Sharpen Your Dairy Skills while We Flatten the Curve
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EmailOver the next 2 weeks, join MSU to hone your herd management software skills and get up to date on the latest research.
Agriculture is an essential industry that can’t shut down during the “stay at home, stay safe” executive order in Michigan. However, many dairy farm advisors are using their judgement in limiting farm visits to minimize risk of spreading disease to farm staff.
Michigan State University Extension is working to help industry advisors with continuing education resources while their normal work routine is disrupted. Over the next 2 weeks, join MSU at 10 AM on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to hone your herd management software skills and get up to date on the latest research.
Join any of these live webinars at the MSU Extension Dairy Team YouTube channel.
Tuesday, March 31, 10 - 11 AM EDT
Tips and tricks to get the most out of PCDart.
- Doug Moyer, CentralStar Cooperative
Many farms find PCDart to be a user-friendly herd management software. However, few users are aware of the analytical power added to PCDart in recent years allowing for a deeper understanding of problem areas on the dairy. This presentation will give participants a jump-start on putting these advanced tools to use.
Thursday, April 2, 10 - 11 AM EDT
Modulation of immune responses in pre-weaned calves
- Angel Abuelo, Michigan State University Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences
A major contributing factor to diseases in the neonatal calf is the poor ability of the calves’ immune system to mount an effective response against pathogens. We will explore some of the interventions that can be used to improve the calves’ immune response during this critical stage of life.
Does ketosis pre-dispose cows to mastitis?
- Turner Swartz, Michigan State University Department of Animal Science
Ketosis has been a perennial topic in transition cow health for decades, yet the relative importance of this disease continues to be debated. This presentation will cover new research directly testing the impact of elevated ketones on the immune response to mastitis.
Tuesday, April 7, 10 - 11 AM EDT
Feeding strategies to stretch forage resources.
- Adam Lock, Michigan State University Department of Animal Science
The 2019 crop year was full of challenges for many dairies, resulting in poor forage quality and limited supply. Recent MSU research demonstrates that a low-forage feeding approach can help to save forage inventory while also improving feed efficiency.
Are dairy cows a drag on the food system?
- Barry Bradford, Michigan State University Department of Animal Science
Many in society have become convinced that ruminant foods are, at best, a guilty pleasure; among other complaints, some point out that it is more efficient for people to eat plant material directly rather than feeding it to livestock. We will explore the human-edible feed efficiency of dairy cattle and how byproducts influence this assessment.
Thursday, April 9, 10 - 11 AM EDT
Using DairyComp to evaluate reproductive performance in dairy herds.
- Alex Scanavez, Alta Genetics
DairyComp is powerful herd management software, but the interface can be daunting for occasional users. Dr. Scanavez will go over some of the most useful commands to dig into common problems in herds, discuss interpretation of the findings, and share insights for taking those insights back to the barn.
You can access the channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5zgDnjQ-cxRgp20rRUu06g or by using the QR Code below. For additional information, please email Dr. Barry Bradford at bjbrad@msu.edu.
