Philosophy of pasture-based dairying (2012)

"Agriculture.""Dairy grazing.""Dairy grazing publication series : This publication is one in a series about operating and managing a pasture-based dairy. Although these publications often refer to conditions in Missouri, many of the principles and concepts described may apply to operations throughout the United States. ""Revised from M168, Dairy Grazing Manual, by Stacey A. Hamilton, Dairy Specialist, Southwest Region."New 3/12/Web

Managing pasture for yield, quality, persistence and intake (2015)

"Agriculture.""Dairy grazing.""Dairy grazing publication series : This publication is one in a series about operating and managing a pasture-based dairy. Although these publications often refer to conditions in Missouri, many of the principles and concepts described may apply to operations throughout the United States.""Revised from M168, Dairy Grazing Manual, by Stacey A. Hamilton, Dairy Specialist, Division of Animal Sciences, Robert L. Kallenbach, Forage State Specialist, Division of Plant Sciences.""This publication replaces Chapter 4, Forage Quality and Intake, in MU Extension publication M168, Dairy Grazing Manual. Original author: Richard Crawford, University of Missouri."New 9/15/Web

Starting a 300-cow intensive rotational grazing dairy (2011)

This guide examines the financial feasibility of starting a 300-cow intensive rotational grazing dairy in Missouri. The model dairy described is designed to be a pasture-based dairy to use labor and capital as efficiently as possible. This dairy is designed to be located in an area where winter weather conditions and soil types allow cattle to be housed outside all year

Converting an existing dairy to the Missouri 75-cow grazing dairy model (2011)

This guide examines the financial feasibility of creating a new Missouri grass-based dairy by converting an existing conventional dairy to a 75-cow intensive rotational grazing dairy. The model for this conversion assumes the farm buyer is able to purchase a dairy without paying anything extra for the fact that it contains an obsolete double-4 herringbone parlor. Using a low-cost retrofit of the parlor, the new dairy producer is able to increase labor efficiency without committing a large amount of additional capital. This model allows the new dairy producer to overcome the capital threshold that is a barrier to entry for most new smaller dairies. This dairy is designed to be located in an area where winter weather conditions and soil types allow cattle to be housed outside all year

Starting a 75-cow intensive rotational grazing dairy (2011)

This guide examines the financial feasibility of starting a 75-cow intensive rotational grazing dairy in Missouri. The model dairy described is designed to be a pasture-based dairy to use labor and capital as efficiently as possible. This dairy is designed to be located in an area where winter weather conditions and soil types allow cattle to be housed outside all year

Introduction to the economics of pasture-based dairying (2011)

The following series of minimalist, pasture-based dairy model farms (75-cow, 150-cow, 300-cow and 600-cow) was developed to help dairy producers understand the economics of these dairy systems. Each model is customized to reflect an operational system typical of a dairy farm and herd of four different sizes. These models were developed using assumptions, costs and benchmarking information from existing Missouri pasture-based dairies and from experts in the dairy industry. Data presented here reflect costs and conditions as of October 2010. While these farms were customized specific to Missouri, they could be adapted to conditions elsewhere

Starting a 150-cow intensive rotational grazing dairy (2011)

This guide examines the financial feasibility of starting a 150-cow intensive rotational grazing dairy in Missouri. The model dairy described is designed to be a pasture-based dairy to use labor and capital as efficiently as possible. This dairy is designed to be located in an area where winter weather conditions and soil types allow cattle to be housed outside all year

Economics of pasture-based dairies (2012)

"Agriculture.""Dairy grazing.""Dairy grazing publication series: This publication is one in a series about operating and managing a pasture-based dairy. Although these publications often refer to conditions in Missouri, many of the principles and concepts described may apply to operations throughout the United States. A list of the publications in this series is available online at http://extension.missouri.edu/m168.""Revised from M168, Dairy Grazing Manual, by Joe Horner, Dairy Economist, Commercial Agriculture Program, Ryan Milhollin, Project Manager, Commercial Agriculture Program, Wayne Prewitt, West Central Region Agriculture Business Specialist.""This publication replaces Chapter 14, Economics of a Pasture-Based Dairy, in MU Extension publication M168, Dairy Grazing Manual. Original authors: Stacey A. Hamilton, Greg J. Bishop-Hurley and Ron Young, University of Missouri."New 2/12/Web

A practical, multiplatform app for climate stress to aid animal producers and science education

Project Leaders: Michael McKean: Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI)/Missouri School of Journalism; Dale Musser: Director of the IT Program in the College of Engineering; Ray Massey and Pat Guinan: Commercial Agriculture Program; Ben Gallup: 4-H Center for Youth Development; David Kemp: Future Farmers of America; John Travlos: Electronic Bulletin Board (AgEBB); Stacey Hamilton, Southwest Center, College of Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources"Climate variability is a concern in a number of sectors, particularly in the Agriculture industry. The National Climatic Data Center for the US announced on September 9, 2011 that last summer was the hottest in 75 years, with the greatest impact in Texas and neighboring states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri. The result was daily appearance of news stories regarding losses of livestock and productivity, which during a normal year amount to $897, 369, and 299 million for dairy, beef, and swine industries, respectively. Thermal stress indices have existed for years for these groups, but are underutilized because they require elaborate combinations of environmental (e.g., weather) and physiological (e.g., body temperature) data. There is also increased concern that student interest in science, at both high school and college levels, is declining, and that the United States could be at a disadvantage in solving complex problems of the future such as climate variability due to a lack of qualified scientists. It has been suggested, that the traditional read, recite, regurgitate models for teaching science are ineffective ways to motivate students to learn science, and help them understand and retain science concepts. D.A. Kolb noted that an experiential approach increases interest of youth in science. Experiential learning in the sciences includes gathering the facts surrounding a problem, reflecting on the findings, formulating ideas, and finally testing them, and generating new knowledge. A mechanism to facilitate this process using advanced instructional technologies that are more engaging to a technology-oriented generation of learners will stimulate interest in and learning of science. Our proposal is to develop a native smart phone app (Apple and Android) that combines weather information (both current and projected) with individual animal information to aid the producer in the decision-making process to reduce heat strain and improve animal welfare. At the same time, the app will be a learning device that attracts and stimulates student interest in climate and environmental stress related to themselves and their production animals. Our approach will use students in the "Team-Based Mobile Application Development" course (College of Engineering, IT Program, and School of Journalism) together with CAFNR undergraduate students trained in environmental physiology to develop the prototype. The educational component will require input from a select group of high school/college students in 4-H and FFA (and related agricultural youth organizations), with backgrounds in animal science and a strong interest in using technology to improve animal production and welfare. These students will collaborate with others in the app design and evaluation course for a truly multidisciplinary learning experience. This product will then be promoted, displayed, and tested in select venues, such as CAFNR field days and at the Missouri State Fair." --DescriptionMU Interdisciplinary Innovations Fun

Dairy grazing : heifer development (2013)

Dairy heifers are the foundation of any dairy enterprise and directly affect future profitability. Because replacement heifers represent a negative cash flow, this aspect of the dairy operation is often neglected. Unfortunately, this neglect often costs producers large amounts of money