Purdue Dairy Digest

Buttergate

Canadians have started to notice firmer butter and are looking for answers to make butter more spreadable. Palmitic acid has been identified as a possible cause for the firmer butter, listen to today’s podcast to learn more about Buttergate.

Corn, soybean, and milk commodity prices for 2021

Prices of corn and soybeans are the highest they have been in 7 to 8 years due to reduced supply and increased demand. What does that mean for dairy producers in 2021? Listen to hear more about what impacts high corn and soybean prices have on the dairy industry.

The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans was released at the end of 2020 with some updates on recommendations for dairy. With still almost 90% of Americans not consuming the recommended amount of dairy, the guidelines still suggest 3 servings per day.”

Recommendations have varied for the optimal age at first calving in order to maximize milk production and profitability.  However, due to variability in bodyweight, there is likely no optimal age at first calving and perhaps we should be focused on optimal bodyweight at first calving instead.  Several factors should be considered when determining what optimal means for a dairy farm, listen to today’s podcast to hear about which factors were considered by researchers.

Dairy Management Inc. has announced a goal for the dairy industry to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.  We now have to figure out innovative strategies to make that possible.  One strategy we are exploring today is a seaweed based feed additive that has shown promise in reducing methane emissions.

On this week’s dairy digest Becca Klopp, a current PhD candidate at Purdue University will recap a discussion about if ketosis is a symptom or a disease that was brought up at a recent Dairy Discover Conference. Please listen to hear both sides of the debate and you can decide for yourself if ketosis is a symptom of another disease or the disease itself.

Have you ever wondered about what makes a show cow a winning show cow? If you have you probably haven’t thought it was due to a genetic mutation. Researchers at Penn State have looked into if the genetic mutation of cholesterol deficiency is related to success in the show ring.

Have you ever wondered about what makes a show cow a winning show cow? If you have you probably haven’t thought it was due to a genetic mutation. Researchers at Penn State have looked into if the genetic mutation of cholesterol deficiency is related to success in the show ring.

How many of your heifers have mastitis? If you asked me before I listed to Dr. Ben Enger talk at the Virtual Dairy Nutrition and Management Series, I would have said very few. Now I am not so sure. Listen to today’s podcast to learn more about the effects of mastitis in heifers.