by cmonson | Dec 1, 2019 | Uncategorized
Growing degree days aren’t perfect, but they are a more reliable way of predicting when a crop will mature than looking at the calendar.There are many ways to figure growing degrees, but unless you like to use an app or a computer spreadsheet, it’s...
by cmonson | Dec 1, 2019 | Uncategorized
Flies thrive in humid weather and we have had plenty of that this summer! The real issue with flies-other than being annoying-is that they spread bacteria cow to cow. Flies have been linked to spreading several types of “summer mastitis” and have even been...
by cmonson | May 30, 2019 | Uncategorized
So far, spring has been as rough as this winter.The alfalfa killed out-in some places, nearly 100%. It didn’t seem to matter much if you had left stubble or not-no sense beating yourself up about that. We’re going to be feeding a lot of different kinds of...
by cmonson | Dec 5, 2018 | Uncategorized
When you compare values in feeds, you need the whole picture-instead of just one component-like the crude protein. Based on crude protein alone, canola would need to be $63.00 per ton cheaper than soybean meal-just to break even, as soy is typically a 46% CP feed...
by cmonson | Sep 17, 2018 | Uncategorized
Hopefully, if you haven’t chopped some corn silage already, you’ll most likely be starting soon. You know, from past experience, that the best, high-powered corn silage needs some time to ferment-up to 4 months for the kernels to soften-processed or not. But it was a...
by cmonson | Aug 14, 2018 | Uncategorized
It is probably not a big surprise that the relative feed values are lower than hoped on the first crop this year. The stuff grew so darn fast! When it grows fast, it tends to put on more stem than leaves, lowering the feed value. The good news is that this...
by cmonson | Aug 14, 2018 | Uncategorized
So far, the corn looks great, but can I tell you something? The thumb rule for chopping corn silage is approximately 50 days after tasseling. For the corn that tasseled around the Fourth of July, that means the corn could be ready for chopping around August 23! At the...
by cmonson | May 29, 2018 | Uncategorized
I don’t have to tell you that this has been a tough winter. You’ve lived it. You’ve cut corners and hunkered down. You are probably doing everything you can to cut costs and improve your bottom line. Maybe. Calling these rules might be a little...
by cmonson | Apr 18, 2018 | Uncategorized
Prolonged cold has some strange effects on both us and the cows-a little like heat stress in reverse. And cows don’t adjust immediately when the weather gets a little warmer, either. Now that the cold is over (I’m hopeful!), we can talk about what to...
by cmonson | Jan 15, 2018 | Uncategorized
Right now, a lot of farms are in the middle of “fall freshening”. Having a good dry cow program is crucial to getting a cow starting out right and headed for peak milk. Dry cow programs vary a lot-everything from fully acidified to a simple...
