NEW HOLLAND, Pa. — More than 150 dairy farmers and industry partners filled Yoder’s Banquet Facility on Dec. 3 for Homestead Nutrition’s annual dairy seminar. The program blended reproductive management, forage strategy in a post-BMR world, and a candid look at family succession planning.

Penn State Extension veterinarian Dr. Adrian Barragán opened by reminding producers that reproductive research occurs in “highly-controlled environments,” and results depend on real-world implementation at the farm level.

Barragán walked through key reproductive physiology, noting today’s shorter heats make timing everything. A cow typically ovulates about 27 hours after first standing heat; the egg remains viable about 18 hours, and sperm 18 to 24 hours. This overlap makes insemination timing critical.

Heats now often last only 8 to 12 hours, so “if you’re only doing visual observation, you can miss it,” he said. The traditional AM-PM rule still works — breed in the afternoon if heat is seen in the morning, and vice versa — provided heats are seen.

Barragán explained that 20 to 30% of cows may be “anovular,” with no visible heat, while others ovulate without clear signs. Chalk, paint, patches, and activity monitors help fill that gap. Activity monitors add health insights but come at a cost.

Reviewing synchronization programs like Ovsynch and Double-Ovsynch, he said these can significantly improve pregnancy rates, but only with excellent compliance. Even 95% accuracy in a simple three-shot program drops performance to 86%. With more complex programs, errors compound.

“These programs work beautifully in research but become challenging in the field,” he said. The essentials remain “the right cow, the right drug, and the right time.”

Barragán stressed resynchronization, quickly identifying open cows through early pregnancy checks, blood tests, or ultrasound. “The sooner you find that the cow is open, the sooner you can rebreed that animal,” preventing cows from drifting late into lactation and gaining excess body condition.

Choosing a program depends on three realities: infrastructure, workforce and performance goals. Good flooring, safe handling, trained people and consistent evaluation matter as much as the protocol itself.

He suggested combining timed AI with heat detection where possible, noting that conception timing, not just the number of cows bred, drives profitability. He also urged farmers to remember the big picture importance of cow condition, transition health, uterine recovery, and maintaining pregnancy after conception.

“After we breed those animals it’s not the end of the game,” he said. “This animal has to stay pregnant.”

Beyond BMR

Homestead Nutrition’s Jeff Swartz and agronomist Jeremy Newswanger addressed the forage uncertainty looming as Corteva plans to discontinue BMR corn by 2030.

“We have a couple years to figure this out, so we want to get the ball rolling,” Newswanger said.

King’s Agriseeds still has two non-traited low-lignin hybrids, “but they’re five or six years old… from my understanding, there’s not necessarily new ones coming yet.”

On traited options, rootworm resistance was a major reason many dairies used BMR-related genetics. With resistance spreading, “going back to those older traits is going to pose a new challenge again,” he said. Rotation will be key, not planting the same acres to the same genetics repeatedly.

Many farms already rely on ryegrass or winter small grains for digestible spring forage. Expanding acres or adjusting management may allow two timely cuttings before corn planting. These forages offer digestibil -ity but not tonnage.

“You’re not going to be able to necessarily replace what you’re getting from a corn silage,” Newswanger said, noting typical 8 to 12 ton dry matter yields vs. 20-ton corn silage.

A newer option is sorghum, especially male-sterile sorghum, which can approach corn-silage tonnage and adds rotation benefits. It produces natural insecticide against rootworm. Dry-down is harder to judge, but research from Texas and Virginia Tech show promise.

Newswanger encouraged producers to attend Homestead’s agronomy meeting in January for a deeper look.

In land-tight situations, high-quality conventional corn silage will remain essential. Some hybrids hit 61–62% 30-hr NDFd in dry years, but most fall around 56–57% in wetter seasons.

Rations can include digestible forages or soluble fiber sources like soy hulls or citrus pulp, though these add purchased feed costs.

Agronomically, they said, minimizing plant stress is the biggest lever to improve digestibility. Balanced soil fertility, adequate potassium, calcium and sulfur, weed and insect control, and soil health all contribute to that picture.

“We don’t have all the answers,” Newswanger said, “but we have some ideas and suggestions.”

Succession survival

Keynote speaker Dr. Ron Hanson, University of Nebraska professor emeritus, brought the meeting full circle by focusing on family dynamics — the factor that often determines whether farms endure. He urged farmers to treat succession planning with the same urgency as herd health, crop harvest, or financial management.

Shaping his mission are four decades of working with families, and his own experience as a youth, when unresolved estate conflicts resulted in the loss of the home farm and fractured relationships.

He stressed the difference between succession planning, which is implemented during life, and estate planning, which takes effect after death. Unspoken intentions often surface too late.

Common pitfalls, he warned, are procrastination, fear of losing control, avoiding tough conversations, and keeping secrets.

He urged older generations to mentor rather than ‘boss’ or control, and he encouraged the younger generation to ask direct questions.

Few attendees indicated their plans were complete. “Start the conversation,” Hanson said. “Put it in writing. Share it with your family.”

A successful plan, he said, “can be a win-win situation for everyone,” giving young farmers a path to ownership and older generations peace of mind.