Kddcnewsletter.2020 01-02-nb (1)

January - February 2020 • KDDC • Page 1
KDDC is supported in part by a grant from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund
Milk MattersJ a n u a r y - F e b r u a r y
w w w. k y d a i r y. o r g
KENTUCKY
Supported by
Kentucky Dairy PartnersAnnual Meeting
page 6-7
Want to Improve your Income?
page 20
What Will Chapter 11 Reorganizations
Do to the Milk Market?
page 10-11
continued on page 11
Little Things, Big Impact: January Alltech and KDDC Meeting Series
Elizabeth Lunsford
I
n early January, farmers from across the state gathered
for a week of dairy meetings that highlighted small things
that can be done on every dairy that could potentially have
a substantial impact on the farm’s bottom line. Most of the
time, producers think big-impact items come with a big price
tag, but as most also end up realizing, this is simply not
always the case.
“Attendance at the meetings was outstanding,” said Dr. Jeffrey
Bewley, dairy housing and analytics specialist at Alltech. “We
covered a wide range of topics addressing real-world problems
that farmers can change now. Producer feedback was excellent
and very encouraging.”
The meetings started in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, then traveled
from Campbellsville to Glasgow and ended in Flemingsburg. In
total, the meetings brought in around 200 attendees, a turnout
that greatly pleased everyone.
Dr. Elizabeth Eckelkamp, an extension specialist at the
University of Tennessee, gave a presentation on “starting
with the basics,” and Dr. John Laster from the Todd County
Animal Clinic spoke about milk quality. Jenna Guinn of Alltech
discussed heat stress and Dr. Bewley spoke about changing
the game with dairy analytics, while Alltech’s John Winchell
presented on forage management. This wide range of topics and
information gave attendees a chance to focus on many different
areas and potentially revealed great opportunities for them.
Included below are 10 key points from the meetings:
1. Pre-treating heifers can greatly decrease instances of
mastitis in first-lactation animals. Every 100,000-increase in
somatic cell count translates to 5# of milk, proving that pre-
treating heifers can pay.
2. When it comes to mastitis prevention, environment is
everything, and finding new ways to control flies can also be
key.
3. Keeping score of your mastitis prevention, setting
goals for all to see, and keeping track of where you are on your
journey can be beneficial for both owners and employees. The
best indicators don’t simply measure performance; they improve
it. Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) are for everyone — how
are you displaying yours?
4. Summer–winter ratio is a new metric used to quantify
seasonal effects on cow performance. Summer heat, especially
in the Southeast, can have an impact on milk production — but
are you measuring the level of that impact? This ratio not only
sets an indicator of where you are, it also allows you a way to
measure investments made into heat abatement and improvement
over time.
5. Creating adequate air-flow through the barns is another
key to managing heat stress. Observing the trajectory of the fans,

2020 KDDC Board of
Directors & Staff
Executive Committee
President: Richard Sparrow
Vice President: Charles Townsend, DVM
Sec./Treasurer: Tom Hastings
EC Member: Tony Cowherd
EC Member: Freeman Brundige
EC Past President: Bob Klingenfus
Board of Directors
District 1: Freeman Brundige 731.446.6248
District 2: Josh Duvall 270.535.6533
District 3: Keith Long 270.670.1388
District 4: Bill Crist Jr. 270.590.3185
District 5: Tony Compton 270.378.0525
District 6: Mark Williams 270.427.0796
District 7: Greg Goode 606.303.2150
District 8: Steve Weaver 270.475.3154
District 9: Jerry Gentry 606.875.2526
District 10: Richard Sparrow 502.370.6730
District 11: Stewart Jones 270.402.4805
District 12: John Kuegel 270.316.0351
Equipment: Tony Cowherd 270.469.0398
Milk Haulers: Alan Wilson 606.875.7281
Genetics: Dan Johnson 502.905.8221
Feed: Tom Hastings 270.748.9652
Nutrition: Dr. Jeffrey Bewley 270.225.1212
Dairy Co-op: Justin Olson 765.499.4817
Veterinary: Dr. Charles Townsend 270.726.4041
Finance: Michael Smith 859.619.4995
Heifer Raiser: Bill Mattingly 270.699.1701
Former Pres.: Bob Klingenfus 502.817.3165
Employee & Consultants
Executive Director: H.H. Barlow
859.516.1129
kddc@kydairy.org
DC-Central: Beth Cox
PO Box 144, Mannsville, KY 42758
bethcoxkddc@gmail.com
859.516.1619 • 270-469-4278
DC-Western: Dave Roberts
1334 Carrville Road, Hampton, KY 42047
kddcroberts@gmail.com
859.516.1409
DC-Southern: Meredith Scales
2617 Harristown Road, Russell Springs, KY 42642
mescales2@gmail.com
859.516.1966
DC-Northern: Jennifer Hickerson
4887 Mt Sterling Road, Flemingsburg, KY 41041
j.hickersonkddc@gmail.com
859.516.2458
KDDC
176 Pasadena Drive • Lexington, KY 40503
www.kydairy.org
KY Milk Matters produced by Carey Brown
President’s Corner Richard Sparrow
A
s we begin a new year and a new decade it
is important to take a look at where we are as
an industry, and more important where we are
heading. I had a boss who told me, “Every once in a while
you need to drive a stake in the ground to see if you are
going forward or falling further behind.”
Nationally, the market research says that dairy is in 94% of the households in
America. That is an impressive statistic. There is no doubt dairy farmer funded
promotion has had a positive impact on that trend. Milk price wise, we are receiving
the best milk price since 2014-2015, and at least in the short-term, milk price looks
relatively good.
In Kentucky, the 2020 KDDC Milk Program has been approved by the
Agricultural Development Board, with enhanced payouts on all quality levels. The
Milk Program has been, and I hope will continue to be the shining star of KDDC,
putting new dollars in Kentucky dairy farmers’ pockets.
All of these things are good; however, there is more work to be done. I believe
most every problem Kentucky dairy farmers have could be solved or reduced if we
could enhance the value of the local milk supply. The biggest advantage Kentucky
dairy farmers should have is the proximity to high Class I processing plants.
However, today there is not enough difference in price a Kentucky dairy farmer
receives compared to a dairy farmer located hundreds of miles away from that same
Kentucky processing plant.
There is more than one way to change this equation. We can seek improvements
in the Federal Order Program. Also, we can urge local milk cooperatives to pay
higher premiums in Kentucky. Historically, this only happens if there is competition
for the milk supply.
As we look ahead, it is my hope that KDDC can lead the Kentucky Dairy industry in
some new way to enhance our local milk supply. Our collective survival depends on it.

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For more information please contact
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Executive Director Comments
H H Barlow
H
appy New Year everyone!! We’ve
had a very mild winter so far; milk
prices are improved and we’re
praying for a successful 2020.
It’s a new decade and none of us really know
what the future holds. But we have so much to
be thankful for so let’s remember to be grateful for our blessings
and the opportunities that are before us.
Projections for blend prices in 2020 are expected to average
$1.35 higher than 2019, according to Calvin Covington’s Dixie
Dairy Report. Demand for dairy was up nearly 2% this past
year and with the good economy, it is expected to increase in
2020. Also, dairy exports are expected to increase because of
USMCA and the China trade deal. This is good news after
several years of tough prices.
Even though I’m very optimistic about dairy’s future, we
have significant challenges ahead. The Dean and Borden
bankruptcies are definitely cause for concern. Dean has been
approved by the court to keep operating as usual for a period
of time, approximately one year. In conversations with Borden
officials, they too plan to keep operating as usual. They publicly
state they are financially sound, and this bankruptcy filing is
to improve their financing and credit concern with lenders.
Both companies have private equity firms involved in their
ownership, who are far removed from us dairy farmer who
produce the raw product. All dairymen must watch to see how
these situations transpire.
Market security in 2020 will absolutely be the number one
priority for KDDC and all dairymen this year. How do we
address market security?
• Concentrate on producing high quality milk…High
quality milk will have an advantage in any market.
• Work with your coop, processor and hauler to secure
your hauling.
• Be proactive in complying with new animal welfare
rules being implemented in 2020.
• Get informed and be active with fellow dairymen and
KDDC in engaging with coops and processors to create new
markets and more value for Kentucky milk.
These four points will aid dairymen in addressing market
security.
On another front, for market improvement, KDDC is taking
a leadership position in the Southeast Stakeholder’s Dairy Task
Force. This group represents ten southeastern dairy states. We
are studying Federal Order rules that affect all producers and
we will be making proposals to adjust these rules to improve
southeast dairy markets. Some of the points to be discussed
include transportation credits, touch base requirements,
diversion limits, multiple component pricing and new product
development. We will have a series of conference calls and a
July meeting to draw specific proposals for USDA consideration.
Some of the actions are dependent upon legislation; therefore, the
task force plans to take action immediately after the fall election.
KDDC Highlights for 2020:
Our first endeavor was the KDDC Alltech Winter Management
meetings January 13-16. Alltech provided the speakers, with Dr.
Jeffrey Bewley being the featured presenter on the topic “Little
Things Make a Big Impact”.
Our Dairy Partner Conference will be held February 25-26. We
have an excellent program planned, with our featured speaker
being Shelley Mayer, Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin
executive director. The agenda is listed in this newsletter.
A great feature of KDDC is our Dairy Consultant Program.
They are available to help all dairymen with nutrient management
plans, no-discharge manure permits, Ag water quality plans
and energy grants. They are also available to troubleshoot milk
quality challenges and sign-up for the milk quality premium
program (MILK).
A new initiative for KDDC this year will be the establishment
of young dairymen peer groups in our four regions across the
state. It’s time to create new young leaders in our industry for the
future.
There is a summertime tour planned for July 7 with details
coming later.
As there always is, I’m sure there will be some trying times
in 2020, but strive to maintain a positive attitude, planning for
success and, I believe we will have a good year!!!
Go Cats!!! And make plenty of cheese dip for March
Madness!!!
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NAAB Name NM$ Rel% CM$ PTAM Rel%
7HO12821 EVEREST 963 92 996 1,488 97
7HO12788 FRAZZLED 948 94 957 2,096 99
7HO13454 ROCKETFIRE 937 90 945 2,999 96
7HO12659 PASSAT 930 92 938 1,705 97
7HO12819 OUTSIDERS 884 92 889 2,251 98
7HO12421 MILLINGTON 874 96 902 1,540 99
7HO12266 YODER 872 99 900 1,020 99
7HO13504 JAGUAR 838 88 876 1,487 93
7HO12864 INFERNO 822 90 845 921 94
7HO13334 PHANTOM 821 93 848 2,256 98
12/19 CDCB/HA Genomic Evaluation: All bulls, except YODER, qualify for semen export to Canada.
7HO12788 FRAZZLED7HO12788 FRAZZLED
Pine-Tree 9839 Fraz 7613-ET
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Larson Acres, Inc., Evansville, WI, Photo by Fisher
7HO13454 ROCKETFIRE7HO13454 ROCKETFIRE
S-S-I Rocktfir 5033 8223-ET (GP-80)
Photo by Herges

KENTUCKY DAIRY PARTNERS ANNUAL MEETING
February 25 & 26, 2020
Sloan Convention Center, 1021 Wilkinson Trace, Bowling Green, Kentucky
KDDC Young Dairy Producers Meeting
Tuesday, February 25 (All Times are Central Time)
8:30 Registration for KDDC Young Dairy Producers Conference
9:00 AM-11:00AM Trade Show Set up
9:30-10:15 “Protecting and Transitioning Farm for Current Owners and Future Generations” – Chris Emison, Attorney,
Pitt and Emison
10:15-11:00 “Lean Farming” – Jeffrey Bewley, Alltech
11:00 Break
11:15-12:00 “Make the Wheels Turn. Kentucky Dairy Farmers: Where are we Headed, How are we Getting there and
Who’s Driving?” – Shelly Mayer, Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin
12:00-1:30 PM Lunch and Trade Show Opens
1:00 - 5:00 ADA of Kentucky Board Meeting
1:30-2:30 “Got Questions? Consumers Do Too! The WHOLE Milk Story in 2020” – Sherry Bunting, AgMoos and FarmShine
2:30-3:15 “Management in Uncertain Times” -Steve Isaacs, University of Kentucky
3:15 Break
3:45-4:30 “Bovine Hoof Health” -Ernest Hovingh, Penn State University
4:30- 6:00 Visit Trade Show
6:00 - 8:00 Dairy Awards Dinner -Keynote Speaker- Warren Beeler, GOAP
Wednesday, February 26 (All Times are Central Time)
8:00 AM Registration & Trade Show Open
8:20 Welcome – Dr. Richard Coffey, University of Kentucky
8:30-9:15 “Delivering Dairy to Consumers through Dietitian Partners” – Karman Meyer, RD, LDN
9:15-10:00 “Lameness Prevention and Management”-Ernest Hovingh, Penn State University
10:00 Break
10:30-11:15 Dairy Alliance Speaker
11:15-12:00 “Biosecurity and Infectious Disease Management” – Ernest Hovingh, Penn State University
12:00-12:45 “Who’s Writing Your Story? Don’t Wait for the Press to Report your Story, Make Headlines Today”-Shelly
Mayer, Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin
12:45 – 2:00 PM Lunch - KDDC Annual Business Meeting – Trade Show Exhibits (Bidding Ends on Silent Auction Items)
2:00 – 2:45 “How Genetic Selection Can Make Your Life Easier”- Jeffrey Bewley, Alltech
2:45-3:00 Wrap up and Evaluations
Tentative Schedule subject to change

Dairy Producers - PRE-REGISTRATION FORM - Dairy Farmers only
Young Dairy Producer/KY Dairy Partners Conference
February 25-26, 2020
ADDRESS
FIRST ATTENDEE
HOME PHONE
SECOND ATTENDEE
CELL PHONE
EMAIL ADDRESS
NO. OF COWS COUNTY
Check all that apply: ON-LINE REGISTRATION IS ALSO AVAILABLE AT KYDAIRY.ORG
Dairy farmers:
• There is a charge of $30 per dairy farm family to attend Feb 25 and/or Feb 26 (LIMIT 4 PER FARM)
• There is also a charge of $50 per hotel room night.
• Both fees are payable at the conference but please send registration to the address below.
___Acknowledge $30 charge per dairy farm (one charge for one or two days-not each day)
___I will attend the YDPC on Tuesday, Feb 25 (full day of meeting.)
___I will attend Ky Dairy Awards Banquet Tuesday evening , Feb 25
___I will need a hotel room for Tuesday night, Feb 25. Cost is $50 per room night for a dairy farmer
available to qualified young producers (n/c for KDDC board members).
___I will attend Wednesday, Feb 26 - Ky Dairy Partners Meeting and lunch
All fees payable to KDDC at the conference.
Mail registration form to: Ky Dept of Agriculture • c/o Eunice Schlappi • 111 Corporate Drive • Frankfort, KY 40601
Or email to: Eunice.schlappi@ky.gov
If you have any questions, contact Eunice Schlappi at 502-545-0809

Six Key Critical Management Practices to Beat the Heat
Donna M. Amaral-Phillips, UK Extension Professor and Dairy Nutritionist
Key #1. Feed should be mixed twice daily. During the
warmer parts of the year, TMR mixes (or silages) should be
mixed and fed at least twice daily. Less frequent mixing allows
the feeds to heat in the wagon and feedbunk which can result
in cows eating less feed. Less feed consumed usually results in
lower milk production. Once a day mixing may have been an
option during the colder parts of our winters, but is not an option
when temperatures start climbing. For those with outside feeding
areas, shade cloth over the feedbunk helps keep cows cooler and
encourages them to eat during the day.
Key #2. Cows eat most of their feed overnight when
temperatures tend to decrease and cows are able to
cool off. With the decreases in overnight temperatures, cows
tend to consume more feed during these very early morning
hours. The key here is to make sure that quality feed is available
when cows want to eat. During the hotter parts of the summer,
cows may consume almost 70% of their feed in these overnight/
early morning hours. Thus, batch sizes need to be adjusted for
this key change in feed intake during different parts of the day.
Key #3. Use of fans and sprinklers can help cows
cool off while in the holding pen, eating areas, and resting
areas. Cows are the most comfortable when their environmental
temperature is between 40 and 70 °F. As the temperature (and
humidity) rise, cows undergo heat stress. The bottom line is
that heat stress results in cows eating less, reduced fertility, and
decreased milk production. Heat stress can be reduced by placing
sprinklers (that wet the cow’s coat) and fans in holding pens
and over feedbunks. Sprinklers are placed on a timer and run
approximately for 2 minutes and off for 10 to 12 minutes and
increase in frequency they are on with increasing temperatures.
Fans should run continuously. In addition, fans are placed
over the freestalls or resting area. All fans should come on
automatically when temperatures are greater than 65°F.
Key #4. Rebalance rations with new forages. New
forages should be analyzed and these results used to balance
rations accordingly. Also, with summertime feeding, mineral
balances (e.g. potassium) are shifted slightly to account for not
only the nutrient composition of new forages but also the stresses
and additional mineral losses associated with coping with the
heat.
Key #5. Minimize heat stress on dry cows. Shade and
access to fans and sprinklers have been shown to increase milk
production this next lactation of the dry cow herself, and future
production of her daughter and granddaughter. Minimizing
stresses on this group of cattle is critical to getting them to milk
well (8-10 lbs more milk) during the next lactation. Allowing
these cows access to shade, fans, and sprinklers reduces heat
stress on these cows, improves immune function, reproductive
performance, and early-life calf survivability. Do not forget
baby calves; they undergo heat stress also. Placing hutches
under shade trees helps decrease the temperature in the hutch,
improves calf health, and weight gain. Calves housed in barns
need fans for air movement and heat abatement.
Key # 6. Make sure that heifers on pasture have
adequate forage and plenty of cool, clean water. Cool
season grasses, i.e. fescue, are more sensitive to soil water
deficiencies and have optimum growth with temperatures are
between 65 and 75°F. As a result, cool season grasses are often
dormant during the summer months. To prevent mastitis in pre-
fresh heifers, proper fly control is important. In addition, do not
allow heifers to “swim“ in ponds for cooling.
Remember cows can experience heat stress throughout the year when
temperatures get above 65ºF

Zack Burris
270-576-7001
Offer good throug March 15, 2020OFFER GOOD THROUGH MARCH 15, 2020

$$$$Billion Question(s) - Answers Yet to Come:
What will Chapter 11 Reorganizations do to the Future of the Southeast Milk Market?
Julie Walker, AgriVoice
It’s the elephant in every room of every dairy discussion in
the Southeast these days.
It’s the deep undertow on mental attitudes which otherwise
would be a bit more upbeat due to this current cycle of higher
milk prices.
It’s this Billion Dollar$$$ que$tion - plus a few other related
questions:
How will the Dean Foods and Borden Chapter 11
(reorganization) Bankruptcy Proceedings determine the future
of available markets and ‘take-home pay’ to dairy farms in the
Southeast?
• What will our closest markets for our milk be like in a
year or two?
• How much ‘take-home pay’ will be available to farmers
to spend in their local communities, and in turn, to support and
maintain their local ag economies? What are farmers budgeting
for?
• Will there even be a ‘close-by’ market for producers in
all locale of the southeast?
• How many plants will stay open, and how many may
close?
• Which ones will they be, and what functions will be
performed by such facilities? (For instance, Borden closed
processing operations at their Cincinnati plant just days
before their January filing, yet the facility remains open as a
distribution center.)
• Will any transition of both companies keep enough
dollars flowing into regional ag economies - in the Southeast,
and across the country - to keep those rural areas alive?
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy proceedings of two major processors/
milk buyers in the Southeast are underway in two Federal
Court Districts in two different locations. Collectively, the
companies receive milk at 18 plants in the Southeast; there are
11 Dean Foods plants and 7 Borden plants. According to several
industry estimates, those plants are the usual home market for an
estimated 60%+ of milk produced in the Southeast.
Most know by now that Dean Foods filed bankruptcy on
November 12, 2019 as “Southern Foods Group, LLC, d/b/a
Dean Foods,” with proceedings taking place in the US Federal
Court, Texas-Southern District, at a Houston courthouse.
Borden Chapter 11 proceedings, filed on January 5, 2020, are
taking place under the official name of “Borden Dairy Company,
LLC,” in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of
Delaware.
From the day of any milk company Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
filing, producers are protected for payment for their milk.
However, an almost unheard of circumstance occurred in the
early days of both of these bankruptcy filings: Independent
producers (those who contracted directly with the companies,
without membership in a co-op), did in fact receive payment for
the milk delivered in the 30-45 days prior to the filing.
Normally, these types of producers are viewed as ‘unsecured
creditors’ in the court’s eyes, and normally, any payment at
all is usually pennies on the dollar, and takes place years
after a filing when a Chapter 11 is completed. However, both
companies deemed independent producers and others in their
milk processing supply chains as ‘critical vendors,’ and pleaded
for the court to allow payments as usual. The Court granted
those requests.
That was the first hurdle as these proceedings will be
negotiated through the courts and as potential buyers make
offers and inquiries.
Milk cooperatives, which are bound to pay their members for
milk shipped through the co-op, have been affected differently.
Unless funds have been transferred in recent days, it appears
several of them have not yet received payment after evaluating
court documents.
On Dec. 2, 2019, Southeast Milk Inc. filed a ‘Reclamation
Demand” (Document 374) for payment of $13,527,796.54 owed
to them by Dean Foods per the Nov.12 filing date.
On Jan. 10th, 2020, a “Verified Statement of the Official
Committee of Unsecured Creditors . . .” (Document
673) contained statements that Land O’Lakes was owed
$10.5 Million, California Dairies, Inc. (CDI) was owed
$6,499,148, and Select Milk Producers had unsecured claims of
$4,484,598.96.
Earlier documents also stated that DFA was owed in excess
of $172.9 million. Thus far in court documents (at least at
the publishing of this article), there was little, if any, further
mention of any transactions with DFA. The amounts owed to
each, and what will ultimately be settled with each entity, is yet
to be known.
For now, it’s business as usual for farmers as they continue
to receive payments for their milk, and as retailers receive
deliveries of processed products.
The HUGE factor in both the bankruptcies is each company’s
obligation to the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas
Pension Fund. Dean Foods alone owes that fund in excess
of $769.8 Million Dollars as of January 10, 2020. Phrased
differently, the Pension Fund is a creditor of approximately 3/4

of a Billion dollars by Dean Foods. Borden’s obligation, while
considerably less, is still the largest creditor in that proceeding
as well. .
However, the next phase of ‘on-the-record’ offers and counter
offers is set to begin with significant hearings in February.
As of the last week of January, there were 858 documents
(and counting!) filed in the Dean Foods Case, and 228 (and
counting!) filed in the Borden proceedings.
The next major event in the Dean Foods situation is an
‘Omnibus’ Hearing scheduled for February 19th. A hearing
is set for February 24, 2020 in the Borden case. More will
be known as documents are filed in the days leading up to
those hearings. That is where real answers will lie - not in
speculation, not in rumors, not in “I heard this . . statements,”
but in documents filed with the court.
At the current time, there are many public reports referencing
either a ‘sale’ or a ‘merger’ with Dairy Farmers of America in
the Dean proceedings. Accurate details which will confirm or
deny those rumors will be found in court documents. It is no
secret the Department of Justice is making inquiries into such a
merger or sale, but again, the results of those inquiries are yet to
be known.
At a December 20th hearing for Deans, an attorney
representing a “Group of Bondholders” stated there would be
offers ready for the court’s consideration in the coming months
as well; those offers have yet to appear or be evaluated.
In short, we are in a wait-and-see mode as to what a southeast
dairy farm future will look like in the Southeast.
To keep up with the legal filings and related information, here
are some resources:
• Dean Foods Bankruptcy: https://dm.epiq11.com/case/
DNF/dockets
• Borden Bankruptcy: https://donlinrecano.com/Clients/
bdc/Index
• General News Releases: www.
DeanFoodsRestructuring.com
• Related information: http://www.milkshedsblog.com
NOTE: The Dean Foods Chapter 11 is believed to be the
largest dairy company Chapter 11 in the nation’s history. Borden
is sizable in its own right, although small compared to Dean
Foods. Both proceedings have multiple moving parts varying
from farmer payments to daily processing and delivery expenses
to licensing and cross-licensing of brands to anything else. Any
information you read about either should only be considered
current as of that moment, and what is a fact today may be
old news by tomorrow. Read carefully, and make sure the
information you receive is accurate.
how clean they are and where they are placed is crucial for
making sure that this investment is doing what it should.
6. Make comparisons with your own data or even
with your neighbors’. Knowing where you are now is key
to knowing where you are going.
7. How are you using data on your operation? Who
is your chief information officer (CIO)? Farmers are
flooded with information and data but ensuring that you are
using that data to its greatest potential is key. Connecting
production to finance, trying to understand the basics and
treating data as the asset that it is can help producers to
manage KPIs on their operation.
8. Keep an eye out for dandelions going into the seed
stage — this is the time that cover crops and first-cutting
grass stands are approaching a high-quality forage stage.
9. Consider using lower day-length silage corn to
reduce the harvest window and maximize starch levels in
silage. Chip five representative plants a couple of weeks
prior to corn silage harvest to check for whole-plant dry
matter, as doing so will allow you to maximize quality and
starch.
10. Consider brown midrib corn silage for increased
fiber digestibility and milk production. Plant at the
recommended populations and use the correct day length
for your ground.
Through people like Dr. Bewley and Jenna Guinn,
Alltech offers new tools that use your herd code and
RAC code to help pull together a comprehensive report
that outlines all aspects of your operation, as well as
benchmarks for improvement. For access to this report for
your herd, please contact Elizabeth Lunsford at (859) 553-
0072.
Thank you to all our sponsors and to those who attended
these meetings. The feedback was remarkable, and Alltech
and KDDC look forward to receiving more feedback and
hearing ideas about how more of these meetings could be
held in the future.
continued from cover

Hey Doc, While You’re Here...
Charles Townsend DVM, Burkmann Nutrition
I
t’s a cold night and the wildcats just pulled off a win,
now it’s time to finish this article. I’m at the Georgia
Dairy Conference and just listened to a day’s worth
of talks about Milk Quality and Robotic milking. I guess
you’re thinking that I’m going to write about the conference
and what I learned, nope… this article is going to cover
vaccinations on the dairy, sorry.”
So, what is the best vaccination protocol for a dairy? Really
there is no prefect protocol that fits every dairy. The best
protocol is a protocol that you have worked out with your
veterinarian that fits the disease that you see on your dairy. What
I’m going to do in this article is give some basics that you can
take to your veterinarian and talk to him or her about what is
best for you and your operation.
Let’s start with your heifer operation. I am convinced that
every calf needs a nasal vaccine against pneumonia at the day
of birth. There are 2 vaccines that you can consider, TSV-2 or
Inforce 3. You should consult your veterinarian to see what
they would recommend. One thing to consider is that this
vaccine should be administered before 4 days of age. Studies
have shown that giving vaccine between 4 and 21 days shows
to not be very effective. What we are looking for is to get the
immunity up in that newborn calf as soon as possible, hence the
reason I want that vaccine in the calf before 4 days of age.
So, what about Calf guard? Does this vaccine really work?
Let me answer the last question first. Yes, the vaccine works but
there is a caveat. This vaccine needs to be given before the calf
receives any colostrum. Colostrum deactivates the vaccine, so
if you can’t get the vaccine into the calf before the calf receives
colostrum then you’re just wasting your money.
There is a fairly new vaccine against Corona virus that is
labeled for 3 days or older. The route of administration is
intranasal. This vaccine has shown to be effective against the
enteric type of disease compared to colostrum deprived calves. I
have not used this vaccine or know of anyone that has used this
vaccine, so I can’t give any hands-on experience. Talk to your
veterinarian to see if this vaccine is something that you need to
use.
The next thing that we need to vaccinate the calves with is
a 4-way virus combined with a 5-way Lepto, this should be
done at 4-6 months of age. I would recommend a modified live
vaccine. They have shown to be the most effective vaccine when
compared to a killed vaccine. This vaccine needs a booster in
3-4 weeks. The lepto vaccine needs to be followed with the
letters HB. This tells us that it has Hardjo bovis incorporated
into the vaccine. Lepto hardjo bovis is the main Lepto that we
are concerned with in cattle. The other vaccine that I would use
is a 7-way clostridial vaccine, another name for the vaccine is
7-way blackleg. Again, this should be boostered in 3-4 weeks.
The next time for vaccination is before breeding. Booster the
4-way with 5-way lepto (9-way vaccine). This vaccine covers
IBR, PI3, BRSV, BVD and 5 different strains of Lepto.
Summary: Calf vaccine protocol
1-3 days old: Nasal vaccine
Option: calf guard (before colostrum administered to the calf)
4-6 months: 9-way vaccine with HB
7-way Blackleg vaccine
Both should be boostered in 3-4 weeks
Option: Brucella abortus (veterinarian administered only) Ask
your veterinarian if this is recommended for your herd.
Now, lets look at your cow herd and let’s start with the dry
cows. There are a lot of different vaccines we can look at. But
for this article I’m going to just give the main vaccines that you
should use in your herd and some options. Remember that the
best vaccine schedule is the one that you work out with your
veterinarian.
Dry off: This is the time that I would recommend a 9-way
vaccine. I still recommend the vaccine with HB included. There
are a lot of different trains of thought on if killed or MLV is
best. And again, it depends on if you have vaccinated before and
what you have used. If you vaccinated with an MLV vaccine
and you boostered the vaccine, then the thinking is that a killed
vaccine will be just as good as an MLV. Killed vaccine is safe
for pregnant cows. A cow that is vaccinated with the same MLV
vaccine within the last 12 months then a MLV vaccine is safe in
pregnant cows. This will protect you against Lepto and the viral
part of shipping fever.
The next thing that you need to look at is a scour vaccine.
This vaccine is to protect the calf against multiple agents that
cause scours in calves. This vaccine needs to be boostered if the
cow has not been vaccinated with the vaccine before. If the cow
has been vaccinated with the vaccine before then you only need
to vaccinate annually.
7-way blackleg should be vaccinated at this time. I
recommend this vaccine when you are using prostaglandin in
the herd. This should be given annually.
The last thing that we need to look at is the vaccine that
protects against Coliform mastitis. This vaccine needs to start
at dry off and then needs to be boostered in 3-4 weeks. Most
dairies will booster when they move the cows to the close-up
group.

We have a problem when all the vaccines are used, we then
have more than 2 gram negative vaccines. This can cause some
issues. This can cause the cow to become toxic and immune
compromised which will make the vaccine less effective and
possibly a sick or dead cow. How do we fix it? If the scour
vaccine doesn’t need to be boostered, then you can move one of
the gram negative vaccines to the close up group. If you need
to give all the vaccines, then move one of the gram negative
vaccines to 2 weeks prior to dry off. This will help with having
too many gram negative vaccines.
Next is the fresh cow. This is the worse time to vaccinate a
cow. The recommendation now is to move the vaccine to at
least 30 days after freshening. This will give the cow time to
recover from the stress of the freshening process and give the
immune system time recover and respond to a vaccine. So, the
only vaccine that I would recommend at this time is the vaccine
against coliform mastitis.
Remember this is just the basics and this will cover most of
the diseases that you will deal with, but there are circumstances
within the herd that another vaccine will help. Vaccines like
Staph vaccine, mannheimia, tetanus, clostridial perfringens type
A, pink eye, may be called for but these vaccines are vaccines
that you need to talk to your veterinarian about.
Summary: Cow protocol
Dry Off: 9-way vaccine (MLV or Killed) (gram negative)
7-way Clostridial
Scour vaccine (gram negative) – if the cow needs a booster,
then move the 9-way to 2-3 weeks before dry off.
Coliform mastitis vaccine (gram negative)
Close up: Coliform mastitis vaccine
Scour vaccine
30 days post freshening: Coliform mastitis vaccine
Keep safe and may this year prove to be a blessing to you and
your family!
58TH
ANNUAL KENTUCKY NATIONAL DAIRY SHOWS & SALES
MAKE PLANS TO ATTEND THE 2020 KENTUCKY NATIONAL DAIRY SHOW & SALE
KENTUCKY FAIR & EXPOSITION CENTER, PAVILION - LOUISVILLE, KY - ALL TIMES ARE EDT
AYRESHIRE/MILKING SHORTHORN
FRIDAY, APRIL 3 • 11AM SHOW • 2PM SALE
SALE MANAGED BY: KY AYRSHIRE CLUB
AYRESHIRE CONTACT
BILLY BRANSETTER (270) 528-6336
MILKING SHORTHORN CONTACT:
DAVID CROSHAW (859) 583-6682
BROWN SWISS
FRIDAY, APRIL 3 • 9AM SHOW • 11AM SALE
SALE MANAGED BY: KY BROWN SWISS
BREEDERS’ ASSOCIATION
RICHARD SPARROW (502) 370-6730
GUERNSEY
FRIDAY, APRIL 3 • 2PM SHOW • 4PM SALE
SALE MANAGED BY: KY GUERNSEY
BREEDERS’ ASSOCIATION
MICHAEL SMITH (859) 619-4995
HOLSTEIN
THURSDAY, APRIL 2 • 11AM SHOW • 1PM SALE
SALE MANAGED BY:
KY HOLSTEIN CATTLE CLUB
ROBERT COLVIN (270) 572-6046
DALE TURNER (859) 583-1695
JERSEY
THURSDAY, APRIL 2 • 1PM SHOW • 3PM SALE
SALE MANAGED BY:
JMS & KY JERSEY CATTLE CLUB
GREG LAVAN (614) 322-4454
More info and Updates:
www.kyagr.com
Facebook:
Kentucky National Dairy Shows and Sales
Ethan Berry - KY Department of Ag
(502) 782-4134 • ethan.berry@ky.gov
ONLINE BIDDING AVAILABLE! LOG ON TO WWW.COWBUYER.COM & JERSEYAUCTIONLIVE.COM
THANK YOU TO OUR 2020 SPONSORS!!

Dixie Dairy Report
January 2020
Federal order blend prices. 2019 saw needed
improvement in order blend prices. As shown in table 1, 2019
blend prices in the three southeastern federal orders will average
about $2.00/cwt. higher than 2018. Last January we projected
about $1.00/cwt. increase in 2019 over 2018. All of the 2019
increase occurred in milk’s skim portion. The butterfat value of
milk in 2019 was slightly lower than the previous year. For 2020,
we project blend prices about $1.25/cwt. higher than 2019.
Dairy commodities. Most of the projected price increase in
2020 will be due to increasing nonfat dry milk powder (NFDM)
prices. Butter was the price driver in 2017 and 2018, but NFDM
was the price driver in 2019 and will continue to be so in 2020.
NFDM averaged about a quarter higher in 2019 compared to
2018, and is projected to gain another $0.17/lb. in 2020. See
dairy product sales prices in table 2. Remember each one penny
increase in the NFDM price increases the Class IV skim price by
$0.09/cwt. A combination of lower inventories (both in the U.S.
and Europe), higher international powder prices, and increased
world demand, especially in Asia, are reasons for increasing
NFDM prices.
Since 2017, the butter price has trended downward, and is
projected to continue to do so in 2020. In December, for the first
time in three years, the monthly CME butter price fell below
$2.00/lb. Dairy farmers have responded to higher butterfat prices
by increasing the average butterfat % in their milk production
from 3.77% in 2016 to 3.88% in 2018, thus increasing supply. At
the end of November, the butter inventory was 18% higher than
a year earlier, and Dairy Market News reports cream as plentiful.
The butter price is dropping. Since July, the butter price
has declined every month with the November CME butter price
the lowest in three years. Reasons for the decline include: 1)
Increased butter production. Production up 5% in October. 2)
Expanding inventories. Inventories have increased each month
1: SOUTHEASTERN FEDERAL ORDERS ACTUAL AND
PROJECTED* BLEND PRICES (2015-2020)
Year Appalachian Florida Southeast
($/cwt.) @ 3.5% fat @ base zone
2015 $18.58 $20.90 $19.29
2016 $17.09 $19.23 $17.55
2017 $18.79 $20.91 $19.15
2018 $17.29 $19.37 $17.71
2019 $19.39 $21.42 $19.81
2019 vs 2020 +$2.10 +$2.05 +$2.10
2020 $20.61 $22.73 $21.15
2020 vs. 2019 +$1.22 +$1.31 +$1.34
*Projected in bold. 2019 includes actual from January-November with
December projected.
since July 3). Heavy butter imports, and lower world prices
continue to put downward pressure on the domestic butter price.
Butter prices are projected lower in 2020, compared to recent
years.In regards to dry whey, until Asia starts recovering from
swine flu, and rebuilds its swine population, we anticipate no
major increase in dry whey prices. Asia is a major buyer of dry
whey for its pig feed.
Cheese saw over a $0.20/lb. increase in 2019 over 2018. We
project the average 2020 cheese price about a nickel per lb.
higher than 2019. The good news is that 2020 is starting with
no burdensome cheese inventories, which is a positive. We
anticipate there could be more volatility in cheese prices, as
was with barrels last fall when the monthly barrel price jumped
$0.50/lb. from $1.75/lb. in September to $2.25/lb. in November.
Supply and demand. How many cows, dairy farmers will
milk in 2020 is the big unknown. It appears 2019 will end with
about 20,000 fewer cows than at the beginning of the year.
However, cow numbers at the end of November were14,000
more head compared to the low in August. 2019 production will
be about 0.3% higher than 2018. Under normal conditions, with
no change in cow numbers, we can expect an annual increase
in total milk production of about 1.5%, due to improved cow
performance. The reason why it takes a significant decline in
cow numbers to lower milk production over the long-term.
Moving to the demand side, as shown in table 3, domestic
demand for the year-to-date is up 2.7%. However, exports are
down, resulting in a total year-to-date demand only up 0.5%.
This is higher than the milk production increase of 0.3%, thus
the reason for higher milk prices in 2019. Demand exceeds
supply. Looking ahead to 2020 we see improving exports which
should lift total demand 1.5 to 2% higher than 2019. This
supports our projection for higher milk prices in 2020, demand
exceeding milk supply.
However, any change in these supply to demand numbers,
will quickly change our price projection higher or lower. If cow
2. NATIONAL DAIRY PRODUCTS SALES REPORT PRICES –
ANNUAL AVERAGES (2015-2019) AND PROJECTED 2020
Year Butter Cheese
Nonfat
Dry Milk
Powder
Dry Whey
($/lb)
2015 $2.0670 $1.5454 $0.9016 $0.3804
2016 $2.0777 $1.6050 $0.8292 $0.2875
2017 $2.3303 $1.6344 $0.8666 $0.4437
2018 $2.2572 $1.5377 $0.7945 $0.3422
2019 $2.2431 $1.7586 $1.049 $0.3799
2020
Projected
$2.17 $1.81 $1.21 $0.36

Milk Prices
FMMO 5
www.malouisville.com
January 2020
Class 1 Advanced Price
(@3.5%BF)
$22.41
February 2020
(@3.5%BF)
$ 20.95
FMMO 7
www.fmmmatlanta.com
January 2020
(@3.5%BF)
$22.81
February 2020
(3.5%BF)
$21.35
3. DAIRY DEMAND MEASURED BY TOTAL SOLIDS
OCT 2019 OCT 2018 CHANGE % YTD 2019 YTD 2018 CHANGE %
(million lbs) (million lbs)
Domestic 2,159.7 2,075.9 4.0% 20,583.4 20,035.5 2.7%
Export 354.6 351.7 0.8% 3,347.3 3,769.0 -11.2%
Total 2,514.3 2,427.6 3.6% 23,930.7 23,804.5 0.5%
numbers start increasing, expect lower milk prices. If demand increases more than
projected, look for higher milk prices.
Southeast demand. October was a poor month for fluid milk sales in the
Southeastern federal orders. As shown below, October fluid sales were below a year
ago in all orders, and down a combined 2.6%. For the year-to-date fluid sales are
down 3.0% in all three orders, combined.
Southeast milk production. November milk production for the three southeast
reporting states was: Florida up 2.2% due to more milk per cow; Georgia up 1.4%
also due to more milk per cow; and Virginia continued its steady decline down 4.8%
and 7,000 less cows. Combined, these three states which account for about two-thirds
of southeast milk production, produced about the same volume of milk in November
compared to a year ago.
4. FLUID MILK SALES IN THE THREE SOUTHEASTERN FEDERAL ORDERS
OCT 2019 OCT 2018 CHANGE % YTD 2019 YTD 2018 CHANGE %
(million lbs) (million lbs)
Appalachian 272 277 -1.8% 2,670 2,595 -2.8%
Florida 229 233 -1.7% 2,242 2,218 -1.1%
Southeast 360 374 -3.7% 3,423 3,575 -4.3%
Total 861 884 -2.6% 8,326 8,487 -3.0%

Georgia Dairy Conference
Dave Roberts
A
delegation of eight Kentucky Dairy Development Council
(KDDC) staff and board members attended the annual
Georgia Dairy Conference in Savannah. The conference
has, for several years, been one of the premier dairy meetings
in the south as well as the nation. World class presenters
touching on timely topics and cutting-edge dairy systems filled
the one and a half days.
On the way to Savannah the group stopped at Rock House
Creamery, a dairy and processing plant. This value added dairy
bottled milk, chocolate milk, buttermilk and made cheese. The
pasture-based herd is a mix of Holsteins, Jerseys and some
crosses. Rock House Creamery is partnering with the University
of Georgia to teach classes on processing milk. They also are in
the process of marketing their milk on the University of Georgia
campus.
The next stop was W D Dairy owned by the Everett Williams
family. The Williams family milks 1,750 crossbred cows in a
72-cow rotary parlor. Their herd average is currently 27,500
lbs. milking three times a day. Irrigated corn silage, alfalfa and
ryegrass is the forage basis for their TMR. Cows were housed
in sand bedded free stalls as were young weaned heifer calves.
Heifer calves are also fed a TMR the same as the milk cows
at six months of age. Baby calves are raised in groups using
automatic calf feeders.
The conference was held at the Savannah Riverfront Marriott.
The Tuesday morning meeting was kicked off by Dr. Deanne
Meyer, University of California, Davis covering the topic of
Managing Dairy Manure in the Central Valley of California.
Many speakers followed covering subjects like Milk Quality
Tips-Looking at the Whole Picture, Control the Controllable-
Making a Profit in Unprofitable Times, Achieving Excellence,
Precision Maternity Care on a Large Dairy, Making Sense
of Parlor Performance Numbers, Painting Your Own Picture,
Robotic Milking in the Southeast and Robotic Milking-What
We Have Learned So Far concluded day one. Wednesday topics
included Securing the Future of Dairy, Milk Makes Amazing
Campaign Report, Opportunities for the Dairy Case- a Retailers
Perspective, Dairy Foods- Evaluation and Innovation and
Southeast Dairy Outlook by Calvin Covington.
Milk breaks were provided morning and afternoon in the trade
show area. The trade show consisted of eighty five dairy related
industry displays adjacent to the meeting room.
Besides the obvious reasons of attending the conference
of gaining new dairy information to bring back to Kentucky,
there was another reason to attend. The group was exploring
the possibility of taking a larger group of Kentucky producers
next year and spending a full day touring South Georgia dairies.
KDDC will continue to research such a tour.
We would like to thank the Georgia Dairy Producers and
Farrah Newberry for their hospitality and including us in their
conference.

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T
he 2020 Kentucky Dairy Development Council’s Young Dairy Producer Conference and the KY
Dairy Partners Meeting is scheduled for February 25-26, 2020 at the Sloan Conference Center
in Bowling Green, KY. This year the KY Dairy Awards Banquet will be held the night of the
25th where KY Dairy Production Award winners will be recognized along with the top KY Milk Quality
Producer and KY Milk Hauler.
The top three herds are recognized in the Production Awards category. It has always been a prestigious
honor to receive the Top Overall Herd award in this category. Achieving high production is a strategic
effort with nutrition being at the forefront of successfulness.
An icon in the Kentucky’s dairy industry’s nutrition sector Dr. Gary Lane recently passed away in December of
2019. Dr. Lane was instrumental in getting the KDDC established among others who saw the significance of such an
organization. Dr. Gary Lane serviced many dairies throughout Kentucky contributing sound nutritional expertise to help
increase quality milk production within these herds.
It is with this type of legacy that KDDC wishes to honor Dr. Lane going forward with the renaming of the Top Overall
Herd award to what now will be called the Dr. Gary Lane Production Award. This award exemplifies what Gary stood
for, excellence in achieving that one goal of producing high production of quality milk from their herd.
KDDC Top Overall Herd Production Award Gets New Name
KDDC Director and Allied Industry Corner
Richard Sparrow –
Richard serves as Presi-
dent of KDDC. Richard
and his wife, Renelle,
have three sons, Joe, Ben
and Kirby, and reside in
Owenton, KY. Richard
is an elder at the First
Christian Church in Owenton. Richard re-
ceived a degree in Animal Science from
the University of Kentucky in 1978. He
has worked with producers, processors and
haulers for 33 years with three milk cooper-
atives. He is the president of the Kentucky
Brown Swiss Association and a director of
the Brown Swiss Cattle Breeders Associa-
tion. Richard and his sons operate Fairdale
Farm, LLC, milking 40 registered Brown
Swiss.
Michael Smith – Mi-
chael grew up on a beef
cattle and tobacco farm in
Jessamine County where
he spent his childhood
showing registered dairy
cattle with his family and
being surrounded by the dairy industry. He
is still very active in showing and owning
dairy cattle of all breeds. Michael and his
brothers have owned Guernsey’s, Jersey’s,
Brown Swiss and Holsteins. They have ex-
hibited dairy cattle all across the country at
different state fairs and national shows. His
father instilled in him the love for the dairy
industry and for the dairy cow. He spent
his childhood under the leadership of Dr.
Heersche, judging dairy cattle around the
country in 4-H and then had the opportuni-
ty to represent the University of Kentucky
as a member of the Dairy Judging team in
1996. He also served as an assistant coach
for the UK Dairy Judging team in 1998. To-
day Michael is a Regional Vice President for
Farm Credit Mid-America, in Lexington.
He covers the areas of Lexington, London,
Richmond & Somerset. He has been em-
ployed by Farm Credit for the last 16 years.
In his time there he has had the opportunity
to work with various facets of the dairy in-
dustry from dairy heifer raising operations
to dairies along with a few dairy cattle bro-
kers who shipped cattle around the world.
Michael has worked with both good and
bad operations and experienced the level of
management and business practices it takes
to be successful in this endeavor.
Alan Wilson – With 40
years’ experience, a 3rd
generation milk hauler,
with two sons that have
been working in the busi-
ness for over 15 years.
Allan was a collaborator
on a Home Land Security
project on Bioterrorism in the dairy indus-
try, with a host of others. He served 6 years
on the KY Milk Handlers Assoc. Advisory
Board. He was married to his high school
sweetheart for 33 years, until he lost her to
cancer. He is the commander of Pulaski Vet-
erans Inc. Post #100, a branch of the VFW
in Somerset. He is also a board member and
secretary/treasurer of a non-profit called
Veterans Essentials Thrift Shop that helps
provide basic living essential for homeless
Veterans placed in housing provided by
HUD-VASH program.
KDDC’s Board of Directors is compromised of 21 members, 13 dairy farmers, and 8 allied industry representatives. Dairy farmer directors represent
the dairy producers within their respective districts. Allied industry members represent segments of the industry such as but not limited to, veterinarians,
milk handlers, and feed companies. The officers of the KDDC board include: President, Vice-Presidentm and Secretary-Treasurer. The Executive
Committee consists of the officers, the past president, and an elected member at large. The president must always be a dairy farmer. When board
meetings are held, there is one purpose in mind; to do what is best for Kentucky’s dairy farmers and its industry.

Comprehensive Nutrient Management
Plans (CNMPs). Livestock manure
management and water quality BMPs.
Ky Division of Water permitting and
compliance. Ben Koostra - Professional
Engineer and NRCS Technical Service
Provider - Lexington - 859-559-4662
To place a classified ad, contact any of the KDDC Dairy
Conultants or Carey Brown at (859) 948-1256
VISION: To create a vibrant and sustainable dairy
industry in Kentucky.
MISSION: To educate, promote and represent dairy
producers and foster an environment for growth of the
Kentucky dairy industry.
GOALS:
• To increase Kentucky dairy farmers’ profitability
• To improve Kentucky dairy farmers’ competiveness
• To enhance Kentucky dairy farm families’ quality of
life
• To assist in the sustainability of Kentucky’s dairy
industry
I
n January, over 400 Kentucky Farm Bureau (KFB)
members attended the 101st Annual American Farm
Bureau Federation (AFBF) Convention in Austin, TX, to
recognize individual and organizational achievements and
adopt policy for 2020. On Tuesday, January 21, 2020, AFBF
delegates adopted policies that will guide the organization’s
work this year and ensure our farmers are able to continue
providing safe and abundant food, fiber, and renewable fuel
for our nation and the world.
During the convention delegates updated Farm Bureau’s
dairy policies. After a year-long process to review ways to
modernize Federal Milk Marketing Orders, delegates voted to
support giving individual dairy farmers a voice by allowing
them to vote independently and confidentially on rules
governing milk prices. The opportunity to vote on milk pricing
rules, along with other proposed changes to marketing orders
such as recommending to eliminate transportation credits,
continuing support for component pricing in FMMOs 5 and 7,
and modification of pooling requirements will form a strong
foundation to guide the organization during future reform
efforts to better coordinate milk supply and demand in the
2020 Policies Adopted at the
101st Annual American Farm Bureau Federation Convention
United States. Delegates also voted to support the creation of a
flexible, farmer- and industry-led milk management system.
In addition, delegates updated labor and immigration policies
in which particular interest was placed on the H-2A program and
addressing issues with the adverse effect wage rate and year-
round program access to all of agriculture. New policies were
also adopted supporting science-based climate change research
and the documentation of agriculture’s advances toward climate-
smart practices. KFB looks forward to working with grassroots
leaders and Congress on the adopted 2020 policies.
KFB was well-represented at the national convention. Every
year state Farm Bureaus are presented awards in different
categories related to programs and initiatives. KFB was honored
with awards in all four Award of Excellence categories given,
including: Advocacy; Engagement and Outreach; Leadership
and Business Development; and Membership Value. Monroe
County Farm Bureau member, Vickie Bryant, was elected to the
AFBF’s Women’s Leadership Committee and Daviess County
Farm Bureau member, Kirby Green, won the AFBF Young
Farmers & Ranchers “Excellence in Agriculture Award.” This
award recognizes young farmers and ranchers who do not derive
the majority of their income from an agricultural operation, but
who actively contribute and grow through their involvement in
agriculture, their leadership ability, and participation in Farm
Bureau and other organizations.
Classified Ads

W
ant to improve your cow’s production this next
lactation and potentially make $450 more per
cow? Sound dry cow management practices can
accomplish this objective by improving production by 1000
to 4000 pounds of milk this next lactation. Today, feeding
and management programs for dry dairy cows and cows
transitioning back into the milking herd are as high of a
priority as those for the milking herd. The dry period needs
to be considered the start of the next lactation and not just
the end of the previous lactation where dry cows use dollar
resources. Sound feeding and management practices during
this time frame can improve performance this next lactation
by getting cows to (1) milk better during early lactation, (2)
rebreed earlier, and (3) have a better immune system to fight
off mastitis infections. Thus, take a few minutes to review
your feeding and management program for your dry cows. It
will pay dividends by helping improve your dairy business.
Feed the correct amount of grain to dry cows.
The amount fed and the protein content of a grain mix is
determined by the quality and type of forage being fed. As the
quality of forage decreases, more grain and a higher protein
content grain mix is needed to supply the nutrients needed by the
dry cow. If a cow does not receive adequate amount of energy,
they lose body condition or weight. In early lactation, cows
cannot eat enough so they rely on these body stores to provide
some of the needed energy so they can produce milk. These lost
body stores potentially could decrease milk production this next
lactation.
Bottom line: Test forages, use these results to balance
rations, and then feed the amount of grain needed to complement
the forages being fed.
Do not overfeed energy to dry cows, but feed
enough protein.
Feeding adequate, but not excessive, amounts of energy
throughout the dry period is important to keep cows on feed as
they transition back into the milking herd. Thus, rations should
be balanced to 0.60 to 0.62 Mcal NEl/lb dry matter in the far-off
dry period. To achieve this energy density, watch the amount of
corn silage and/or grain being fed. For close-up cows that will
not be fed a special fresh cow diet after calving, energy density
can increase up to approximately 0.66 to 0.68 Mcal NEL/lb
dry matter. Close-up diets should provide adequate amounts of
metabolizable protein (protein reaching intestines) (1200-1400 g
MP/day) and not just adequate amounts of crude protein. Thus,
what occurs in the rumen is important when determining protein
needs.
Bottom line: Work closely with your nutritionist so that
adequate, but not excessive amounts of energy and protein are
fed.
Don’t have fat dry cows.
Cows need to go dry at the proper body condition (3.0 to
3.25, but no greater than 3.5 for individual cows) and maintain
this body condition and not gain body condition during the
dry period. Cows having longer lactations because of breeding
issues are often the cows that go dry too fast. Cows that are
overconditioned at calving may have more metabolic issues after
calving and do not eat as well after calving. After calving they
should not lose more than 0.5 body condition score. This loss
in body condition score after calving is less than we previously
recommended. Cows which lose little to no body condition
after calving rebreed quicker and result in an embryo with an
improved survivability.
Bottom line: Watch body condition of cows in late lactation
to make sure cows are not getting too fat.
Provide unlimited access to water.
Water intake governs feed intake. As water intake is
compromised, feed intake decreases which may result in cows
losing weight (body condition). Again, cows will not peak as
well and will not milk as well this next lactation. During the
winter, waterers freeze and adequate water intake can become an
issue.
Bottom Line: Routinely check waterers and ponds to make
sure cattle have unlimited access to drinking water.
Provide adequate minerals and vitamins in the grain
mix.
Minerals and vitamins are important for growth of the fetus
and the dry cow herself to fight off infections after calving.
Thus, an appropriate mineral and vitamin mix should be force-
fed through the grain to ensure adequate intakes. For close-up
dry cows, low potassium forages should be fed. Generally,
diets for close-up dry cows should contain anionic salts to
minimize not only clinical milk fever where we see the classic
disease symptoms, but as importantly subclinical milk fever or
hypocalcemia, where no symptoms are detected. To determine if
adequate amounts of anionic salts are consumed, pH should be
measured in urine collected mid-stream for a number of cows
after they have been fed anionic salts for at least 1 week, but no
longer than 2 to 3 weeks. The amount of calcium supplemented
will be determined by whether or not anionic salts are included
(higher concentrations and amounts of calcium with anionic
salts). Concentrations of magnesium and other minerals are also
important in these cows and should be balanced appropriately.
Bottom Line: Talk to your nutritionist to make sure you are
providing adequate amounts of minerals and vitamins to your dry
cows and cows close to calving.
Want to Improve Your Income by $450 More per Cow?
Donna M. Amaral-Phillips, UK Extension Professor and Dairy Nutritionist

Feed cows a special diet just before calving.
Feeding programs three weeks before the expected calving
date are designed to start the transition back into the milking
herd. These diets also can help minimize fresh cow problems,
such as milk fever, which can decrease milk production this next
lactation. These feeding and management programs are designed
to use forages with a lower potassium content such as corn silage
(if fed to the milking herd) and may include feed additives, such
as choline and anionic salts.
Bottom Line: Design a feeding and management program
for pre-fresh cows (close-up dry cow program) which minimizes
health problems around calving time. These programs are not the
same as placing cows in milking string or on the milk cow diet
before calving.
Evaluate feeding and housing situation for dry cows
Pre-fresh cows need plenty of bunk and freestall space.
By achieving these goals, environmental-related stresses are
reduced, intake can be optimized, and the health of the cow can
be maintained.
Bottom Line: Provide 30 to 36 inches of bunk space per pre-
fresh cow and plenty of space for all cows to rest comfortably
on a clean, well bedded surface. Additional attention needs to
be paid to provide adequate bunk and resting space when large
numbers of cows and heifers are due to calve.
Don’t forget to minimize heat stress for dry cows.
Providing fans and sprinklers/soakers for dry cows has been
shown to increase milk production of the dry cow, her offspring
and her granddaughter! Studies have shown a 5 lb increase
in production in cows provided shade, fans and sprinklers
throughout the dry period. Also, the calf has a better immune
system and can better respond to a disease challenge.
Bottom line: Providing heat abatement for dry cows not
only impacts her health and production, but also that of her
daughter and granddaughter!!
KY MILK MATTERS ADVERTISING RATES
Ad Size BW/C (1x) BW/C (3x) BW/C (6x)
Full Page $400/$450 $380/$428 $360/$405
1/2 Page $300/$350 $285/$333 $270/$315
1/4 Page $200/$250 $190/$238 $180/$225
Business Card $100/$125 $95/$119 $90/$113
AD SIZE SPECIFICATIONS
Full page (bleed)........................................................................................................................................................................................8.75 x 11.25
Full page (no bleed).........................................................................................................................................................................................7.5 x 10
Half page (horizontal)...............................................................................................................................................................................7.5 x 4.875
Half page (vertical)................................................................................................................................................................................3.625 x 4.875
Business Card............................................................................................................................................................................................3.625 x 2.3

MOOVING DAIRY IN 2020
The Dairy Alliance’s Alan Curtsinger
presented “Mooving More Dairy in 2020”
to local co-op food service administrators
at the Green River Regional Educational
Center office in Bowling Green, which aids
local school systems in Southern Kentucky.
Through the presentation, attendees learned
how to easily incorporate more dairy products
into school meals. Everyone received The
Dairy Alliance school meals promotional
calendars with different recipe ideas, additional
opportunities for cafeteria training and further
information on available grants for equipment.
Now they have the necessary resources to move
more milk with help from The Dairy Alliance.
OLYMPIAN LEE KIEFER VISITS DAIRY FARM
Members of The Dairy Alliance Kentucky staff, Denise Jones and Tracey True, accompanied Lee Kiefer on a tour of the University
of Kentucky Dairy. The dairy tour was an important day of learning for Lee. Lee Kiefer is a Milk Pep Team Milk athlete who
participated in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics as part of the USA Fencing team. Staying busy, the Kentucky-native is preparing for the
2020 Olympics and is currently a medical student eager to learn and share milk’s good news on behalf of The Dairy Alliance.
On the tour, Lee learned about a wide variety of topics: animal tracking systems and their uses, the general breeding and care
process from start to finish, milk production safety and much more. As a medical student, Lee was interested in discovering more
of the science in the dairy industry and enjoyed seeing how research has influenced farmers’ practices. Lee walked through the pens
with heifers and milking cows before gaining hands-on experience by learning to milk a cow both by hand and with the machine.
Now that she’s visited a dairy farm, what’s next in her dairy schooling? Lee expressed interest in visiting a processor to see the
next leg in the journey of milk from cow-to-cup. She is a true milk fan ready to share her love of it with others!

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Allied Sponsors
PLATINUM
Alltech
Ag Central
Bluegrass Dairy & Food
Burkmann Feeds
Cowherd Equipment
CPC Commodities
Kentucky Department of Agriculture
Kentucky Farm Bureau
Kentucky Soybean Board
Shaker Equipment Sales
Southland Dairy Farmers/Southwest
Dairy Museum
GOLD
Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition
Dairy Express Services
Dairy Products Assoc. of Kentucky
Dairy Farmers of America ME
Farm Credit Mid-America
Givens and Houchens Trucking
Mid-South Dairy Records
Select Sires Mid America
Todd County Animal Clinic
Trenton Farm Supply
SILVER
Advanced Comfort
Grain Processing Corp.
KVMA
Luttrull Feeds
Prairie Farms
Owen Transport
RSI Calf Systems
South Central Bank
Southland Dairy Farmers
BRONZE
Bank of Jamestown
Bagdad Roller Mills
Central Farmers Supply
Double “S” Liquid Feed
Genetics Plus
H J Baker
Kentucky Corn Growers
Limestone & Cooper
Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers
Provimi (Cargill)
QMI
Wilson Trucking

176 Pasadena Drive
Lexington, KY 40503
859.516.1129 ph
www.kydairy.org
Non-Profit
US Postage
PAID
FEB 25
Young Dairy Producers Conference, Sloan
Convention Center, Bowling Green, KY 8:30 A.M.
– 4:30 P.M. CT
FEB 25
Dairy Awards Banquet and Auction, Sloan Con-
vention Center, Bowling Green, KY 6:00 – 8:00
P.M. CT
FEB 26
KY Dairy Partners Meeting and Industry Trade
Show, Sloan Convention Center, Bowling Green,
KY 8:00 A.M – 3:00 P.M
FEB 26
The Dairy Alliance Board Meeting, Sloan Conven-
tion Center, Bowling Green, KY
FEB 27
Dr. Woodall – DR. Laster Meeting, Hopkinsville,
KY
Calendar of Events
MAR 18
State 4-H Dairy Jeopardy (Contest Reg-
istration Deadline March 6th) Barren Co.
Extension Office
MAR 18-19
Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin Busi-
ness Conference, Madison, Wisconsin
MAR 27
KDDC Board Meeting, Adair Co. Extension Of-
fice, 10:00 C.T.
APR 01 4-H Cow Camp, KFEC, Louisville. KY
APR 02-03
Kentucky National Show and Sale, KFEC, Louis-
ville, KY
MAY 17-19 Alltech Ideas Conference, Lexington,KY

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