by Kai Yuan, PhD. QLF Senior Technical Advisor & Senior Scientist Robotic milking systems are gaining popularity among dairy producers. There are several key nutritional factors to success with milking robots. Excellent feed bunk management Feed high quality forage in partially mixed ration (PMR). Ideally, forage in PMR should provide good

Ontario Dairy Farmer October 2023 Issue, by Laura Martin, M.Sc COWS EVOLVED ON sugar-rich pastures, and even the rumen microbes have a "sweet tooth" that isn't satisfied with the highly fermented, corn-based TMRs typically found on Ontario dairy farms. Supplementing the ration with some sugar can help improve cow performance, with research

Progressive Dairy - May 8, 2023 by Sydney Moore

Liquid molasses added to feed can assist in DMI and rumen health if you are stretching forages this spring.

As of Feb.1, 2023, the NS, NB and ON dairy boards have announced a change in the solid non-fat to butterfat ratio (SNF:BF) decreasing the maximum eligible payment from 2.25 to 2.20. To fully understand what this entails, let's break down what this ratio means. 

Heat stress is a major issue impacting the dairy industry and many other production animals as well. So how do we prevent it? While we can’t control the climate/ weather there are some strategies we can implement to give our animals the best shot at surviving and even thriving in hotter conditions!

Progressive Dairy - October 13, 2022 by Trevor DeVries

Maintaining dry matter intake pre-calving by feeding a high-straw diet with proper straw chop length, as well as adding water and molasses, will help keep transition cows healthy through post-calving.

Rural Oxford county " We Grow Together" video

Sugar supplementation has the ability to increase milk yield and milkfat percentage

Hoard's Dairyman, March 2021 article.  As calving neared, cows consuming diets with molasses had greater and more consistent intakes and ate more frequently.

  Adding sugar to the diet changes the population of microbes and can increase the production of microbial protein. This microbial protein is then used by the cow as it is an excellent source of amino acids (protein) that can be used for milk production.