Sauk Prairie Veterinary Clinic
Herd the Moos
September 2015
Eprinex Fall Booking
It is time to book Eprinex for your fall
deworming, lice and mite control. We will
be selling Eprinex 5 liter bottles this fall.
The price will be $223 per 5 liter which
includes the $20.00 rebate. We will need to
know how much you need by September 18
in order to give you this rock bottom
pricing. We will then deliver and bill the
product in October. If you would like help
calculating how much you need for your
herd, please give us a call. It should be
applied after the first hard frost for best
results against mange and lice.
World Dairy Expo 2015
September 29 to October 3
Just a rough schedule of what is available
at the World Dairy Expo each day in
addition to the excellent cattle shows and
grilled cheese sandwiches. Commercial
exhibits and trade show hours are 9 to 5
Tuesday through Saturday.
Tuesday, September 29
Expo seminar at 1 pm “The Time Is Right for
a Succession Plan” by Dan Rupar, Attorney,
Roder Ware, L.L.S.C.
Virtual Tour at 2 pm of Penterman Farm and
Holland’s Family Cheese, LLC from Thorp, WI.
Milking 370 cows and Cheese Making
Wednesday, September 30
Expo Seminar at 11 a.m. “Feed Refusals:
Waste or Cost of Doing Business” by Dr. J.W.
Schroeder, Associate Professor and Extension
Dairy Specialist, NDSU.
Virtual tour at Noon of Prairieland Dairy
from Firth, Nebraska. Milking 1300 and
Sustainability
Expo seminar at 1 pm “Adding Value to
Calves by Breeding to Beef’ by Jerry Wulf,
Partner, Wulf Cattle.
Vitural Tour at 2 pm of Meadow Brook Dairy
Farms, LLC Manitowoc, WI. Milking 460 and
Milk Production
Thursday, October 1
Expo seminar at 11 am “Defining Factors
That Create a Quality Heifer” Dr. Michael Van
Amburgh, Cornell University.
Virtual tour at Noon of Sunset Canyon
Jerseys, Beaver, Oregon. Milking 300 and
Genomic Testing
Expo seminar at 1 pm “Design Criteria for
Robotic Milking Barns” by Jack Rodenburg,
DairyLogix.
Virtual tour at 2 pm of Sunny Glade Farms,
Blumenort, Manitoba. Milking 250/Automation
Friday, October 2
Expo seminar at 11 am “Apps for Dairying:
An Application for Calving Management” by
Dr. Gustavo Schuenemann, Associate Professor,
College of Veterinary Medicine-Ohio State.
Virtual Tour at Noon of SwissLane Dairy
Farms, Alto, Michigan. Milking 2000 and
Community Involvement.
Expo seminar at 1 pm “Agroterrorism Threat
and Briefing and Roles of Law Enforcement” by
Stephen Goldsmith, DVM, Weapons of Mass
Destruction Directorate-Biological
Countermeasures Unit, FBI.
Virtual tour at 2 pm of R & G Miller & Sons,
Columbus, WI. Milking 360/Organic Dairying
Saturday, October 3
Expo seminar at 11 am “Lameness in Dairy
Cattle: Causes and Consequences” by Dr. J.K.
Shearer, Professor, Iowa State University.
Virtual tour at Noon of Trailside Holsteins,
Fountain, Minnesota. Milking 500/Technology
Fat Is In
Many recent articles and cooking shows
have promoted the healthy benefits of
milkfat. Some studies have shown lower
rates of heart disease and obesity when
milkfat is consumed as part of a balanced
diet. The media attention has been favorable
as June 2015 saw consumers increase their
purchases of whole milk by 7.1% vs. June,
2014. All varieties of beverage milk were
up 1.4% in June due primarily to the
increase in whole milk sales. After many
years of declining sales, whole milk sales
have increased for the last 7 months.
What is the bottom line on total milkfat
in the supply chain? The whole milk sales
(3.25% fat), plus the increase in flavored
whole milk sales, means that 2.6 million
pounds more butterfat was available in June
2015 vs. June 2014. The sales of lowfat
milk did decline so the net result is we
consumed 1.7 million more pounds of
butterfat in June, 2015. Additionally, our
appetite for ice cream, frozen custard, yogurt
and butter has gone up as well. This has left
the US butter market out of step with the
world market. Butter averaged
$2.318/pound last week while Oceania
butter is priced at $1.216/pound and EU
butter is $1.378/lb. If the US market holds,
we will see imports of cheaper butter and
anhydrous milkfat (for other cream based
products) flowing into the US market which
will put downward pressure on domestic
prices. This might translate into cheaper
butter for your Christmas cookies but a
lower all milk price for late this year and
into 2016.
Kiwi's Suffering
On August 6th, Fonterra (the largest milk
procurer in New Zealand) announced its
price forecast for the 2015-16 milk season.
It is estimating a pay price (including
dividends) of $4.25-$4.35/kilogram of milk
solids. This translates into a US price
between $8.27 and $8.45/cwt. If the
forecast holds, it would be the lowest milk
price in a decade. When you combine this
forecasted price with the cost of production
in New Zealand it looks even worse. The
most recent data available for cost of
production is the 2013-2014 milking season.
The numbers from that year show the costs
to be $5.17/kilogram of milk solids. This
means that the pay price will be $0.80-0.90
below the average production costs.
Needless to say, this will most likely lead to
a decrease in New Zealand milk production
later this year. Perhaps it will soften the
export market from New Zealand and
tighten up world supplies which could have
a positive effect on US prices.
Another Unfavorable Holstein
Genetic Trait
The US Holstein Association announced
the discovery of an unfavorable haplotype; it
is known as haplotype associated with
cholesterol deficiency (HCD). Calves born
homozygous, inheriting the abnormal trait
from both parents, only survive for a few
months after birth. The researchers in
Germany that reported HCD found these
calves presented with chronic diarrhea, did
not respond to treatment and tested negative
for viruses/bacteria that may cause similar
symptoms. The calves became very thin,
depleting all fat reserves in the body, and
because of their weakened state many
developed secondary diseases, mostly
pneumonia. Most of the calves died
between 3 weeks and 6 months of age from
apparent starvation or from a secondary
disease. Calves that carry one unfavorable
gene and one normal gene have been
reported to be unthrifty but the animals do
seem to survive. We do not currently have a
test for this specific haplotype but if the
pedigree is known it can help in making a
diagnosis. The defective haplotype traces
back to Canada and a bull named
MAUGHLIN STORM (born 1991). The
primary source of the normal haplotype is
WILLOWHOLME MARK ANTHONY
(born 1975). The HCD results for all
animals that were genomic tested will be
available after the August 2015 genetic
evaluations. If you have previously done
genomic testing in your herd, HCD results
will be available for these animals and will
be included in future genomic report.