learning opportunities during the 6^th annual Kentuckiana Dairy Exchange. While the farms toured over the two days - July 30 and 31 - were all in northern Indiana, the educational program on Tuesday night at the Best Western in LaPorte was the work of Dr. Jeffrey Bewley and graduate student Amanda Sterrett of the University of Kentucky. The discussion focused on precision dairy technologies, which are an exciting new phase in dairy management. However, the take home message was to keep things simple and monitor the data you will use.

Sterrett talked about the many precision dairy management technologies being evaluated at the UK Coldsprings Dairy and Bewley followed up with these recommendations:

1)      Keep it simple

2)      Recognize what the technology is doing

3)      Don't overcomplicate the information picture

4)      Work toward integrating information to make it more meaningful

5)      Remember that if you don't do anything with the information you have collected, then the information is worthless.

6)      Have an action plan for introducing new technology to the farm and be prepared for the little things to go wrong

7)      Realize that the effect will take time

8)      Focus on technologies where both the cows and the people benefit most

9)      Remember not to lose sight of the cow.

Of all the precision technologies out there, Sterrett and Bewley agreed that heat detection is the biggest opportunity and that there are many really good options available in the market right now. Other precision technologies may need more time and evaluation and thought toward the future.

As one Indiana Dairy attendee observed, "It's exciting that UK is involved in dairy technology to this level. It's wonderful that our neighbor to the south is taking on this innovative role."

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As Fall gets closer with new harvest, Fall has also been the operative word in the feed commodity markets  giving way to very high protein, fiber and corn prices over the last year. This is a welcome activity to all in the dairy industry.  

Thankfully canola as an option over the last year that most experienced a little relief instead of fully using soybean meal. The spread continues to be wide and beneficial to the rations and shows to continue through 2014. Contracts are available as a basis or flat pricing. Beans are said to be a later harvest than normal, though no shortage on canola seed after all, is bringing the wider basis right thru September if you have needs yet. Canola new crop will be arriving about the same time, October.

Cottonseed is looking good with continued moisture pounding the Carolinas and Georgia, though the lower acreage in the mid-south region of AL to Texas will be a shorter player for northern plains users.

We look for prices to remain steady to lower on old crop with the protein and oil markets, and new crop seed giving the crushers more tonnage with less acreage. Be ready with your tonnage as time to book arises for your needs.

Soyhulls are getting tighter again as processors take maintenance down time Aug-Sept. New crop hulls bids are being accepted, get with your merchandiser for your needs.

Corn gluten feed, wet, has found a lower price than we have seen over last 6-8 months and new crop offers are available for booking thru March or Clock Sept. 2014. Quality seems to continue to be good and with new corn looking good we look forward to good supply and quality. Pellets are steady as processors slow down the plants, but new crop offers are available for contracts in a good price range.

Hominy continues to be a big player in diets with corn supply shorter, and high moisture supplies depleted this time of year. Supply is better this month than has been, giving users their needs without much hiccup.  Contracts are open for Oct-Mar 2014 vs. corn board they're looking quite good as a few years back showing $150-160 per ton, depending on freight to you.

Citrus pulp pellets remain steady for new crop offers as continued tree disease plays havoc and export demand remains strong.

Beet pulp pellets Oct-Aug 2014 and wet pulp Oct - Mar 2014 shipment time offers are available. Fiber and sugar source. Let us know your needs as prices are competitive.

Johnson says this weed's prevalence is expanding and that's a concern.

"It has become somewhat widespread, particularly across the northern one-third of the state, and we feel like we need to do all that we can to continue to raise awareness of this weed because it does present arguably the most serious agronomic weed challenge that we've had in Indiana in quite some time."

Palmer amaranth resembles other related weeds in the pigweed family so Legleiter says the first thing to look for when scouting is whether there are hairs on the plant.

Click here to read more and view a video from Purdue to help identify this noxious weed. 

Mike and Jan Heckaman and their daughter and son-in-law Max and Carrie Jo Bollenbacher welcomed the Kentuckiana tour to their 800-cow dairy farm near Argos. After years of growing the original Holstein herd from 70 to 150 cows, it was the addition of Max Bollenbacher's Jersey cows that helped propel the LLC to 280 cows. Today 660 cows are milked in a double-12 parlor, and they are housed in 440 freestalls.   

"They seem to be able to work it out," Mike says of the cows. The herd includes 150 head having over 150,000 of lifetime milk and some 10-year-old cows with over 200,000 lifetime. Over 40 of the cows are more than six years old. Dry cows are housed at another location.  Read more about Argos Dairy. 

At Homestead Dairy, LLC, owned by the Houin family, tour goers were treated to a preview of the complete mix (vs. plug flow) anaerobic digester that is wired up and ready to go as soon as the details of connecting to the grid are finalized for electricity generation. Ryan Rogers explained that digestate from a digester in Michigan was used to start the process with "all the right balance of anaerobic bugs."

In fact, post-tour interviews revealed that the digester was a major item of interest among producers attending the tour. That, and the manure press where additional liquid fraction is squeezed from the manure solids so the solids can be re-used as bedding. The digester setup includes a 45,000 gallon receiver pit, and manure is pumped 1700 feet up hill due to the location of the dairy complex on the border of two different electricity providers. Once they are generating, they expect to produce 1000 Kw per hour from the two 500-Kw genarators. The average home uses 17 Kw per hour.

The digester itself consists of two 900,000 gallon tanks. Once they are generating electricity, consumers will be able to designate their source as green energy on their electric bill. The project has been a two-year process to this point and was made possible via matching grants.

Homestead Dairy, Plymouth, Ind., encompasses 3500 cows at four locations. The dairy is owned and operated by the Houin family. Brian Houin explained how they use data and technology to improve management via methods like the in-line Afi-milk system, which monitors health, repro and performance by reading and recording information -- such as hour-by-hour activity -- for each cow as she comes through the computerized milking parlor.

Click here to read more about Homestead Dairy.  

Nor-Bert Dairy

In 2010, the 1969 parlor was abandoned in favor of the Lely robotic milking system consisting of three units. A Delaval automatic feeder is also used to feed grouped calves after they receive individual bottles for the first 10 days of life. The automatic feeder generated questions and discussions among tour goers. With the automatic feeder, Deb Dankert explained that calves can suckle as often as six times a day to receive up to eight liters of milk per day.

"It lets me know if a calf is down on milk consumption so I can figure out what may be wrong," she said.  

Click here to read more about Nor-Bert's Dairy.