Missouri Dairy Grazing Conference set for Oct. 23-25, Springfield; Biennial conference attracts national interest.

Contact: Stacey Hamilton, dairy specialist
Tel: (417) 466-2148
E-mail: hamiltonsa@missouri.edu

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Grazing-dairy producers and University of Missouri Extension specialists will explain why Missouri dairy grazing systems are resilient, repeatable and robust at the Missouri Dairy Grazing Conference, Oct. 23-25, in Springfield, Mo.

The conference, held every other year, attracts national attention according to Joe Horner, dairy economist at the University of Missouri. Conference headquarters will the Howard Johnson Inn, 333 S. Glenstone Ave., Springfield, Mo.

Most of Wednesday and Thursday feature a variety of speakers, telling of progress. On Friday, optional tours will go to dairy farms.

In the past, the MU grazing dairy at Mount Vernon was an optional tour. “We have so much to show, we will spend a half day there this year,” says Stacey Hamilton, MU Extension state dairy specialist. He will give background on the feeding studies. That includes residual feed intake and dry matter intake.

The dairy research and extension are part of the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, Columbia.

Other topics at Southwest Center include “Novel Endophyte Fescue Plots,” “On-Farm Pasture-Measuring Tools,” “Reproductive Trials” and “New Zealand and U.S. Genetics.”

A trade show and reception will held be at the hotel after the MU farm tour.

Charles Fletcher of Edgewood Dairy, Purdy, Mo., will give the conference welcome and closing remarks. Fletcher pioneered grass-based dairying.

Much of the conference will be about building strong systems, both cows and pastures, Horner says. “We have forage-growing and cow-breeding systems that synchronize calving and peak milk production with the grass-growing season,” Horner said.

Many of grazing dairy farms are seasonal. They stop milking before Christmas and resume at calving time, about Feb. 1. Seasonal milking gives a break from the 365-day milking year on most dairy farms.

Several speakers will tell about risk management, ranging from forage in drought to erratic milk prices. Breakout sessions the second afternoon give a hint of the range of topics: “Partial TMRs” (total mixed rations), “Attracting and Retaining Employees,”  “Heifer Development from Birth to Calving,” “Ammoniating Tube Wrapped Baleage,” “Economics of Pasture Irrigation” and “Benefits of Dung Beetles in Pastures.”

Maps will be given at the conference to those taking optional tours on their way home.

Registration fees cover program and several meals. Early registration ends Sept. 30, with a late fee after that. For registration and other information, contact the MU Conference Office at 573-882-9558 or go to the conference website at dairy.missouri.edu/grazing/conference.

Special room rates are available. Call the Howard Johnson Inn at 417-883-6550.

First MU Extension ‘Dairy Field Day” is June 20 at MU Southwest Center near Mount Vernon

Contact: Tony Rickard, dairy specialist
Tel: (417) 847-3161
E-mail: rickardt@missouri.edu

MOUNT VERNON, Mo. – The first University of Missouri Extension “Dairy Field Day is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., June 20 at the University of Missouri Southwest Research Center located on Highway H, south of I-44 from the Mount Vernon west exit.

The hours of the event are planned with dairy-farm schedules in mind. The program offers sound, research-based farm management practices according to Tony Rickard, an MU Extension dairy specialist located in Barry County.

“The information shared at this event applies to conventional or grazing dairies, large or small,” said Rickard. “Topics cover forage, rations, economics and breeding. There will be talks and field tours.”

Farmers who have trouble making quality hay in a season of frequent rains can pick up tips on baleage from Rob Kallenbach, MU Extension forage specialist.

Baleage, or big-round-bale silage, can be made in a day, compared to several days required for drying hay for baling. Kallenbach has been wrapping bales in plastic to show at the event.

“I want producers to smell the difference between well-wrapped bales and those not properly prepared. It was tough, making bad baleage,” said Kallenbach.

Rickard will give tips on cutting feed costs. That is important because feed makes up 50 percent of milk production costs.

“We’ll focus on feeding the right ingredients at the right time,” said Rickard. “Cutting overfeeding is one way to save expensive nutrients.”

Joe Horner, dairy economist with the MU Commercial Agriculture Program, will tell four thingshared by profitable dairy farms. “Low prices and high costs have hammered dairy farms,” said Horner. “But trends point to increased profits.”

Breeding research on synchronized artificial insemination shows good results in the milking herd at the Southwest Center. Some 85 percent conception rates astound dairy producers accustomed to poor AI breeding rates. Scott Poock, DVM with MU Extension, will tell protocols used for success.

Getting all cows into milk production at the same time adds to profits. Peak milk production can be matched to peak forage growth.

There will be time after lunch for touring the herd, calf-rearing pens and forage plots. “We’re trying for a good mix of talks and up-close participation,” says Kallenbach.

New side-by-side plots will show fescue varieties that carry novel endophytes. Those varieties can replace toxic Kentucky 31 fescue, which proves to make poor dairy forage.

The procedure for killing K-31 grass to replant new varieties will be told.

New tools for measuring dry-matter content on forage paddocks will be shown. And some big bales will be wrapped, Kallenbach says.

The free event will be open to all producers. Lunch will be served, courtesy of field day sponsors including Schreiber Foods, Main Street Feeds, ADM Alliance Nutrition, Midwest Dairy Association and Legacy Farm and Lawn.

Details are available from Rickard at 417-847-3161 or rickardt@missouri.edu.