MU Extension Dairy Team

03/12/2026

This is 113. She is 3/4 Holstein and 1/4 Jersey. She gave 89.9 # of milk tonight. She had 29,198 # in 292 days last lactation (3rd). She has two Yolo daughters.

03/10/2026

Foremost hosted the district FFA dairy judging contest. Maria Joy Poock and Myra Shivley oversaw the contest putting together four classes.

03/10/2026

Beautiful picture of all the cows lying down on the new stalls at Foremost. The cows are enjoying the rubber flooring as well.

02/17/2026

Dr. Scott Poock was the presenter for February's Hoard's Dairyman webinar. The topic was, "Update on dairy reproduction: what is happening on farms?" If you missed the webinar, you can go to Hoard's website and view it.

02/17/2026

Have you considered Sorghum for your dairy ration. Listen in to learn about all the recent advancements that might make this drought resilient forage and option for your farm!

Sorghum costs less to plant and requires less water to generate productive tonnages. For years, sorghum has been ignored as a dairy forage, because the starch filled berry was nearly impossible to process, limiting the energy available to the cow. To combat this issue a male sterile bmr dwarf variet...

01/17/2026

Here are some pictures of the freestall renovation at Foremost Dairy. The cows are enjoying the new stalls. Thanks to Mike Brandes and his crew from Wisconsin along with Drew Edwards, Cliff Hawn, and Sammi McNealy for their hard work and extra hours to get everything done.

12/23/2025

Check out this month's newsletter -

The brachytic gene mutation results in corn that is shorter in stature but an improved digestibility profile. Through a reduction in intranode distance, the corn plant reduces indigestible fiber. Dr. Antonio Gallo, PhD ruminant nutritionist from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and his team in ...

12/03/2025

Very interesting perspective offered by Univeristy of WI - Madison faculty. Using YOUR farm data, you can determine the MOST ideal combination of sires, breeding window and heifer retention.

Read here or listen in on the Dairy Science Digest podcast link found in the comments

For decades, the average 21-day pregnancy rate for dairy herds hovered around 20%. “However, 30 is the new 20,” described Megan Lauber, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Wisconsin, on the “Dairy Science Digest” podcast. “I

11/12/2025

Today, Foremost received its test date data from Monday. The Holsteins were at 98.5 lb of energy corrected milk (ECM). That is the highest production the farm has ever been at. The ECM RHA is now 29,762 #. 5 years ago, it was at 22,500 #. The goal then was to get to 30,000 lb and now the farm is knocking at the door. The Foremost crew has done a fantastic job with the forages and the cows. The milk meter in the picture is for 3753. It is what she gave last Wednesday morning 😊.

09/29/2025

The crew has arrived in time to watch the Guernsey cow and Aryshire heifer show - more to learn tomorrow!
Thank you Missouri Dairy for your sponsorship to make this trip happen!

09/12/2025

This group of Mizzou students won their first round at the AABP Quiz Bowl. The Mizzou students are the four on the left, Clayton Schowe, Aaron Brown , Cade Gustafson, and Madi Ridder. They are in the path to be excellent Food Animal veterinarians.