Buckeye Dairy News: VOLUME 25: ISSUE 6

  1. Milk Prices, Costs of Nutrients, Margins, and Comparison of Feedstuffs Prices

    April F. White, Graduate Research Associate, Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University

    Milk Prices

    In the September issue, the Class III milk future for October was $16.83/cwt and November was $17.02/cwt. Class III milk closing price for October was $16.84/cwt, with protein and butterfat prices at $1.05/lb and $3.71/lb, respectively. The price of milk protein has decreased since the previous issue, and nutritionists feeding for components may find additional value in feeding for milk fat. In this issue, the Class III future for December is $16.18/cwt, with January 2024 at $16.38/cwt.

    Nutrient Prices

    It can be helpful to compare the prices in Table 1 to the 5-year averages. Since the September issue, the cost of net energy for lactation (NEL) has increased. The cost of NEL is about 44% higher than the 5-year average ($0.09/Mcal). The cost of metabolizable protein (MP) has decreased since the September issue and is currently about 5% higher than the 5-year average ($0.44/lb).

    To estimate profitability at these nutrient prices, the Cow-Jones Index was used for average US cows weighing 1500 lb and producing milk with 3.9% fat and 3.2% protein. For the November issue, the income over nutrient costs (IONC) for cows milking 70 lb/day and 85 lb/day are about $10.45 and $10.88/cwt, respectively. Both values are expected to be profitable even though they continue a slight decline since July. As a word of caution, these estimates of IONC do not account for the cost of replacements or dry cows, or for profitability changes related to culling cows.

    Table 1. Prices of dairy nutrients for Ohio dairy farms, November 28, 2023.

    Economic Value of Feeds

    Results of the Sesame analysis for central Ohio on November 28, 2023 are presented in Table 2. Detailed results for all 26 feed commodities are reported. The lower and upper limits mark the 75% confidence range for the predicted (break-even) prices. Feeds in the “Appraisal Set” were those for which we didn’t have a local price or were adjusted to reflect their true (“Corrected”) value in a lactating diet. One must remember that SESAME™ compares all commodities at one specific point in time. Thus, the results do not imply that the bargain feeds are cheap on a historical basis. Feeds for which a price was not reported were added to the appraisal set in this issue.

    Table 2. Actual, breakeven (predicted) and 75% confidence limits of 26 feed commodities used on Ohio dairy farms, November 28, 2023.

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    A screenshot of a computerDescription automatically generated

    For convenience, Table 3 summarizes the economic classification of feeds according to their outcome in the SESAME™ analysis. Feedstuffs that have gone up in price based on current nutrient values, or in other words, moved a column to the right since the last issue are in oversized text. Conversely, feedstuffs that have moved to the left (i.e., decreased in value) are in undersized text. These shifts (i.e., feeds moving columns to the left or right) in price are only temporary changes relative to other feedstuffs within the last two months and do not reflect historical prices. Feeds added to the appraisal set were removed from this table.

    Table 3. Partitioning of feedstuffs in Ohio, November 28, 2023.

    Bargains

    At Breakeven

    Overpriced

    Corn, ground, dry

    Wheat bran

    41% Cottonseed meal

    Corn silage

    Whole cottonseed

    Blood meal

    Distillers dried grains

    Gluten meal

    Mechanically extracted canola meal

    Feather meal

    Meat meal

    Solvent extracted canola meal

    Gluten feed

    Soybean hulls

    44% Soybean meal

    Hominy

    48% Soybean meal

    Whole, roasted soybeans

    Wheat middlings

    Soybean meal - expeller

    Tallow

     

    Alfalfa hay – 40% NDF

     

    As coined by Dr. St-Pierre, I must remind the readers that these results do not mean that you can formulate a balanced diet using only feeds in the “bargains” column. Feeds in the “bargains” column offer a savings opportunity, and their usage should be maximized within the limits of a properly balanced diet. In addition, prices within a commodity type can vary considerably because of quality differences as well as non-nutritional value added by some suppliers in the form of nutritional services, blending, terms of credit, etc. Also, there are reasons that a feed might be a very good fit in your feeding program while not appearing in the “bargains” column. For example, your nutritionist might be using some molasses in your rations for reasons other than its NEL and MP contents.

    Appendix

    For those of you who use the 5-nutrient group values (i.e., replace metabolizable protein by rumen degradable protein and digestible rumen undegradable protein), see the Table 4.

    Table 4. Prices of dairy nutrients using the 5-nutrient solution for Ohio dairy farms, November 28, 2023.
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  2. Molds and Mycotoxins in Dairy Cattle: Effects, Diagnosis, and Control

    Dr. Gustavo M. Schuenemann, Professor and Extension Veterinarian, Dairy Cattle Health and Management, Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, The Ohio State University

    1. Molds and mycotoxins are present in feed worldwide with negative implications on cattle health and performance. Most toxins are produced in the field (forages) but molds could produce toxins during storage. Prevention and control of mycotoxins in cattle feed require an effective and integrated management strategy. The following webinar provides an overview of health effects, laboratory diagnosis, interpretation of results with risk levels, and a practical approach to troubleshoot and control mycotoxins. The link to access the webinar in English “Molds and mycotoxins in dairy cattle: Effects, diagnosis, and control”: https://youtu.be/rGC8jH8HTok
    1. Los mohos y las micotoxinas están presentes en los alimentos en todo el mundo, con implicaciones negativas para la salud y performance del ganado. La mayoría de las toxinas se producen en el campo (forrajes), pero los mohos pueden producir toxinas durante el almacenamiento. La prevención y el control de las micotoxinas en los alimentos para el ganado lechero requieren una estrategia de manejo eficaz e integrada. El siguiente webinar proporciona una descripción general de los efectos sobre la salud, el diagnóstico de laboratorio, la interpretación de resultados con niveles de riesgo y un enfoque práctico para solucionar problemas y controlar las micotoxinas. Aquí está el enlace para acceder el webinar en Español “Hongos y micotoxinas en ganado lechero: Efectos, diagnostico, y control”: https://youtu.be/E4rkHQvw5dA

  3. National Dairy FARM Program to Release Animal Care Version 5

    Dr. Maurice L. Eastridge, Professor and Extension Dairy Specialist, Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University

    The Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) program was launched in 2009. It was developed by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) in partnership with Dairy Management, Inc. The program helps ensure the success of the entire dairy industry by demonstrating U.S. dairy farmers are committed to producing high quality, safe milk with integrity. The National Dairy FARM Program is open to all U.S. dairy farmers, milk processors and cooperatives. As science and best practices evolve, the FARM Program’s goal is to continue showing customers and consumers that we’re holding the dairy industry to the highest standards.

    The FARM Program focuses on five program areas – animal care, antibiotic stewardship, biosecurity, environmental stewardship and workforce development. Each program area provides participants with resources such as science-based standards, verifications, metrics and other tools that can be leveraged to improve best management practices in each respective pillar.

    The FARM Animal Care Program standards are revised every three years to reflect the most current science and best management practices within the dairy industry. Standards, rationale, and accountability measures are reviewed and revised by the FARM Animal Care Task Force and NMPF Animal Health and Well-Being Committee with input from industry stakeholder groups including farmers, animal scientists, and veterinarians. The NMPF Board of Directors provides final approval on version standards. FARM is currently facilitating the development of FARM Animal Care Version 5.

    The following changes were approved by the NMPF Board of Directors in March 2023 to be implemented in FARM Animal Care Version 5:

    1. Locomotion: Establish benchmark for moderate lameness 15% with associated Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP)
    2. Disbudding: Elevate pain management standard from CIP to Mandatory Corrective Action Plan (MCAP). Acceptable methods: Caustic paste and cautery.
    3. Calves: Revision to how colostrum feeding standards are evaluated: a) Meet quantity (10% birth weight), quality (visual, colostrometer, etc.) and timeliness (within 6 hours) guidelines, or b) Evidence of successful transfer of passive immunity.
    4. Continuing Education: Elevate Family Employee standard from CIP to MCAP
    5. Euthanasia: Identification of primary and secondary individuals for euthanasia implementation and confirmation of death in protocol.
    6.  Program Implementation: Establish discovery process between FARM & co-op/processor for farms that exceed animal observation benchmarks significantly.

    The Animal Care Version 5 standards will be in place from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027. Additional information about the program is available at: https://nationaldairyfarm.com/

  4. Additional Links to Relevant Information

    Nuisance Bird Economics, Prevention, and Control for Livestock Farms

    Production Trends in the US Dairy Sector