UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The department of dairy and animal science in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences offers information online for dairy producers, nutritionists, veterinarians, consultants and other professionals.

The Dairy Cattle Nutrition Web site can be reached at: http://www-das.cas.psu.edu/dcn.

"We have updated information and recommendations for the best possible practices for feeding and managing dairy animals," says Jud Heinrichs, professor of dairy and animal science. "The site offers plenty of current and detailed information about topics ranging from nutrient requirements to feeding recommendations."

For the dairy producer, nutritionist, veterinarian, consultant and agricultural professional, The Dairy Cattle Nutrition site has about 50 Penn State dairy-related publications, three slide shows and printable tables and charts to help with nutrition and feeding management of calves, heifers and cows. In addition, the site has a section of more than 60 free cow images and a "send someone a virtual cow" service, which allows the sender to create a virtual greeting card with a cow's image and mail a notification about the new card to another e-mail recipient.

The site is divided into two main areas:

"Cows" is dedicated to dairy cattle nutrition and forage management. It contains publications that explain how best to feed and manage dry cows. An online slide show titled "Body Condition Scoring" can help producers score animals properly on the body-condition scoring scale. The site also features printable tables for nutritional values of concentrates and forages, which feed professionals can use for ration balancing.

"Calves and Heifers" has extensive information and publications about the management and feeding of dairy calves and heifers. This area also has two slide shows that illustrate various feeding and management practices.

A section called "Newborn Calf Learning Center" provides a wealth of information for successful rearing of calves.

The site also has contact information for reaching Penn State dairy specialists with questions not answered by the online materials.

###

EDITORS: Contact Jud Heinrichs at 814-863-3916 or e-mail ajh@psu.edu.

Contact:

Jeff Mulhollem jjm29@psu.edu 814-863-2719 814-865-1068 fax