HIGH OLEIC SOYBEANS: THE FEED OF THE FUTURE?

Business-focused dairies are wired to think in terms of controlling costs per hundredweight. This mindset is no different than those managing businesses that manufacture tractors, air conditioners, or sneakers. Producing more is irrelevant if we’re not economically efficient in doing so.

Regardless of markets or economic conditions in the dairy industry, dairy owners and managers should continually ask themselves these questions:

How can we improve feed efficiency?

How can we increase components and milk production?

How can we decrease feed cost?

How can we minimize stress?

Volatility: friend or foe?

From labor, to equipment, to dairy supplies, to feed availability, and even prices — volatility is a new normal for us to manage in our dairy businesses. Some have cast volatility in a negative light. However, with change comes opportunity! Remain steadfast in seeking the positive with the undeniably changing dairy business landscape ahead. Despite volatility and changes, there are exciting times ahead for our dairy industry. Consumers throughout the world continue to demand more nutritious dairy protein and butterfat, and our industry is poised to deliver!

With livestock feed prices on the rise, many farmers will be looking for ways to reduce input costs. While there may be opportunities to trim unnecessary spending, University of Illinois’ Mike Hutjens cautioned farms against making cuts that will impact milk production.

The busyness of the summer season is finally over, but it has some producers staring out into their fields wondering what they need to do to help stretch their feed inventories throughout the fall and winter.

Because feed costs can represent 50 percent of the total cost to produce milk, dairy farmers are trying to reduce feed costs. However, with the wrong feed choices, farmers could save 10 cents a day while losing 50 cents of income. Several “Golden Rules” are listed below; do not break these rules.

The feed costs for dry cows and heifers can influence the cash flow as much as the lactating cow. This is particularly true if forage inventories are lacking. The feed costs per nonlactating animal can be very close to what the market is reflecting. This is due to feeding both purchased forage and grain. Examining feeding strategies for all animal groups is warranted considering the continued high feed costs in 2021.

The protein content of milk has become much more important in recent years. This reflects its higher value to dairy farmers due to the continued high consumption of cheese, as well as the perception of consumers that milk fat, and fats in general, are unhealthful while milk protein is healthful. Regardless of the reasons, dairy producers are paying much more attention to the protein production of their cows, both in pounds per day and as a % of milk, since both can influence the economic value of the milk.