Clueless newspaper reporters

Sometimes newspaper reporters are so clueless. A recent example is in the Porterville Recorder that carried an article by Sabrina Ziegler. Porterville is in one of the California dairy ares, and the article was about a dairy producer growing a silage variety of corn. She then goes on to state:

"Dairy cows require protein, which is usually found in rolled corn that would need to be purchased from an outside source."

Even a reproductive physiologist like me knows that corn grain is rich in carbohydrates, not protein. The article describes how cows are typically fed alfalfa hay. California irrigated alfalfa has such high levels of protein that dairy producers in my area treat it as if it were a protein supplement.

While it's important to read and monitor news articles about the dairy industry, it's also important to read them carefully and interpret them according to what you know.

Hope that helps.

DairyScienceMark