As fertilizer becomes more and more regulated in California, farmers are turning to other crops with lower nitrogen requirements. For this reason, sorghum may appeal to feed growers, as it doesn’t require near as much nitrogen to grow. Watch this interview with Bob Hutmacher from the UC Cooperative Extension and read more in California Dairy Magazine.
Although we received a lot more rain this year, the threat of drought is not over for California agriculture, and dairy producers are considering sorghum as alternative feed crop to corn. There is a difference in nutritional value that will need to be addressed in the feed mixture; however, irrigation needs are much different from corn as well, and drought-tolerance is one of the major reasons for considering sorghum. But just how much water stress can sorghum really handle? Watch this interview with Bob Hutmacher as he explains, and read more in California Dairy Magazine.
If you haven’t checked it out yet, here is the November issue of California Dairy Magazine:
[redirect url=’http://www.californiadairymagazine.com/read/’ sec=’0′]
The September issue of California Dairy Magazine is now available to read online! Read the latest California Dairy & Feed industry news and technology. Here’s a peek of what’s inside:
Davis, Calif., (September 12, 2017) – Innovative cooling technologies tested on dairy cows at the University of California, Davis, are addressing the long-standing challenge of keeping dairy cows cool in heat-stressed California.
Standard livestock cooling methods, such as fans and sprinkling cows with water, require significant amounts of electricity and water. The new technologies, being tested at UC Davis by the Western Cooling Efficiency Center and the Department of Animal Science, are designed to reduce water by up to 86 percent and electricity by up to 38 percent over conventional methods.
Milk production and heat stress
Milk is the most valued agricultural commodity in California, with $9.4 billion in retail sales in 2014. Roughly one in every five dairy cows in the nation lives in California. In addition to disturbing the cow, heat stress is a major cause of diminished milk production in dairy cows, with annual losses directly related to heat stress exceeding $800 million.
“The process of rumination, where cows ferment their food, produces a lot of heat, as does milk production itself,” said Cassandra Tucker, a professor in the Department of Animal Science who focuses on dairy cattle welfare. “When the outside temperatures also rise, it’s a challenge for the animal in how she’s going to try to keep cool. This project is trying to reduce the energy and water use associated with that to help both the cows and the dairy producers.”
How it works – The technologies involve two approaches. The first is conduction cooling, where the bedding area is cooled using heat exchange mats placed where cows lie down. To reduce energy consumption, water flowing through the mats is cooled through a novel evaporative chiller called a Sub-Wet Bulb Evaporative Chiller.
The second approach is targeted convection cooling, which uses fabric ducting to direct cool air onto the cows while they lie down and when they eat. The air is cooled using a high-efficiency direct evaporative cooler.
“This is an exciting research opportunity for UC Davis to combine our expertise in engineering with our expertise in animal science,” said Theresa Pistochini, senior engineer at the Western Cooling Efficiency Center. “There is significant potential to apply existing technologies in a novel way to reduce both energy and water used to cool dairy cows. Through this project we aim to design, test and demonstrate an efficient alternative.”
The project is part of a four-year, $1 million grant from the California Energy Commission to help improve water and energy efficiency in California’s dairy industry. The data being collected now will help determine which technology the team should use to pilot at a commercial dairy in a future phase of the project.
[redirect url=’http://www.californiadairymagazine.com/read/’ sec=’0′]
The July issue of California Dairy Magazine is now available to read online! Read the latest California Dairy & Feed industry news and technology. Here’s a peek of what’s inside:
[wpdevart_youtube]9VsIbInhbzc[/wpdevart_youtube]
Do you have voles present in the field? If so they can cause an average of 11% damage in alfalfa, a percentage that can’t be ignored. But how do you manage these pests. Watch this brief video interview with UC Wildlife specialist Roger Baldwin as he answers the question, and read more in California Dairy Magazine.
[wpdevart_youtube]TGAAbrC8DkQ[/wpdevart_youtube]
With new oncoming regulations backed by false ideas about the California dairy industry, coupled with lower dairy prices, dairy producers may feel down and out about the future of their livelihood; however there is hope on the horizon, as shared by Anja Raudabaugh from Western United Dairymen in this brief interview with California Ag Network. Watch this interview and read more in California Dairy Magazine.
[wpdevart_youtube]sny34w1k8rs[/wpdevart_youtube]
Featured in the June issue of California Dairy Magazine, check out the last dairyman in Exeter, Ed Brower as he shares his story in this brief video interview with California Ag Network and in California Dairy Magazine. Dairying runs deep in his family line all the way back to his ancestry in Holland.
[wpdevart_youtube]Vr9BNZjDVPs[/wpdevart_youtube]
Due to a serious new infestation of the sugarcane aphid in Southern California sorghum fields late last summer, UC Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor Nicholas Clark offered some advice to feed growers to help better prepared them this coming season for future infestations of this invasive pest.
[wpdevart_youtube]rlgJQZGmCLM[/wpdevart_youtube]
At the World Ag Expo, Sire Analyst Kevin Jorgensen encouraged dairy producers to take advantage of the genomic evolution going on in the industry today to maximize the characteristics you want to see in your herds. Watch the video and learn more at CaliforniaDairyMagazine.com.