Top Performers: Eric Ryan

What is your herd health program? Our rolling herd average is 27,300 pounds of milk, with 1,240 pounds of butterfat and 920 pounds of protein. Our herd health program consists of a herd check every two weeks with Amy Dahlke through Anderson Vet Service. Bred cows are pregnancy checked; open cows are set up to breed again. We also dehorn, castrate and tag calves, while discussing any issues with the cattle. We vaccinate with Calf-Guard, Inforce 3 and Bovi-shield Gold.

What does your dry cow and transition program consist of? Our  dry cows are in one group. They are housed in a pen pack barn for a 45-day dry period. Their ration consists of distillers grain, protein, alfalfa baleage, corn silage and wheat straw. The ration is fully acidified and fed for the entire dry period. They calve in the same pen. Upon calving, they are given two calcium boluses; if they look good, they enter the main herd the same day.

How long is your voluntary waiting period? Our voluntary waiting period is 65 days.

What is your average days in milk? Our average days in milk is 170 days.

What percentage of your herd is in their first lactation? Twenty-nine percent of our herd is in their first lactation.

What is the composition of your ration, and how has that changed in recent years? Our lactating ration consists of a custom protein mix, soybean meal, amino plus, dry corn, high-oleic roasted soybeans, alfalfa baleage and corn silage. Our ration has been consistent for quite a few years now, with minimal changes.

Tell us about the forages you plant and detail your harvest strategies. We plant alfalfa in the spring with triticale as a cover crop.
The first cutting is used for heifers. We cut our alfalfa every 28 days; all of it is wet baled and wrapped in-line. For corn silage, we plant 111-day brown midrib and pair it with a similar maturity hybrid, alternating each seed box, resulting in every other row being BMR. We started doing this to mix two varieties well in the bunker and avoid using all BMR, as it doesn’t yield as well. Our corn silage is harvested with a custom chopper at 65%-67% moisture and is stored in a drive-through bunker.

What is your average somatic cell count and how does that affect your production? Our SCC is 260,000. Historically, it has averaged 150,000 but has risen sharply in recent years. Through various means, it has negatively affected our mature cow production and continues to be a struggle.

What change has created the biggest improvement in your herd average? The biggest change has come through balancing rations to supply limited amino acids, lysine and methionine, while supplying palmitic and oleic fatty acids to improve butterfat, protein and milk volume. It has also been a challenge to find the proper dietary cation-anion difference level in the dry cow diet to ensure consistent cow health at

What technology do you use to monitor your herd? Technology to monitor herd health is kept simple with rumination and activity collars.

What is your breeding program, and what role does genetics play in your production level? All cows are pre-synced and ovsynced with a timed first service. Bred cows are then monitored for heat and resynced before ultrasound at 28-42 days. All animals are mated to improve genetic potential through longevity and production. All heifers are bred with sexed semen, while 90% of the lactating herd is bred to an Angus/Simmental cross bull.

List three management strategies that have helped you attain your production and component level. Timely ration adjustments and continuous monitoring by nutritionist Ben Flueger are very important. Ensure ration intakes and actual intakes at the bunk are properly aligned. And lastly, high-oleic soybeans have proven to be an excellent fat-protein source and a healthy means to maintain butterfat production. They can typically do so more economically than with other supplements.

Tell us about your farm and your plans for the dairy in the next year. We milk 225 cows, raise our replacement heifers, finish our steers and farm 350 acres of land alongside my parents, Chuck and Diane. We are currently building a pack barn to house heifers and fat steers. Our plan is to transition into that facility soon to improve our young stock health and rate of gain in steers.