Minnesota DHIA News
A PUBLICATION OF
MINNESOTA DHIA
Volume 8, Issue 3
March 2008
Milk Johne’s Test Popularity
Rising
Over 19,000 cows
were tested at the Sauk Centre and Zumbrota labs in 2007. 3,427 milk samples
were tested for Johne’s in February 2008. Over half the herds submitting
samples have at least one positive cow. About one in twenty cows submitted are
testing positive. The Minnesota Board of Animal Health has decided to accept
the DHIA milk ELISA test for the Johne’s Disease negative herd program.
2008 DHIA Scholarship Winners
Announced
National DHIA and
Minnesota DHIA sponsor $500 college scholarships for employees and customers
involved in the DHIA program. Applications will be available from your DHIA
Field Rep and at www.mndhia.org when the
new application process opens this summer. Minnesota DHIA is proud to announce
the following winners (in no particular order). 40% of the scholarships
awarded nationally were won by our customers. Congratulations!
Minnesota Dairy Herd Improvement Association
307 Brighton
Avenue South w Buffalo, MN 55313
763.682.1091 w Fax 763.682.1117 w www.mndhia.org
BENEFITS
OF MUN TESTING
According to Mike Hutjens of
the University of Illinois, as quoted in Agriview, looking at the amount
of urea nitrogen in a cow’s milk can provide an accurate reflection of how much
nitrogen that cow is absorbing but not using for growth or to make milk. Most
of this nitrogen comes from feed. When a cow eats too much protein, she
excretes the excess nitrogen in her milk and her urine.
Testing individual cows and
whole herds can establish a baseline MUN level. From there increases or
reductions in MUN can be tracked and analyzed. Hutjens advised looking for
answers if MUN drops or rises more than two or three points from the baseline.
Underfeeding and overfeeding
are not the only things that MUN can help monitor. Hutjens sees other uses for
the milk test, including the monitoring the impact of heat abatement
procedures, as a predictor of acidosis, and can reveal cows that are using more
energy than they are consuming early in their lactations.
Jim Linn of the University of Minnesota says MUN has value in evaluation of protein and carbohydrate feeding to dairy cows. MUN values in the mid-teens and higher are probably too high today. Either the total protein in the ration or the type of protein (rumen degradable) is higher than necessary when values are mid-teens and above.
Insufficient rumen degradable carbohydrate may also be a factor with high MUNs, but less likely than feeding excess or highly degradable protein.
MUNs of 5 or lower should be of concern as we may not be feeding enough protein to meet rumen bacteria needs.
Thus, MUNS between 7 and 12 are very satisfactory and probably a good range to meet protein needs of the cow and rumen bacteria.
10:1 RETURN ON MUN TESTING!
Cornell University research has indicated
a 10-1 return on the cost of MUN testing. This reflects potential savings in
feed costs and reduced days open if MUN testing leads to a reduction in MUN as
a result of feeding program changes.
At 15 cents per sample, the
investment in DHIA MUN testing can pay for itself pretty fast. At $15 for a
100 cow herd, it doesn’t take long for a return on that investment given the
price of protein these days. It is useful to group cows by lactation number,
days in milk, or milk, and there should be at least 10 cows in a group to
create a true group MUN value
See the complete breakout of
the MUN values for your herd on the DHIA MUN Profile report enclosed on yellow
paper.
Contact your Minnesota
DHIA Field Representative or state office staff about starting your herd on a
regular MUN testing program.
“There is nothing wrong with change,
if it is in the right direction”. Winston Churchill
February
Quality Leaders Based
on Log SCC
|
|
SCC
|
Log SCC
|
Cows
|
|
|
SCC
|
Log SCC
|
Cows
|
|
TERRY
KOLSTAD
|
44
|
1.0
|
27
|
|
RONALD
AND SUSAN JOHNSON
|
72
|
1.9
|
60
|
|
ROBERT
MILLER
|
84
|
1.2
|
60
|
|
GODE
DAIRY
|
76
|
1.9
|
43
|
|
DAN
AND JOLENE SCHLANGEN
|
44
|
1.3
|
63
|
|
JERON
NATHE
|
80
|
1.9
|
247
|
|
TRAVIS-RICHARD
SCHLOSSER
|
46
|
1.3
|
34
|
|
JOEL
& NICOLE GROSS
|
81
|
1.9
|
43
|
|
BRUCE
RUNDHAUG
|
85
|
1.3
|
57
|
|
ART
AND JANE STUMPF
|
82
|
1.9
|
50
|
|
Kara-Kesh
Holsteins
|
33
|
1.4
|
4
|
|
RUIS-ING
SUN DAIRY
|
84
|
1.9
|
69
|
|
CIRCLE
DRIVE HOLSTEINS
|
51
|
1.4
|
19
|
|
RAY+MARY
FUCHS
|
86
|
1.9
|
64
|
|
FRANK
PATRICK
|
53
|
1.4
|
56
|
|
PAUL
& MARY ZIMMERMAN
|
87
|
1.9
|
64
|
|
CRONK
DAIRY
|
58
|
1.4
|
35
|
|
PATRICK
THOENNES
|
87
|
1.9
|
56
|
|
HAPPKE
HOLSTEIN FARM
|
52
|
1.5
|
75
|
|
SC0TT
AND DENISE GATHJE
|
89
|
1.9
|
75
|
|
KEVIN
& CHERYL KRUIZENGA
|
81
|
1.5
|
64
|
|
SELKE
FARMS
|
90
|
1.9
|
169
|
|
DAVID
BUCK
|
119
|
1.5
|
65
|
|
LYNN
WAEGE
|
91
|
1.9
|
44
|
|
TOM
FUECHTMANN
|
56
|
1.6
|
95
|
|
GERALD
SEITZER
|
92
|
1.9
|
61
|
|
HIESERICH
FARM
|
56
|
1.6
|
85
|
|
KIMM'S
DAIRY
|
94
|
1.9
|
83
|
|
JULIAN
+ DAVID SJOSTROM
|
59
|
1.6
|
72
|
|
DARRIN
STEIN&LYNN SCHULTZ
|
95
|
1.9
|
46
|
|
MARK
KLEHR
|
64
|
1.6
|
60
|
|
CLETUS
MILLER
|
100
|
1.9
|
28
|
|
WAYNE
KOEPP
|
67
|
1.6
|
138
|
|
MIKE
MOTL+KIM HARFF
|
101
|
1.9
|
79
|
|
KEVIN
& SHEILA THARALDSON
|
76
|
1.6
|
56
|
|
PEDERSONS
Y-ME RANCH
|
105
|
1.9
|
69
|
|
SCOTT
FELDHACKER
|
140
|
1.6
|
64
|
|
BENGTSON
FAMILY FARM
|
108
|
1.9
|
47
|
|
DANIEL
HALLBERG
|
147
|
1.6
|
61
|
|
LARRY
LEXVOLD FAMILY
|
121
|
1.9
|
66
|
|
Schreiber
Brothers
|
53
|
1.7
|
85
|
|
LARRY
AND SHARON WISTE
|
128
|
1.9
|
28
|
|
GREGORY
P. ZILKA
|
63
|
1.7
|
32
|
|
ROBERT
SWYTER
|
148
|
1.9
|
65
|
|
BOB
AND BARB PETIT
|
63
|
1.7
|
64
|
|
BRUCE
AND JODI HEIM
|
148
|
1.9
|
167
|
|
CURT
+ JACKIE BEKIUS
|
65
|
1.7
|
77
|
|
ZUMBRO
VIEW FARMS LLC
|
67
|
2
|
46
|
|
JKG
HAVEN DAIRY
|
72
|
1.7
|
20
|
|
BECHTOLD
BROS
|
69
|
2
|
128
|
|
D
& J DAIRY
|
83
|
1.7
|
109
|
|
PAUL+ANN%NIBBE
|
71
|
2
|
37
|
|
GEHL
ACRES
|
85
|
1.7
|
74
|
|
DEVOINE
KRUSE
|
73
|
2
|
130
|
|
BRUCE
HANSON
|
97
|
1.7
|
31
|
|
DAVID
SMITH
|
78
|
2
|
32
|
|
KEVIN
SPLETT
|
99
|
1.7
|
48
|
|
KEVIN
ANDERSON
|
79
|
2
|
47
|
|
JOHN
WASNER DAIRY
|
116
|
1.7
|
32
|
|
TODD
& KATHY JOHNSTON
|
84
|
2
|
60
|
|
LUX-URY
HOLSTEINS INC.
|
122
|
1.7
|
130
|
|
DONALD
YOUNG
|
87
|
2
|
53
|
|
JOHN
ROBERS
|
124
|
1.7
|
20
|
|
UDDER VALLEY DAIRY
|
87
|
2
|
243
|
|
JIM
KULINSKI
|
144
|
1.7
|
51
|
|
ALVIN
H BURSCH
|
88
|
2
|
63
|
|
SIBERT
FARMS
|
191
|
1.7
|
45
|
|
RICHARD
SCHNOBRICH
|
92
|
2
|
44
|
|
LYLE
AND WANDA HONEBRINK
|
60
|
1.8
|
96
|
|
DALE
+ BRENDA GOEBEL
|
97
|
2
|
62
|
|
RKB
DAIRY
|
79
|
1.8
|
89
|
|
DUANE
& KAREN TIMM
|
99
|
2
|
82
|
|
ROBERT
+ TERRI DAHLEN
|
80
|
1.8
|
55
|
|
MOGER
FARMS
|
100
|
2
|
105
|
|
ACKERMAN
FARMS
|
91
|
1.8
|
106
|
|
ROSEVEIW
DAIRY
|
102
|
2
|