Conference runs March 11 to 13 in Reno, Nevada, and conference organizers say preregistrations are well over 1,000 so far. Total attendance is expected to be around 1,400 (versus 1,700 in 2007), which is a strong turnout at a time when milk prices are dipping to 1978 levels.

Two dozen different presentations will be made at the conference, all geared specifically for producers and focused to provide practical, "take home" management tips and information. In addition, a special "Dairy Issues" presentation will be made March 12 by Dairy Management, Inc., that will look at consumer perceptions about dairying and how it operates.

The conference will also feature dozens of hospitality events by industry companies and organizations the evening before the conference begins and at night the first two days. These will be in addition to two major receptions – one on opening night hosted by Pfizer Animal Health and the other the second night by Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health.

This second event will feature a presentation by a world-famous expert on global food issues, Dennis Avery. Here's a prediction for anyone who has never heard him speak: You'll leave the room feeling proud and excited about owning dairy cows. You don't want to miss it.