January 2002

Why Test for MUN?

Here are some of the recently published conclusions from California research:

  1. MUN can be viewed as a report card on a herd's protein - energy balance.  MUN will be high when there is too much protein for the amount of carbohydrate energy available to rumen bacteria. High MUN indicates a relatively high protein energy ration, but does not indicate which of the two nutrients are in excess. They recommend monthly testing and working with your nutrition consultant.
  2. Increased MUN is statistically associated with decreased fertility.
  3. Increased MUN is associated with a lower detectable pregnancy at herd checks.
  4. Cows with MUN levels below 10 are 2.4 times more likely to be confirmed pregnant than cows with MUN levels above 15.4.
  5. Higher herd MUN is associated with higher feed costs per pound of milk fat, lower gross milk revenue and lower income over feed costs.
  6. MUN offers a useful tool for monitoring the efficiency of nitrogen utilization in commercial dairy herds.
  7. Diets may be balanced to achieve greater efficiency of nitrogen utilization, lower milk urea concentration, and lower feed costs, while still achieving high production. This may lead to improved income over feed costs.
  8. In herds alternating between a.m. and p.m. milkings for sampling, MUN is sometimes lower at the a.m. milkings.
  9. MUN is generally lower in first lactation animals.
  10. MUN is lowest during the first 60 days of lactation, higher between 60 and 150 days in milk, and lower after 150 days.
This information was published by Nyles Peterson of the University of California Extension Service, and Dr. Lawson Spicer of Cal-Poly Pomona University.

Cows for Sale


FOR SALE: D+T Farms - Ogilvie, MN is selling the entire herd.  A 70-cow Holstein herd.
If interested please call David or Tim @ 320.272.4731.

Cows For Sale is a service of Minnesota DHIA.
Members can advertise for just $2.50 per animal with a maximum of $50 per herd (good for 60 days).
For more information, talk to your Field Rep on sample day or call us at 800.827.3442.

 Web sites of interest this month:

www.almanac.com   The Old Farmer's Almanac has been published SINCE 1792
www.carsoup.com   Get the dealer invoice, sticker price, research on cars and trucks

2002 DHIA District Meetings Notice

 All members are welcome to attend the District Meeting. If you are a member, you are eligible to vote.  Agenda items will include a review of the audit for 2001, election of delegates to the Annual Meeting scheduled for March 26, election of directors for 3-year terms in districts noted below, and new and old business.

elect   Monday February 18 Stearns District at the Community Center in Freeport
Tuesday February 26 Southwest District at Orchid Inn, Sleepy Eye
Thursday    February 28    Metro District at Kubes in Norwood
Friday March 1  Southeast District at the Branding Iron, Preston
Monday March 4  Northwest District at Shooting Star Casino, Mahnomen
elect Tuesday March 5 South Central District at Diggers, Kasson
elect Monday March 11 Northeast District, Embers, Milaca
elect Tuesday March 12 West Central District at Pizza Ranch, Glenwood
Thursday March 14 Barron Washburn at Courthouse in Barron

 

All district meetings begin with registration at 11:15 with the meeting beginning at 11:30 Lunch is provided for members. The Barron Washburn and Stearns meetings are also local annual meetings, so please refer to those notices for details.
Call 800-827-3442 for answers, or to make a reservation.

Are Your Milk Weights Accurate?


The percent of daily milk shipped can be found in the "Daily Milk" section of your Herd Summary sheet.  What is it? We use the last three bulk tank shipments and the current test day milk total to calculate % Milk Shipped.  DHI MILK/Bulk tank milk.  So if test day milk is greater than bulk tank average milk for the past three days, milk shipped will be over 100%. The national average
for % milk shipped is 103%, accounting for kids, cats and calf milk that might be removed from the bulk tank.

Averaging the monthly milk shipped for the year gives us an Annual Milk Sold number that we use. The normal range nationwide is considered to be within +/- 7% of the normal 103%, or 96-110%. As of November 30, we have 3294 herds on DHI and only 66 herds have annual milk shipped outside of the normal percentage.  This is a very low number of herds outside normal range.

For a number of years we have offered the service of helping correct milk shipped problems as they occur. The number of herds outside of the normal % milk shipped has been going down ever since. If you have any questions or concerns about the accuracy of your test day results or bulk tank, please talk to your Field Representative or call Minnesota DHIA @ 1.800.827.3442.

Minnesota Dairy Days 2002

January 2002 marks the start of a new year - and a chance to make a fresh start on your dairy farm with the help of Minnesota Dairy Days. These meetings are being offered at 8 locations across the state of Minnesota, January 8-18.

Sponsored by: University of Minnesota and University of Minnesota Extension Service.

Dairy producers and their advisors are invited to attend to hear about practical ideas and technologies that can help modernize the dairy industry in Minnesota.  There will be time for discussion and interaction. The program will be offered from 10 am to 3 pm at the following locations:

Date Location
January 15th Edgerton, Pizza Ranch
January 16th New Ulm, Turner Hall
January 17th Zumbrota, VFW
January 18th    Lewiston, Community Center

Speakers at all locations:
Dr. Marcia Endres - Extension Animal Scientist, Dept of Animal Science
Dr. Kevin Janni - Extension Engineer and Head, Dept of Biosystems & Ag Eng.
Dr. Bill Lazarus - Extension Economist, Dept of Appled Economics
Bob Lefebvre - Minnesota Milk Producers Association
Dr. Jeff Reneau - Extension Animal Scientist, Dept of Animal Science

Registration is $25 for the 1st person from farm, $15 for each addt'l person.
The registration contact is: Bonnie Rae, 612.624.4995 email: bjrae@umn.edu
Please give Bonnie a call to register for this upcoming meeting in your area.

2002 DHIA Rate Changes

Basic Type Test Herd Fee goes from $2 to $5 per herd. About 82 of 3300 herds are affected. The change means herds pay the same herd fee as Owner Sampler. Basic herds do not get a Rolling Herd Average, and do not get sent to USDA.

Milk Urea Nitrogen pricing at the Zumbrota Lab goes to 15 cents per sample, which is the same price as is charged to those using the Sauk Centre Lab.

Sample Transportation at the Zumbrota Lab will go up 1 cent per sample to help offset the increased costs in transportation. SpeeDee and UPS rates are going up, as are insurance and depreciation schedules.

Sample Transportation costs at the Stearns lab will go up 1/2 cent per sample, and basic butterfat/protein analysis goes up 1/2 per sample.