Dairy Digest, June 2008

In this Issue: Livestock Contribution to U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Spreadsheet Helps Calculate the Cost of Pasteurizing Milk for Calves; Temperatures Are Rising—Make Sure Your SCC Doesn’t Follow; Efficacy of a New Post-thaw Method for Altering the Sex Ratio; Maximizing Income Over Feed Cost Will Be Topic of Free Online Program; PA Dairy Tool Training Available to Consultants on Profit, Target Teams

Livestock Contribution to U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions

There are conflicting reports on the contribution of ruminants to greenhouse gas emissions (GGE). In these environmentally sensitive times it will help to put things in prospective.

Spreadsheet Helps Calculate the Cost of Pasteurizing Milk for Calves

A new tool designed to help evaluate the decision to feed pasteurized waste milk is available. This spreadsheet developed by Penn State and Virginia Tech extension educators calculates the cost of owning and operating a calf milk pasteurizer as well as costs to feed milk replacer or whole, saleable milk.

Temperatures Are Rising - Make Sure Your SCC Doesn’t Follow

We are coming into the summer months when the incidence of mastitis and the bulk tank somatic cell count tend to rise.

Efficacy of a New Post-thaw Method for Altering the Sex Ratio

The Heifer-Plus™ kit has become commercially available for treating bovine semen immediately post-thaw to alter the sex ratio of offspring.

Maximizing Income Over Feed Cost Will be Topic of Free Online Program

New and beginning dairy producers in Pennsylvania can learn how to maximize income over feed costs at the next Lunchtime Series for New and Beginning Dairy Producers program offered via the Web on June 25 from noon to 1 p.m.

PA Dairy Tool Training Available to Consultants on Profit, Target Teams

Pennsylvania consultants who are working with dairy teams to improve farm profitability can take advantage of free training on the new web-based version of the Penn State Profitability Assessment Dairy Tool.