Precision feeding can offer benefits both with healthier livestock and a healthier bottom line. To learn more about effective feed management, the Penn State Extension Dairy team is offering a one-day workshop on May 8 at the Farm and Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The "Advanced Topics in Feed Management" conference will examine current topics, so that participants can learn the benefits of precision feeding, providing nutrients to livestock to help reduce the quantity of nitrogen and phosphorus excreted in manure. The conference is specifically designed for certified feed management plan writers, nutritionists, or dairy producers.

Well-known speakers and their topics include:

  • Understanding Manure Nutrient Pathways: Helping Nutritionists to See a Bigger Picture - Rob Meinen, Penn State University
  • What Dairy Cows Consume Impacts Manure Chemistry and the Environment - Dr. Mark Powell, USDA-ARS Dairy Forage Research Center, Wisconsin
  • Metabolizable Protein: Rumen Microbes and Feed - Dr. Ryan Ordway, Balchem Industries, New York.
  • Grazing Dairy Cattle: Opportunities for Precision Feeding - Mat Haan, Penn State University
  • Feed Management Hot Topics: Updates on research currently being conducted at Penn State, dairy extension staff.


Virginia Ishler, Penn State nutrition management specialist, said, "Attending the ‘Advanced Topics in Feed Management' conference will help to sort through why expected results observed in milk urea nitrogen (MUNs) and fecal phosphorus may not always match up with the formulated or actual ration. There is still the art to feeding cows that needs to be coupled with the science."

The registration fee is $40 per person. Advanced registration is required and must be completed before May 1, 2014.

This program is eligible for five continuing education units (CEUs) from the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS). It is also eligible for 2 SmartStart credits from AgChoice Farm Credit.

For more information or to find out how to register for the conference, please contact Rebecca White at 814-863-3917 or raw43@psu.edu or visit http://extension.psu.edu/animals/dairy/courses.
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4.15.2014