Nutrition and Feeding
New on this Page
- Feed Efficiency in Lactating Dairy Cows and Its Relationship to Income Over Feed Costs
- French translation of Prevention and Control of Foot Problems in Dairy Cows
- French translation of Troubleshooting Milk Fever
- Opportunities and Challenges of Feeding Distillers Grains to Dairy Cows
- Resources for Certified Feed Management Planners
- Carbon, methane emissions, and the dairy cow
Links to Dairy Digest Articles about Nutrition
- Understanding starch digestibility in corn grain (Dec 11)
- Factors that influence feed efficiency in lactating dairy cows (Oct 11)
- Feed inventory tracking: Underutilized but critical (Oct 11)
- Feed efficiency: Improve your profit margin by increasing the amount of milk made by every pound of dry matter fed (Aug 11)
- Using income over feed cost - the Penn State herd experience (Jun 11)
- Forage particle size, rumen pH, and saliva production in lactating cows (Apr 11)
- Recovering from low milk fat (Apr 11)
- Wild ruminants burp methane too (Apr 11)
- Feed efficiency or maximum milk production? (Dec 10)
- Opportunities and challenges of feediing distillers grains to dairy cows (Feb 10)
- Get shrink under control to cut feed costs (Oct 09)
- Effects of feeding plant extracts (Apr 09)
- What's behind this summer's low butterfat tests? (Aug 08)
- The cheap can turn out to be expensive (Apr 08)
- Feed price impacts on dairy profitability - Part 1 (Feb 07)
- Feed price impacts on dairy profitability - Part 2 (Feb 07)
- Effect of feeding dry glycerin to dairy cows (Dec 06)
- Ethanol plants + distillers grains: How will this impact nutrient management? (Dec 06)
- Effect of dry propylene glycol versus drenching (Jul 06)
- Research Update: Dry propylene glycol for fresh cows (Sept 05)
- Dairy feeding - the last straw (Aug 05)
- Feedbunk evaluation for the high producing herd (Jan 05)
- Acidosis in dairy cattle (Sept 04)
- Altered feeding behavior pre-calving (Sept 04)
- What can we learn from fat and protein levels and ratios? (Feb 04)
Tools for Certified Feed Management Planners
- Protein monitoring tools: instructions and background (pdf)
- Phosphorus monitoring tools: instructions and background (pdf)
- Interpretation of milk urea nitrogen values
- Resources for sampling and evaluating forages and total mixed rations
- Manure sampling instructions for Pennsylvania feed management planners
Diet Formulation and Evaluation
- Feed Efficiency in Lactating Dairy Cows and Its Relationship to Income Over Feed Costs
- Carbon, methane emissions and the dairy cow
- Milk Components: Understanding the Causes and Importance of Milk Fat and Protein Variation in Your Dairy Herd
- Milk Price Comparison among Different Milk Yields and Milk Fat Percents
- Nitrogen, Ammonia Emissions, and the Dairy Cow
- Free choice feeding of phosphorus containing minerals
- Reducing dietary phosphorus in the dairy herd
- Use of total mixed rations (TMR) for dairy cows
- Spanish Version: Uso de Racion Total Mezclada Para Vacas Lecheras
- French Version: L’utilisation des Rations Complètes pour les Vaches Laitières
- Carbohydrate nutrition for lactating dairy cattle
- Nutritional evaluation of dairy rations and feeding management
Rumen Function
- From Feed to Milk: Understanding Rumen Function
For more information, check out the companion video - Spanish Version: De La Alimentación a La Leche: Comprendiendo la Función del Rumen
Dry Cow Nutrition
Trouble-shooting Guides
- Using manure evaluation to enhance dairy cattle nutrition
- Troubleshooting milk flavor problems
- Troubleshooting problems with milkfat depression
- Troubleshooting problems with low milk production
Heat Stress and Nutrition
- Reducing heat stress on dairy cows
For more information, see these power point slides in
Ration Ingredients
- Opportunities and challenges of feeding distillers grains to dairy cows
- Use of commodity ingredients for dairy cattle
- Soybeans and soybean byproducts for dairy cattle
Nutrition and Health
- Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) implications for animal production and human health
- Prevention and control of foot problems in dairy cows
- Therapeutic nutrition for dairy cattle
- Troubleshooting milk fever and downer cow problems
- French Version: Fievres de Lait et Vaches Couchees
Body Condition Scoring
- Body condition scoring as a tool for dairy herd management
- Beginner's guide to body condition scoring
- Learn to score body condition step by step
- Spanish Version: Aprenda a Calificar la Condicion Corporal Paso a Paso
- Effects of body condition on performance
- Manual for Body Condition Scoring spreadsheets
- Spreadsheet for a group of cows
- Spreadsheet for a group of heifers
- Spreadsheet for one cow
- Spreadsheet for one heifer
