NOVUS at WDE 2024: Feed Cost Savings and Why You Should Treat Your Cow Like a Camaro

CHESTERFIELD, MO (September 3, 2024) – Dairy experts at NOVUS are hoping to repeat last year’s standing-room-only crowd for two Knowledge Nook sessions at World Dairy Expo, October 2-5 in Madison, Wisconsin.

“Last year’s packed room proved we have the experience and knowledge the industry is interested in,” says Mark Moran, NOVUS commercial director for North America. “This year’s topics are just as timely and will be just as beneficial for session attendees.”

Find the Next Bump in Your Paycheck – October 2

Sarah Stocks, Ph.D., NOVUS technical services manager, will share how understanding a herd’s “income over feed costs” can help take the burn out of an unpredictable market and even provide a better payout.

“When farmers use every tool in their toolbox we see that they are ultimately saving money. This is especially true for farmers who use the right feed additives,” she says. “Whether it’s savings due to a reduction in feed intake or being able to plant fewer acres because they’re feeding less forage, when you couple those changes with improved milk and component yield, that makes a difference in profitability.”

Stocks will present Find the Next Bump in Your Paycheck at 1:30 p.m. on October 2 in the atrium of the Exhibition Hall at World Dairy Expo.

Sports Cars vs. Farm Trucks: Maintaining Cows like the Top Performers They Are – October 3

Modern dairy cows are bred for maximum performance. So why do most farm personnel continue to treat these “Cow-maros” like old pick-up trucks? During this session, Clemence Nash, Ph.D., executive technical services manager and C.O.W.S.™ Program lead, will share how improvements in genetics and nutrition have changed today’s cows and what farmers and nutritionists need to do to truly optimize performance and get the most out of their cows.

“To put it bluntly, we’re burning cows out rather than maintaining their performance,” says Nash. “We have data from over 1,500 farms in the U.S. as part of our on-farm assessment called the C.O.W.S.™ Program. The data tells us that while cow potential has improved greatly in the last 50 years, cow management often has not.”

While facility management does make a difference in cow performance, Nash says being able to give cows the tune-ups they need and when they need them also makes a difference.

“Genetically, today’s cows have great potential, but they don’t handle speed bumps well,” she says. “We’ve seen what transition management can do for a farm’s success.”

Nash will present her session, Sports Cars vs. Farm Trucks: Maintaining Cows like the Top Performers They Are, at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 3 in the atrium of the Exhibition Hall.

Expo attendees can visit the NOVUS booth, #4317-4319 at the Alliant Energy Center Exhibition Hall, to speak with Drs. Stocks and Nash, and other NOVUS dairy experts about how intelligent nutrition can help to get more from cows. For more information about NOVUS at the expo, visit novusint.com/world-dairy-expo-2024/

World Dairy Expo serves as a forum for dairy producers, companies, organizations, and other dairy enthusiasts to come together to compete, and to exchange ideas, knowledge, technology, and commerce. For more information, visit worlddairyexpo.com.