DHIA/Records

The table of state averages in key management areas is on vacation this month due to some glitches in the system that has served so well for so many years. Changes from month to month in many of the management areas tend to be quite small, so refer to the previous edition of Virginia Dairyman if you need a reference value. Hopefully, the data will be available in time for the next issue. Dairy discussions everywhere are dominated by costs of inputs of all kinds, but fuel, fertilizer, and purchased feeds are right at the top of most concerns. As the cost of confinement management systems goes up, those who rely on grass based management systems may be in even better financial positions than in recent years. I don’t want to imply that all dairy farmers in Virginia need to become grazers, but all dairy farmers with an opportunity to better utilize the grass that grows on their farms should consider ways to respond. As I write this column, spring grass is growing faster than animals can consume it, and the young grasses are an excellent protein source. With good forage management systems, this flush of growth can be extended at both ends of the growing season, reducing reliance on the three costly “f’s” mentioned earlier. Grass based dairy production was the foundation of dairy production before the reliance on stored forages and purchased concentrates. Cheap fuel and fertilizer encouraged lots of row crop production, even on acres that had once been grazed. The abundance of grains from the rich soils of our central states encouraged high concentrate feeding in this state. The economic dynamics of feeding dairy cows have changed in recent months, creating either problems or opportunities, depending on your view. For at least some Virginia dairy farmers, this is the best year ever to consider investments in lanes, fencing, and waterers as an alternative to total reliance on confinement feeding systems. I’m not zealot enough to call for a complete change in direction, but see enough advantages to a different way to offer gentle encouragement. The only thing anyone can count on in dairy farming is change, and the cost of confinement based dairy systems, particularly compared to grass based production, has changed.

DHI Notes...