Dairy Team News - Announcements

Livestock Air Emissions Reporting Webcast - Feb 6

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:47:00 -0600

Madison, Wis. - Extension agents and regulators from Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan are sponsoring a webcast seminar that focuses on the documentation necessary for concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to report their emissions under the Dec. 18, 2008 Federal Register notice.

In December 2008, the EPA determined in a final rule that all large CAFOs, including operations with 1,000 animal units, must notify state and local emergency response officials about ammonia and hydrogen sulfide emissions from their operations if they emit 100 pounds or more of these substances during any 24 hour period. Telephone notifications were to have been made no later than January 20, 2009, and a written
report must be submitted within 30 days thereafter, to avoid severe penalties. Smaller AFOs and ranching operations are not required to submit notifications.

The focus of the Feb. 6 webinar will be on how to calculate emissions from various sized livestock operations. Presentations will also focus on how to meet the reporting requirements.

The Feb. 6 webinar will be presented from 1-2:30 p.m. Topics and speakers include:
-- Why Livestock? Kevin Erb, UW-Extension
-- Background on CERCLA and EPCRA and This Reporting Requirement-What's Required for Wisconsin. Bill Clare, Wisconsin Emergency Government; Roxanne Chronert, Wisconsin DNR; Kevin Erb, UW-Extension
-- Introduction to the Unified (IL-WI) Reporting Form. Brian Holmes, UW-Madison/Extension; Ted Funk, University of Illinois; Bill Clare, Wisconsin Emergency Government; Kathy Allen, Illinois Emergency Government
-- Calculating Emissions, Farm Case Study/Sample Farm. Brian Holmes, UW-Madison/Extension; Ted Funk, University of Illinois
-- Questions and Review

Extension offices throughout Wisconsin will host the webinar. Please contact your local Extension agent to find the nearest site. There is a registration fee of $10 per person, if registering in advance. The walk-in registration is $15 per person.

December 2008 Cowscope Newsletter Published

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:09:00 -0600

Good Morning,

The December 2008 issue of Cowscope is now available for viewing on the Jefferson County webpage at: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cty/jefferson/ag/Cowscope08.html

If you have any questions, please contact Ken Bolton, Dairy and Livestock Agent at kenneth.bolton@ces.uwex.edu or Kim Buchholz, Administrative Secretary at kimb@co.jefferson.wi.us .

Thank you.

NMC Regional Meeting in Green Bay

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:47:00 -0600

Many of you are probably aware of the upcoming NMC regional meeting that will be occurring in Green Bay on August 12-13. The target audience for this meeitng is farmers and the professionals that are serving them and the meeting is focusing on managing for milk quality during summer heat and humidity. If you would like more information about this meeting, check out the meeting website:

http://nmconline.org/regionalmeet/2008/

There is a unique aspect to this meeting that has never been offered before. The NMC is offering a half day Spanish only seminar for milkers. We need to promote this aspect of the meeting and hopefully get good attendance for this unique opportunity. The link to that portion of the meeting is:

http://nmconline.org/regionalmeet/2008/SpanishRM08.htm

Please work on promoting this meeting with your clientele.

Weekly Hay Market Demand and Price Report for the Upper Midwest

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:55:00 -0600

The Weekly Hay Market Demand and Price Report for the Upper Midwest for July 18 is posted on the "Buying and Selling Hay and Straw" web site located at http://www.uwex.edu/ces/ag/haybuying.html.

June 27 webcast "Ammonia: The Air-Water Interface"

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:30:00 -0600

For those interested in air quality, an interesting event tomorrow:

Friday June 27, 2008, the Air Quality Education in Animal Agriculture project will sponsor the first in series of air quality webcasts in the Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center series.

This inaugural air quality presentation will be on “Ammonia: The Air-Water Interface”. The presenters are Randy Martin, Utah State University; Jessica Davis, Colorado State University; and Pius Ndegwa, Washington State University. They will discuss why ammonia is such a concern, present a case study on the impacts of nitrogen deposition into a pristine ecosystem, and highlight strategies for reducing ammonia emission from animal agriculture. The presentation will begin at 2:30 pm (eastern); 1:30 pm (central); 12:30 pm (mountain) and 11:30 am (pacific). More information about this webcast is at http://pubwiki.extension.org/mediawiki/files/e/e1/08jun27flyer.pdf.

On the day of the webcast, you can access the virtual meeting room by visiting http://www.extension.org/pages/Live_Webcast_Information and following the links on that page.

First-time webcast viewers can visit the following page to ensure access to the webcast system. http://www.extension.org/pages/How_Do_I_Participate_in_a_Webcast%3F.

A schedule of future webcast presentations is available at: http://www.extension.org/pages/Upcoming_Webcasts

DATCP Dairy Producer List

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:55:00 -0600

The Center for Dairy Profitability has received a list of State Dairy Producers by county as of 6.1.2008. If you would like a list of the dairy producers in your county, please let us know and we will send you a copy in EXCEL format. If you would like another format, please specify and we will try to accommodate.

CONTACT: Jenny Vanderlin, jmvander@wisc.edu, 608.263.7795

Dairy Management Website is Launched

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 18:53:00 -0600

I am very glad to announce the launching of the Dairy Management Website. This has been designed to serve as scientific resource for clientele on dairy cattle management topics. You could find presentations, publications, management tools, and important links.

I would like to call your attention especially to the management tools section. As management oriented site, the tools will be a structural part of it. At this point, the tools presented on such section are samples, which will be complemented with new developments. Hopefully I will hear from you on your needs for tools (as well as other related material) you would like to see on this site.

Dairy Management

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:27:00 -0600

Hello and warm regards,

I am glad to be the new Extension Specialist at UW-Madison Dairy Science Department. Now that I am able to post in the Blog, I would like to reiterate my commitment with each one of you to do my best to serve your needs.

My expertise is in creating and applying simulation models to device more profitable and cost-effective management strategies to help final users in decision-making under risky conditions. I have started working on a stochastic, dynamic dairy herd model adapted to Wisconsin conditions. This model will be able to simulate each and all animals in a dairy herd throughout time. Once the model is calibrated and validated, it will be useful to ‘test’ management strategies. Indeed, the model will be used to optimize a number of potential decisions under a set of diverse and uncertain conditions. I also envision this model to be integral part of a large decision support system that would include other dairy farm components as crops, climate, soils, etc.

Another line of work I have started is the assessment of risk decisions. As you may know, in July this year the newly created Livestock Gross Margin for Dairy (LGM-Dairy) will be available for Wisconsin dairy producers (and from other 34 states). The LGM-Dairy is an innovative insurance product that will allow producers to ‘lock’ their margins (difference between milk value and feed costs). As the net revenue shrinks because of increased costs and/or reduced milk prices, the LGM-Dairy could become an important tool to promote economic sustainability.

However, I am open and glad to receive your inputs to re-design my research and Extension programs to make them more relevant to the real needs. If you would like additional information about myself, please do not hesitate to contact me or visit my personal Webpage.

I am looking forward to working with you. Thank you very much.

Victor E. Cabrera, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Extension Specialist in Dairy Management
Department of Dairy Science
University of Wisconsin-Madison
608-265-8506
1675 Observatory Drive Room 279
Madison, WI 53706
vcabrera@wisc.edu
www.wisc.edu/dysci

Registration Brochure for 4-State Dairy Nutrition & Management Conference

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 07:37:00 -0600

This annual conference will be held this year on Wednesday-Thursday June 11-12 in Dubuque, IA.

Extension workers in the four states (WI, MN, IA and IL) that wish to attend will have your registration fee waived, but will need to complete the form and send it in to WASA to reserve your name tag, proceedings book/CD and meals.

For those that do not wish to attend the conference, the proceedings papers will be posted on my website (http://www.uwex.edu/ces/dairynutrition/) following the conference.

The brochure can be accessed at: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/dairynutrition/documents/20084StateDairyNutritionManagementb rochure.pdf

Conversion Tables for Converting Wet Ear and Shelled Corn to Dry Corn Price

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:41:00 -0600

Conversion tables for converting Wet Ear Corn and Wet Shelled Corn to to it's dry corn price have been updated and placed on the Center for Dairy Profitability Website under "Decision Making Tools."

http://cdp.wisc.edu

2008 Field Crop and Small Grain Budgets

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:34:00 -0600

The 2008 field crop and small grain budgets have been added to the CDP web site under the Crop Enterprise Budgets. All of the budgets are in an Excel format. Ken Barnett has added a worksheet on risk and sensitivity analyses that will be especially helpful this year to help show producers how changing fertilization levels can effect profitability.

http://cdp.wisc.edu

Extreme Makeover - The Parlor Edition

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:15:00 -0600

Many of you may have seen the popular TV show "Extreme Makeover - The Home Edition," in which a family has their old, dilapidated house torn down and replaced by a beautiful new house. Along those same lines, UW-Extension Ag Agents and the Center for Dairy Profitability are hosting a conference called "Extreme me Makeover - The Parlor Edition" for dairy farmers considering renovating their tie stall barns into a low cost milking parlor. The one-day conference will be held in Rice Lake from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Tuesday, February 26 at UW-Barron County. This program will focus on one of the most important decision many farms will face in transitioning their dairy farm into a more labor efficient and profitable dairy business.

Conference topics include:
• How to set priorities and spend your parlor dollars wisely to reach your goals
• Dairy modernization grants and programs
• A low cost parlor in every barn!
• What a parlor did for our family

Contact Tim Jergenson at 715.537.6250, Otto Wiegand at 1.800.528.1914, or Ryan Sterry at 715.485.8600 for more details.

Dairy Heifer Meeting Announced

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:02:00 -0600

The Polk County UW-Extension office will be hosting a Dairy Heifer Update Meeting on March 12th, 1:00-3:30, at the Governemnt Center in Balsam Lake. Featured speakers are Dr. Larry Baumann on managing health, Dr. Dave Kammel on housing options, and Ryan Sterry on "real heifers...real herds - a look at the costs of raising heifers". Please see the attachment for more details.

Dairy Blog Teleconference Tuesday, February 19

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:01:00 -0600

Join the Wisline teleconference next Tuesday, February 19 at 1:00 p.m. for an update on the Dairy Team Blog initiative. We need your input on ways to continue improving and expanding this great tool, both internally and externally.

WISLINE ACCESS INFORMATION

--------------------------

Toll Free Number: 800-462-1257

Toll Number: 608-265-1000

Passcode: 8729

Upcoming Workshops for Managing Animal Health on Organic Dairy farms

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 10:26:00 -0600

Organic Dairy 101: A workshop for dairy support professionals
Organic Dairy Workshops for Veterinarians and Dairy Support Professionals will be held in Wisconsin at the following locations in 2008:
February 6: Madison at WI Department of Agriculture (2811 Agriculture Drive, Rm 106 Madison, WI 53718 608-224-5120)
February 22: LaCrosse at the Radisson Hotel in conjunction with the Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference. (200 Harborview Plaza LaCrosse, WI 54601 608-784-6680)
March 13: Loyal, WI at the American Legion Hall (302 S Union St Loyal, WI 54446 715- 255-8373)
Agenda
All workshops run from 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Registration starts at 9 am. The price of the workshop includes materials and lunch and breaks featuring organic foods.
Morning:
I. Overview of Organic Dairy--What is it, who is doing it in Wisconsin, what are the rules, trends, and economics, what is the market outlook?
Dr. Brad Barham and Caroline Brock, UW Program on Agricultural Technology Studies
II. Toolbox for Managing Animal Health in Organic Systems: What's allowed and what's not?
Dr. Guy Jodarski and/or Dr. Hubert Karreman Jim Riddle, Univ MN Organic Agriculture Specialist
LUNCH and Topical Discussions
Afternoon:
III. Treatments & Disease Management on Wisconsin Organic Dairy Farms:
Results of a 2004 study Dr. Pam Ruegg, UWEX Milk Quality Specialist
IV. Farmer panel and Q&A - certified organic dairy producers will openly discuss their rationale for going organic, day-to-day management practices (including feed and nutrition, livestock health, production, and other topics), the successes and difficulties they face.
All registrants will receive the book: Organic Dairy Farming: a resource for farmers as part of program materials. Send a check made out and mailed to:
WI DATCP
Attn: Laura Paine
PO Box 8911
Madison, WI 53708