Dairy Knowledge at Your Fingertips

Quebec Edition | August 2021

GENETICS

We want to hear about your Crampy cows!

Are there Crampy cows on your farm?

Beginning September 1st, we will be conducting a Crampy Cow Data Collection Blitz and we want to hear from you. Participation is quick, easy, and supports our collective goal of improved dairy production, farm profit and overall animal health and well-being.

Learn more about the study
 

FORAGE

Have you considered ensiling your fall rye?

A growing number of producers are interested in harvesting fall rye for silage. What are the advantages? How do you harvest a good quality crop in spring?

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Preventive measures that save lives

As emphasized in Where do silo gases come from and why are they dangerous?, silo gases are dangerous and precautions must be taken to ensure the safety of workers.

Your health and safety is important to us!

Read more
 

EXPERT ADVICE

Jean-Philippe Laroche, Agr. and Expert in Nutrition and Forage, Lactanet

A good fat test starts with putting good forage in front of your cows!

Here are some key points to consider when mowing:

  1. Avoid exposing mowed forage to rain to minimize nutrient leaching;
  2. If possible, favour afternoon mowing to maximize sugar content;
  3. Know when conditioning is necessary (hay yes, silage no);
  4. Measure the height of the mowed plants and aim for a cutting height of 4 inches (10 cm);
  5. Measure the width of the swath at the exit of the mower. It must represent at least 80% of the width of the mower.

Learn more about forage
 
 

WHAT'S NEW?

eDHI Complements On-farm Technologies

As automated milking systems and the use of integrated sensors continues to grow, our eDHI service is ideal for farms that wish to enjoy the benefits that milk recording has to offer – all at a reduced cost to your operation.

Discover eDHI
 

TECHNOLOGY

Herd Management ... there's a software for that

No matter what your needs are, our herd management software programs, DairyComp and Lac-T, are there to help you capture and track herd information related to milk production, health, reproduction, genetics, heifer raising, dry-off, matings, traceability and more.

In addition, you can download all your milk recording data into both software programs without a visit to the farm.

Discover DairyComp and Lac-T
 

August Challenge 🔍

August is ALWAYS busy. This month’s challenge will be short and sweet! Take a few seconds and look at the ration in front of the cows. Are your grains properly ground or are you finding whole grains in the manure? Is the particle size in your ration satisfactory?

These simple observations will avoid sorting and imporve the productivity of your animals.

Don’t forget that your advisor is there to help you!

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