New Dairy Cattle Insights:  1^st Quarter Conferences in 2026

Barentz ruminant sales and technical staff attended four dairy management and ruminant nutrition conferences this quarter.  These meetings are attended annually mainly by dairy producers and their consulting suppliers and nutritionists.  Below are highlights of these four conferences, beginning with the most recent.     

Most recently the Central Plains Dairy Expo was held in Sioux Falls on March 17 and 18.

• In the technical sessions, a notable presentation was given by Dr. Jesse Goff on the relative use of close-up cow feeding technologies to prevent milk fever in dairy cows. While a key focus of this presentation was on postpartum dosing of calcium boluses, Dr. Goff gave an excellent comparison of standard negative DCAD close-up rations and the newer approach of using phosphorus binder technologies to stimulate postpartum calcium metabolism. Although Dr. Goff seemed to be overall more comfortable with the more consistent results of negative DCAD, he seemed to imply these two technologies might be used in combination in the future.

  The High Plains Dairy Conference (HPDC) was held in Amarillo on March 3.

• This conference represents about 1.2 million dairy cows in the states of TX, NM, KS and CO and had a record attendance of about 600.
• The HPDC featured an excellent review of the usage of AI and video analytics in dairy management given by Dr. Jeffrey Bewley. Due to the many issues of complexity and electronics maintenance, Dr. Bewley suggested this technology may not be totally ready for prime time (at least when paired with AI), he did say that continued improvements in this area would lead to better cow management and reduced labor in the future.
• Dr. Greg Penner at the University of Saskatchewan gave a very basic presentation on the actual mechanism of action of dietary buffers in dairy cattle, especially relative to leaky gut syndrome in lactating dairy cows. One of his primary arguments was that the primary effect of buffers (positive DCAD) on dairy cows during heat stress was management of electrolyte balance in the lower gut, rather than rumen buffering.

This year was the 41^st version of the Southwest Nutrition Conference (SWNC) in Chandler, AZ (January 27) and had record attendance. 

• The SWNC included a strong preconference discussion of proteins and amino acids in dairy cattle. A large focus of the presentations was on protein mobilization in early lactation and ramifications for amino acid and protein feeding. The main concept is that prepartum muscle stores greatly affect postpartum muscle losses in metabolism which can be as high as 20% of total muscle. Nutritional considerations for the extent of tissue that is mobilized need to be considered in order to truly maximize production, reproduction, and health outcomes.
• The SWNC also featured forward-looking strategies in dairy nutrition. Discussions were related to rapid genetic advancement in production of milk components and how to feed higher-performing, more efficient cows (e.g., targeting high milk component yields and lifetime productivity).

   

  The Pacific Northwest Nutrition Conference in Boise (January 19). 

• There was a excellent review of trace mineral metabolism in beef cattle by Terry Engle of Colorado State which mainly suggested that trace minerals should be fed strictly with whole-animal metabolism in mind and ignoring effects in the rumen. Dr. Engle emphasized the continued health benefits of commercial chelated trace mineral products.
• Raising replacement heifers/calves continues to be a focus for the dairy industry with emphasis on excellent nutrition in early life for more profitable production in later lactation. This concept of focused calf nutrition was tied closely to profitable growth of beef x dairy crosses destined for the beef market. At least in current market conditions, it was suggested that there is no excuse for penny pinching relative to growth of young stock.