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Dairy Grist

A PERIODIC NEWSLETTER PRODUCED BY GRAND VALLEY FORTIFIERS VOLUME 22, ISSUE 4 | WINTER 2020

IN MEMORY OF JIM ROSS

by: IAN ROSS President & CEO, Grand Valley Fortifiers

ear friends, On November 5th, 2020, Jim Ross our founder, passionate leader, innovator, philanthropist, mentor and father passed peacefully from this world into the arms of his Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you to the many customers and friends who have sent cards, emails, texts, floral arrangements and made donations in memory of our father, Jim. He will be greatly missed by all of us at the GVF group of companies, the livestock producers that we have had the privilege of serving over the past 60 years, the ministry organizations that he partnered with and the folks that Jim befriended through church, daily life and the local Tim Hortons. Dad loved farming and he loved farmers. Through his 60 years of work and leadership at GVF he constantly sought ways for farmers to “have a better shake”, to achieve better prices for the goods that they produced and to earn more money for their hard labour, the investment in the land and their herd and the risks that they had taken in doing so. Dad always spoke with everyone, loved everyone and treated everyone with respect and appreciation regardless of their name, their age, their skin colour, their occupation or position in life. He recognized in his life, the mercies of God, the salvation that came from the death and resurrection of God’s only Son, Jesus and blessings that God bestowed on my father, our family and on the company that he stewarded with the Lord. Dad functioned with a spirit of gratitude – always thankful for the undeserved blessings of the Lord on his life, for his wife of 52 years, his children and grandchildren, the people that chose to follow his leadership in the company and the farmers that allowed him and the company the privilege of serving their livestock nutrition needs. Dad was generous in life and with his life. The word LIFE is a great acronym for a person who is truly and fully generous. Dad was generous with his Labour – he worked hard on his farm, in building the company to serve the needs of farmers, on ministry and charity boards and in the service of others. GRAND VALLEY FORTIFIERS PO Box 726 Cambridge ON N1R 5W6 1-800-567-4400 grandvalley.com

Dad liked to get his hands dirty. He gave away and paid for literally thousands of trees and plantings for Muskoka Bible Centre, Guelph Bible Conference, Cambridge Christian School, individual homes, and the roads of Brant County – but he didn’t want to just write a cheque, he always wanted to go to the nurseries and pick out the trees, shrubs, bedding plants and hanging baskets - like a kid in a candy store – and then actually participate in planting them all. Dad taught us never to dig a ten cent hole for a 10 dollar tree. Dad was generous with his Influence – he often saw ways to make connections between people in order to help get things done and Dad knew an incredible number of people to make connections between. Whether in agriculture, or missions or church related work, Dad would often be heard saying, “You should really meet so and so, he’s a great guy”. He used his influence to help others rather than himself and the company. Our parents were generous with their Finances. Even when they didn’t have much themselves, they committed to giving to the Lord and to others, trusting that if they did so, the Lord would look after them and the business. If you read Dad’s book, Entrepreneurship with a Mission, you will learn of many stories of our parents feeling that the Lord was seeking to stretch their faith with philanthropic projects that He brought to them that seemed to be beyond their financial means at those times. Because of their obedience and faith, God always blessed them with enough to make good on their philanthropic commitments and over the years, because of this obedience and God’s blessings, they were able to be financially supportive of so very many people, ministries and charitable projects. In 2002, we shot a video of my father, where he described his heart for giving. In it, and with that Jim Ross twinkle in his eye, he shared the story of the farmer that just kept giving and giving. “Someone asked the farmer how it was that he was able to be so very generous all the time. The farmer said, well, it is like my bin of grain, I keep shovelling out but the Lord keeps shovelling in – and the best part is that the Lord has the bigger shovel.”

Dad was also very generous with his Expertise – he was innovative, forward looking, able to think outside of the box and always sought to bring fresh insights to livestock production that would result in “the best possible production at the lowest possible cost”. This has been his motto for GVF for the past 60 years. Beyond that, our Dad always saw the connection between livestock nutrition and human nutrition and his reading and ideas flowed back and forth between them. How many friends and family have been Jim working on the family farm, 1955 advised by our Dad to take selenium for their immune system and for allergies, take, B vitamins for stress, and use oregano oil for…well pretty much everything? Today, because of our parents and our friends at Alltech, there are about 35,000 people in various African countries that are consistently taking selenium to rebuild their immune system and protect them from secondary diseases often associated with HIV. Dad was always fascinated with the way people and livestock were fearfully and wonderfully made by our Creator and sought to understand to the best his ability, the ways to promote health and well being without the use of pharmaceuticals. As he penned in our corporate values so many years ago – He acknowledged the Lord as over all – Dad knew that he wasn’t in control and he never took credit when things went well – to him it was always the result of the Lord’s blessing and the work of others – team members within the company or people in ministry, when we witnessed achievement, success or positive impact. Dad was never proud, he had the humble confidence to serve others without seeking recognition, to always give credit to the Lord and to others for achievement and to humbly accept, deserved or undeserved, chastisement from anyone who felt that he needed to hear it. Dad was a peacemaker who never wanted to leave unresolved conflict. Our father walked humbly with his God and he wasn’t at all afraid to share his faith with others. Whether teaching Sunday School, leading Bible studies, speaking with staff and customers, leading business meetings or penning company newsletters, Jim wasn’t bashful about

sharing the gospel message. Even in sharing his faith, he did so humbly and graciously – truly caring for other’s spiritual well being, as well as their physical and emotional well being. Dad knew that love without truth and Jim chatting at COFS, 2014 truth without love are not the gospel message and he aptly held and displayed these in the way he shared his life and faith with others. Micah 6:8 is a verse that by God’s grace, my father embraced and lived and displayed to all those that had the privilege of knowing him. His life and his person will be significantly missed by many. But we have the blessed knowledge and confidence that he is with his Lord and heard those blessed words from Him, “well done my good and faithful servant”. My brother, David and I, the leadership team and the staff of the GVF group of companies are extremely grateful to Jim for the culture, the vision, the mission and the positive impact that the company he built, has had and is having. We have a significant responsibility to carry his passionate vision and legacy forward, in the days ahead, as we continue to serve the needs of livestock and poultry producers and give generously for the spread of the gospel, the relief of the poor, the sick and the hungry. n To read Jim’s full story, visit http://bit.ly/jimrbook

with RIENKE KALVERBOER Dairy Specialist, Grand Valley Fortifiers

How do we keep calves healthy and vital throughout the Winter?

In winter and especially the cold nights, calves need more energy. Much of a calf’s absorbed energy is used to keep body temperature constant. Any energy that the calf does not burn to stay warm is left for maintenance, keeping her immune system strong and finally growth. Younger calves grow well and healthily at a constant temperature and humidity. A young calf (up to 4 to 5 months) cannot keep itself warm under all circumstances. With low humidity, the animal’s comfort zone is between 10 and 15 ° C for the first month of life.

How much should I feed? A strong feeding program for Holstein calves is at least 6 Liters and for Jerseys 5 Liters at birth (spread over multiple meals – ideally 3 but at least 2 per day). This amount should be increased over the next couple of weeks to continue meeting their needs as they grow. In cooler temperatures (<15C for calves under 3 weeks and <10C for calves older than 3 weeks) calves need an extra 10 percent to maintain the same rate of gain. This can be done by feeding one extra liter of milk or milk replacer Jim at the Grand Opening of the original GVF Retail Store, 1972

Dairy Grist daily with the same concentration or by giving 10 percent extra milk powder per liter of milk (just ensure extra powder added is well mixed, clumps of powder create digestive upset). Underfeeding energy can make the calf more susceptible to disease. Calf starter should always be offered, as much as calves will eat in those early days and weeks, but it should also be fed fresh daily. Calves will always choose milk over calf starter so it should not be concerning if they do not eat a lot of starter on higher milk feeding programs. Building strong, lean dairy calves and optimizing her genetic potential is best done by feeding adequate levels of milk. Calf starter is still important to a calf’s development and is an important component of weaning. Some feeds with higher levels of molasses are more prone to having frozen chunks in cold weather. It does not mean the feed is bad, it just needs to be kept in a dry environment that does not freeze.

Is milk temperature important? Provide the correct temperature for the milk, mix milk powder at 45 to 55 C, then feed the milk at a temperature of 39 to 40 C at fixed times of the day. If the calf must expend energy to warm the milk or milk replacer up after drinking that is energy taken away from growth.

How about calf housing? It is very important that the calf has a dry and warm pen, free from drafts and always has fresh water available, even when it freezes. Remember that even in cooler weather calves can dehydrate. Warm electrolytes are a great way to provide hydration between meals. Providing lots of extra straw so that the calf’s knees are not visible when she is lying down will elevate her ambient temperature by 4⁰- 7⁰C. Blankets can help keep calves warm but be sure they are not sweating underneath. They should also be cleaned regularly.

Is there anything else to consider? If calf housing can be exposed to weather, make sure that there is a blockade to prevent snow from entering their pen. Snow will make their environment not only wet but humid which is a great way to bring on chilled calves prepped for pneumonia. In parts of Canada where winters can be as humid if not more humid (in terms of relative humidity) than the summer there must be a way for the moisture to escape. Even tubes that force air through can be exposed to frozen droplets within impeding their ability to work and move air through the barn. Check them regularly! ■

with MARGARET CURRIE Dairy Specialist, Grand Valley Fortifiers

PART II - BE METICULOUS AT MONITORING MILK COWS OR TROUBLESHOOT THE PROBLEM Milk cows are the profit centre of a dairy farm. What happens to a milk cow within her lactation goes on to impact the remainder of this lactation, her dry period, and her following lactation. An industry pet peeve of

mine is hearing that everyone should be in the barn ‘troubleshooting’, but if we are all troubleshooting have we not missed the boat by looking for problems after the ship has sailed? Cows love routine, so ideally her day in your barn and how she budgets her time should be the same one day to the next. Cows need so much routine to the point it is predictable – predictability enhances cow comfort. Enforcing constant routine enables the picking up on subtle differences in the cow’s appearance. Best of all, as an on-farm advisor, when it comes to COVID-19 and social distancing, walking pens and monitoring cows is a great way to see what is going on within a herd and communicate findings back to the producer without putting anyone at risk. Now that you are in the pen, where do we start? Below are a few cow traits that are easily monitored in the milking barn. Steps 1 to 3 can be seen in a cow within the 1st few days of a feed or environmental change, quite often before any DFO component results are posted online. Bonus - Step 4 will capture how your cows are doing over time.

Step 1 – Manure Scoring Manure consistency is typically the first sign of change in a cow’s diet. The viscosity and the texture of the manure indicate what is going on in the rumen. Always keep in mind that at any point in time there will be a few loose cows in the group (<10% ). This can be a result of production levels and higher dry matter intake or perhaps the cow is fighting an immune system challenge such as mastitis. When loose bubbly manure occurs, this can be associated with Subacute Ruminal Acidosis (SARA) and the ration needs an adjustment ASAP with some effective fiber. Below is a chart that can be easily followed when analysing milk cow manure in the herd. Table 1. Relating manure consistency to possible dietary causes Manure Consistency

Possible Dietary Causes (not disease)

Loose Manure

• High protein (total or soluble); pasture • Salts or magnesium oxide in ration • High water intake (heat stress)

Diarrhea

• Spoiled, moldy feed or silage • Ruminal acidosis • Increased hindgut fermentation

Foamy Manure or Mucin Casts

• Ruminal acidosis • Increased hindgut fermentation

Large Particles or Undigested Feed

• Cows are sorting feed; slug feeding • Not enough chewable fibre/forage/feed • Ruminal acidosis

Manure Variable in a feeding group

• Cows are sorting feed; slug feeding • Spoiled, moldy feed or silage (spoilage does not usually mix uniformly)

Step 2- Cud Chewing/Ruminating Cud chewing is extremely simple to monitor. Just walk into a barn or pen after cows have had time to eat and start counting the number of cows laying down and chewing their cud. Only count the cows laying down and chewing. Ideally, you like to see at least 50% of the milking herd laying down and ruminating. When you start to see cows standing too much and not chewing then look at dietary factors like effective fiber in the diet which encourages rumination and butterfat production. Envi-

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ronmental factors such as heat stress and over-crowding will affect cud chewing. Adequate room to lie down and effective cooling ensures that a well-balanced diet works well even through the heat.

Step 3 - Cow Behaviour When cows’ deviate from the norm – they are communicating with us. One behaviour change would be increased standing - this can be a result of either heat stress or an upset rumen. Another abnormal behaviour is the excess chewing or licking of surfaces- this is a learned behaviour. If cows are stressed, they may lick and chew more frequently as a comforting mechanism. Aggressive eating behaviour at the feed bunk may indicate not enough feed available for cows or not enough bunk space so cows will compete for eating space and increase feed intake rate. This is also a learned behaviour and can be a spillover from the heifer rearing facilities. Bunching- this is most seen in the summer months (heat stress). This can be heat related from blaring heat hitting stalls, excessive flies in the barn or barn lighting as cows hate dark dull areas. Cows always tell us what is going on in a barn as long as we are watching and listening.

Step 4- Body Condition Score (BCS) Body condition scoring is very important in tracking how cows do throughout their lactation and dry periods. Picking up large swings in body weight can help solve a lot of transition cow issues. The most common BCS scale runs from 1 to 5 where 1 is severely under conditioned and 5 is severely over conditioned. The goal for the average cow is 2.75-3.0. This may climb to approximately 3.25 - 3.5 when she is dry and can fall to its lowest when she is fresh and peaking in milk. The ideal is to never have a cow shift greater than 1 point on the scale through her lactation, dry period and start of next lactation. Body condition on a herd should be reviewed at least once a year. However, you can collect some great data on trends if the herd is tracked more frequently. This is a metric that needs a person to walk the barn as the majority of parlor and robot programs are not tracking accurate body weights. After completing a barn walk, all of the above information can be provided to the producer in many ways. I record this data and communicate back to the producer via phone call, text, email, video call or even a one-page report using pictures to help support the findings. It makes for a great conversation and helps us avoid large disruptions in health and productivity. Remember - You cannot track what you do not measure! n

PRODUCT UPDATE FOR IMPROVED TRANSITION COW PERFORMANCE

ry cow programs have evolved over time as we learn more about our transition cows, their needs, and their challenges. We also use these diets to prepare them to enter the milking herd and hit the ground running! Two products that have been a core part of our Grand Valley line up have been Leader and Challenger dry cow supplements.

LEADER LEADER is a versatile product that is used to “lead” feed and continues to have a place today where Goldilocks diets may be a challenge because there are lower numbers of dry cows at one time or straw is not chopped fine enough. We have updated this product to increase the protein required for low (or no) haylage dry cow rations and updated the premix to meet modern nutritional needs. This is a great product for 1 group dry cow rations or as a top dress to close-ups where protein may be lacking. It is easy to use in its pelleted form and does not contain ingredients thought to be unpalatable to dairy cows so it will be readily consumed.

CHALLENGER CHALLENGER is a negative DCAD product that uses a protein that has been bound to chloride to increase the acidity of the diet. This product is intended to reduce the DCAD by 20 points. This is best used in a close-up ration and where a TMR is being fed for optimal intake. The updates to this product are to meet the needs of modern rations by increasing the protein and updating the premix within. Both products are available in bulk or bags and should be fed at a rate of 3.0 kg/cow/day; both products also contain monensin at a level that enables also using boluses on the farm. For more information speak with your Grand Valley Fortifiers Dairy Specialist or call our office at 1-877-625-4400.

2020 Christmas & New Year’s Schedule Dear Friends, In order for us to help you prepare for the holidays, please be advised that our holiday hours are as follows: Thursday, December 24 7:30am - 2pm Friday, December 25

Closed Christmas Day

Monday, December 28 8am - 5pm (customer service desk open, deliveries resume Dec 29) Thursday, December 31 7:30am - 4pm Friday, January 1, 2021 Closed New Year’s Day We would like to wish you and your family a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

Thought for the Day It is only through the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose birth and life we celebrate each Christmas, along with the Holy Spirit’s work in our hearts and minds that we can hope to embrace the call of Micah 6:8: “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” - Micah 6:8