Dairy Forage Seminars

Dairy Forage Seminars at World Dairy Expo are hosted by the organizing partners of the World Forage Analysis Superbowl. Forage experts from the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center, University of Wisconsin and other research centers work together to present seminars on cutting-edge research and information. These experts are also available throughout the week in the World Forage Analysis Superbowl space, located in the Trade Center at World Dairy Expo.

The list of 2024 Dairy Forage Seminars and their descriptions are below. Each Dairy Forage Seminar is approved for one continuing education credit for members of the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS). 

Wednesday, October 2, 10:00 AM
Making Hay the Western Way
David Hinman, Producers, Hardrock Farms, Wheatland, Wyo.

This presentation will discuss David and Teri Hinman's experience raising quality alfalfa in Wyoming. David will share specifics including elevation, climate, temperature, humidity, irrigation, insects, bugs, and gophers! He will share his marketing strategies and how he and Teri process and bale alfalfa.

David grew up on a farm in western Nebraska where he attended a country school with all farm kids. He attended two years of junior college in Nebraska and received an associate degree in Ag Business.  David started farming in Nebraska in 1978 and married Teri shortly after in 1979.  They moved together to Wyoming and started farming there in 1984 where they started Hardrock Farms Inc. in 1989

Wednesday, October 2, 1:30 PM
Alfalfa Persistence is Profit
Scott Newell, Alfalfa Outreach Specialist, Crops and Soils Division of Extension, UW-Madison, Madison,  Wis. 

Alfalfa persistence is often understood as keeping a stand around for longer. Scott Newell believes persistence should also be considered from the standpoint of keeping a stand productive while you have it. Whether that is 3 years or 7 years, persistence should be an important part of your alfalfa management strategy, increasing long-term stand yield and therefore overall profits. Newell will present various practices relating to alfalfa persistence management, highlighting current research efforts into controlled traffic management.             

Scott Newell is the Alfalfa Outreach Specialist with UW-Madison Extension. An Iowa State Agronomy graduate, he did his graduate work in alfalfa genetics at UC Davis under Dr. Charlie Brummer. Eager to be back in the Midwest, Newell supports alfalfa outreach and education nationally, specifically in the Upper Midwest. He is focused on improving alfalfa competitiveness to ensure it remains a key part of the US agriculture landscape and dairy ration, providing all the benefits of a perennial legume to a diversified rotational system.

Thursday, October 3, 10:00 AM
What is New in Alfalfa Production Systems?
Marta Moura Kohmann, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences, College of Agricultural and Life Science, UW-Madison, Madison, Wis.

Alfalfa is one of the most important forages in dairy production systems, providing high-quality forage for lactating cows while supporting various ecosystem services. This legume is not only productive, but is important for nutrient cycling, protecting the soil against erosion, and exploring water and nutrients deep in the soil profile. In this seminar, we will look into novel ways to integrate alfalfa into production systems, addressing the advantages and challenges of interseeding systems with corn and establishing post-cash crops.

Dr. Marta Kohmann has extensive training in forage applied research, evaluating management practices that maintain or increase production while protecting and restoring our natural resources. Kohmann has developed work in harvested and grazed systems, evaluating production, nutritive quality, animal performance, nutrient cycling, and many other responses at the system level. Working at UW-Madison since January 2023, she is excited with the variety of forage species and systems of the Midwest.

Thursday, October 3, 1:30 PM
MILK 2024 - A Tool to Predict Energy Value of Corn Silage
Luiz Ferraretto, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist – Ruminant Nutrition, Animal and Dairy Science, UW-Madison, Madison, Wis.

Differences in nutrient composition and digestibility among corn hybrids have the potential to impact energy content of corn silage and ultimately influence dairy cow production. From the perspective of maximizing nutritive value, energy predictions of corn silage can be useful to aid producers in selecting hybrids. The MILK index was developed to predict the energy content (milk/ton) and energy yield (milk/acre) of forages. This presentation will discuss the novel aspects of the newest iteration of the MILK model.

Luiz Ferraretto is a Ruminant Nutrition Extension Specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his research interests are applied dairy cattle nutrition and management with emphasis on starch and fiber utilization by dairy cows, forage quality and digestibility, and the development and evaluation of assays for feed and forage analysis. 

Friday, October 4, 10:00 AM
Methane, Brix, and Interseeding: What is New in Dairy Grazing Research?
Kathy Soder, Ph.D., Res. Animal Scientist, USDA-ARS-Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit, University Park, Penn.

This presentation will cover several current topics related to dairy grazing research. Brix is sometimes used to predict energy content in forages, but how accurate is it? Interseeding annual forages into corn to be grazed after corn grain harvest may increase nutrient utilization and total forage production, but does this grazing harm grain yields? An overview of current research on enteric methane emissions in dairy grazing systems will also be discussed.

Dr. Kathy Soder is a Research Animal Scientist with the USDA-ARS Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit in University Park, Pennsylvania. Her research focuses on the plant-animal interface in grazing-based dairy systems. Specific areas of research include nutrition, grazing behavior, pasture management, alternative forage systems, enteric methane emissions, and most recently integrating forage crop, pasture, and livestock systems for the economic and environmental sustainability of grazing dairy farms.

Friday, October 4, 1:30 PM
Precision Milking Research on Automatic Milking Systems and Associated Animal Productivity and Health
Elizabeth French, Ph.D., Res. Animal Scientist, Dairy Forage Research Unit, Madison, Wis.

Precision milking management on farms with automatic milking systems (AMS) has implications on long-term milk production of Holsteins in early lactation by varying milking frequency. Health indicators suggest there are benefits and pitfalls to altering milking frequency in the first 30 days of lactation. Additional research has demonstrated altering milking permissions of mid-lactation primiparous and multiparous Holsteins alters animal behavior and has consequences when managing AMS farms. Research into precision milking management on farms with AMS has identified precision feeding opportunities within subsets of cows that precision agriculture can identify.

Elizabeth French, Ph.D., is an established dairy nutritionist with over 12 years in the private industry sector. Her previous experience involved advising farms globally with conventional and automatic milking systems with on-farm nutrition, ration balancing, on-farm management practices and data management to improve animal health and profitability. As a Research Animal Scientist at the Dairy Forage Research Unit, her research objectives are aggregating animal data to develop algorithms for designing rations and rumen microbiome modifications that aim to enhance farm sustainability.

Historical Dairy Forage Seminars are available here on YouTube.

The World Forage Analysis Superbowl is organized in partnership between Dairyland Laboratories, Inc., Hay & Forage Grower, US Dairy Forage Research Center, University of Wisconsin and World Dairy Expo. To learn more about the Dairy Forage Seminar series or the World Forage Analysis Superbowl competition, visit foragesuperbowl.com.