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The following is a discussion I recently had with Joe Sparrow, a sales representative with Alltech. Joe graduated from Virginia Tech this year. He is currently one of Alltech’s youngest sales representatives and works in Kentucky.
PD EDITOR: For those...
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Accelerated Genetics has strength in all dairy breedsThe August 2007 dairy sire summary brings about the last of the four-times-a-year proof releases. The next evaluation release date is in January 2008 and then there will be just three releases per year....
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Ponce De Leon was an explorer from the 1500s who discovered Florida. Florida must have been beautiful because the word Florida in Spanish means flowery, but Ponce De Leon was not interested in flowers. He was interested in a legend that told of a fountain...
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National DHIA offers college scholarships National Dairy Herd Information Association (NDHIA) is offering scholarships for incoming and continuing students at technical, two-year and four-year colleges and universities. To be eligible for an NDHIA scholar...
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New triple bolus provides sustained calcium supply AgriLabs has introduced the Triple Calcium Bolus, the first bolus for dairy cows to contain three calcium compounds. Featuring an industry-high 44 grams of available calcium from calcium propionate, calci...
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I don’t think of myself as a dairyman, though my first cow was an Ayrshire milk cow complete with long horns. Goldie was her name. My father milked her in the morning and it was my chore to do the evening milking. I was in the third grade when I began.
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Feeding and management of newborn calves is one of the most important, and can be the most challenging, jobs on a dairy. The newborn heifer calf on your farm is likely the most genetically advanced and, at the same time, the most susceptible to disease an...
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The birth of a heifer calf on a dairy operation represents the beginning of the next generation. Most of the time, these calves have the best genetics of all animals in an operation. Unfortunately, the time around birth is when calves are at the greatest ...
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IntroductionIt may be easy to quickly say “Yes, I’m satisfied,” or “No, I’m not satisfied with the fertility of my Holstein heifers.” Nevertheless, to reasonably answer the question posed in the title of this article, we must first consider an...
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“Um, Hi. My name is Bob, and I’ve been dairying for 12 years.”
Group, together: “Hi, Bob.”
“Well, where do I start? My father was a dairyman, and my family was often the subject of ridicule. I even remember times going to school smelling lik...
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Length of herd life of dairy cows in the United States has not changed much during modern history. Over the years, the typical cow has completed about 2.5 lactations. Cows often have the functional ability to stay in herds longer than two or three lactati...
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Much research has examined the effect of different environments on milk production and dry matter intake (DMI) of small groups of cattle over relatively short periods of time. It is our view that many of these studies have inadequately demonstrated the tr...
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Inbreeding, stress, disease – it’s hard out there for a herd. Modern livestock face many challenges, and DNA has become an increasingly popular tool for addressing them. While not exactly a panacea, an animal’s genetic heritage can provide a lot of ...
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Is there variation in fertility of semen from artificial insemination (A.I.) sires? Have you ever suspected semen from some bulls gets cows pregnant more often than semen from other bulls? Do conception rates for a specific A.I. sire tend to be similar ov...
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Is there anyone that does not know what has happened to the price of milk replacer recently? The increases are enough to drive anyone to ask, “How can we use less milk replacer?” One of several ways is to wean calves earlier.
When are calves ready to...
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The main goal of dairy nutrition is to match the nutrient requirements of the cows with nutrients provided by feed ingredients. However, in addition, a quality dairy cow ration should optimize cow health and production, maximize forage feeding, minimize t...
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To ethanol, or not to ethanol, that is the question.
Whether it’s better to pay less for a gallon of gas and get less miles per gallon, or to pay more and go further on the same gallon? This is the question that motorized man has passed down through th...
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I have been asked to come back again this year and talk to a group of dog breeders. When I say dog breeders, I mean serious dog breeders. I spoke last year at a Breeder Education Conference in Joplin, Missouri. There were more than 2,000 dog breeders regi...
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I am nearly 55 years old. My career with the USDA-NRCS enters its fifth year as of late July 2007. At my age, many of my colleagues in the NRCS came through the federal system three decades ago and now have 30 years done. Many of them are near or at retir...
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Quickly changing weather and the rush to harvest the last hay crop of the season increases the risk of hay fires this time of year.
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Re: Two dairymen are making profits with sprout fodder systems
Posted on Saturday, 23 March 2013 by Allan Spicer.I was involved in a similar protect in Ontario about 15 yeara ago. Tbe...
Re: Idaho and New York Senators introduce dairy savings account legislation
Posted on Friday, 22 March 2013 by Rob Hull.It might not be a perfect idea but it would be a good tool to give...
Re: Idaho and New York Senators introduce dairy savings account legislation
Posted on Friday, 22 March 2013 by David Callister.I like the idea.