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Current Progressive Dairy digital edition

1. Market Watch: Cattle: (Organizations); Click a link below to see updates on cattle from a specific issue of Progressive Dairy. 2021 Issue 2, 2021: January 19, 2021 Issue 1, 2021: January 1, 2021 2020 Issue 20, 2020: December 12, ...; Created on 07 December 2020
2. Dynamic harvest schedules: (Feed & Nutrition); In a whole farm context the focus on high-quality forage has shifted to the right-quality forage for each group of animals on the farm. This, however, is not an excuse to relax goals on producing high-quality ...; Created on 27 February 2018
3. Success in the end starts at the beginning: (From the Editor); I did it. I finished an MBA. And I’ve finally got my nights and weekends back again. I learned a few things from the journey I hope can be of help to each of you. One was: You can learn just as much ...; Created on 07 February 2018
4. Export Assistance Watch: CWT assists with 20 million pounds of export sales in Q4 2017: (Industry News); Last quarter’s export-assisted sales were the equivalent of 870,209 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis. That’s equivalent to the average annual production of 38,211 U.S. dairy cows. Click ...; Created on 07 February 2018
5. What drives financial success on a dairy?: (Management); Results of a large, ongoing study of Midwest dairy operations show six factors that separate top financial performance herds from their peers. Compeer Financial’s dairy consulting team joined forces ...; Created on 07 February 2018
6. Strategies for low-margin environments: (Management); Although it is easier to strategize about protecting profitability when times are good, a sound risk management plan applies to all margin environments and is especially important when the outlook is bad. ...; Created on 07 February 2018
7. Farm debt: How much is too much?: (Management); When it comes to the “right” amount of debt, farm business owners sometimes feel like “you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.” Borrowing money can be risky, but on the other hand, not investing ...; Created on 07 February 2018
8. Address short-term financial challenges: (Management); While the long-term outlook for agriculture is bullish, dairy producers face short-term financial challenges, Rod Wautlet, Agri-Business Consultants LLC, told producers attending the 2017 Vita Plus Dairy ...; Created on 07 February 2018
9. Swanson: Dairy must embrace, adapt to volatility: (Management); The dairy industry is volatile and unpredictable, and that isn’t likely to change. Dairy managers must embrace and adapt to that mentality to be successful, Michael Swanson, ag economist with Wells Fargo, ...; Created on 07 February 2018
10. Start 2018 tax year planning now: (Management); Most federal tax reform changes signed into law under H.R. 1 went into effect Jan. 1, 2018, meaning they will impact tax returns filed in 2019. However, dairy farmers need to understand how the law is ...; Created on 07 February 2018
11. Dairy data detective tips: Solving a rise in DOAs: (Management); Most dairies I work with utilize dairy software to help organize daily activities such as what cows to breed, treat, etc. While this can be extremely helpful in staying organized, what can make data even ...; Created on 07 February 2018
12. Dietary fatty acids and how they affect reproduction: (Feed & Nutrition); Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with and provide technical support to numerous dairies here in the U.S. and internationally. One of the most common questions asked pertains to feeding ...; Created on 07 February 2018
13. Life is better by the forage fiber pool: (Feed & Nutrition); Forage and fiber in the diets of dairy cows is critical for their optimal health and milk production. How the fiber in forages ferments, digests and is metabolized is an ongoing subject of discussion and ...; Created on 07 February 2018
14. Don’t get tied up by amino acid deficiencies: (Feed & Nutrition); Is your herd’s milk production being maximized? Is lactation performance being limited by a nutrient deficiency such as an amino acid deficiency? The potential for milk production is driven by energy. ...; Created on 07 February 2018
15. Do’s and don’ts of feed rations during low milk prices: (Feed & Nutrition); Feed represents more than half of a typical dairy’s operating costs. When milk prices decline, cutting feed costs is often a tempting first strategy for producers and their nutrition consultants. However, ...; Created on 07 February 2018
16. Evaluate transition management details regularly for optimal production: (Feed & Nutrition); Many of today’s dairy farms have become larger, often without increasing their labor force. The management systems successful on a smaller dairy will frequently evolve into a system no longer best for ...; Created on 07 February 2018
17. Burning questions to save money on feed costs: (Feed & Nutrition); Low milk prices can have a real impact on dairy farmers. When this occurs, cash becomes short and farmers have to make some tough decisions. They start to look for ways to reduce expenses while also maintaining ...; Created on 07 February 2018
18. Time to rethink ‘silage safety’: (Feed & Nutrition); As another silage season approaches, now is a good time to start preparing for a safe silage season. Unfortunately, when most producers are asked what silage and safety mean to them, their answer usually ...; Created on 06 February 2018
19. Chromium supplementation increases insulin sensitivity and milk production: (Feed & Nutrition); Traditionally, it has been assumed practical diets fed to dairy cattle provide sufficient chromium to meet their requirements. However, research conducted over the past 20 years has shown chromium supplementation ...; Created on 06 February 2018
20. High levels of mycotoxins in 2017 corn silage analysis: (Feed & Nutrition); The 2017 growing season was challenging across the U.S. Growers in different regions experienced varied weather conditions that could not only reduce yield, but could also increase plant stress and lead ...; Created on 06 February 2018
21. Baler technology and crop nutrition: (Feed & Nutrition); As many hay producers and operators know, one of the most challenging aspects of baling hay is determining its quality and relative feed value (RFV). The feed value of hay crops like alfalfa can vary tremendously, ...; Created on 06 February 2018
22. Where are all the cheap byproducts?: (Feed & Nutrition); When milk prices are low and the dairy economy gets tough, we all look for ways to cut costs. The feed ration is often one of the first places we turn. Twenty years ago, feeding local byproducts really ...; Created on 06 February 2018
23. Sticky fiber and feeding minerals: (Feed & Nutrition); I recently saw a very odd thing when I observed a farm adviser balance a ration for some replacement heifers. Based on the analyses of the forage and the trace mineral mixture and his estimate of feed ...; Created on 06 February 2018
24. The scoop on sand-laden manure and soil health: (Feed & Nutrition); An ideal bedding for dairy cows is clean, provides a certain degree of cow comfort and doesn’t readily support bacterial growth. Sand fits that bill to a tee. Sand-laden manure, however, is the less attractive ...; Created on 06 February 2018
25. Contracting corn silage for your dairy: (Feed & Nutrition); The dairy industry continues to change as herd size relative to crop acres increases. This creates a need for more off-farm corn silage to be purchased and more manure to be exported off-farm. A corn ...; Created on 06 February 2018
26. In Focus: U.S. dairy goat numbers show continued growth: (Industry News); Contrary to U.S. dairy cattle inventories, statistics for the U.S. dairy goat population are a little harder to come by. Milk goats have been included in the five-year U.S. Census of Agriculture for some ...; Created on 06 February 2018
27. Thinking of shifting to goats? Learn some of the pitfalls first: (Management); There is little to feel warm and fuzzy about in the U.S. cow dairy industry these days, so it is not surprising some producers are hearing about $35 per hundredweight and higher numbers for goat milk and ...; Created on 06 February 2018
28. Designing facilities for goats: How two Midwest farmers made it work: (People); The criteria for building goat dairies are not well established. Oftentimes, producers take the information they can find and then develop their own design to meet their needs. Here two Midwest farmers ...; Created on 06 February 2018
29. Milk: From goat to gelato: (People); Hidden Pastures Dairy, a dairy goat farm, recently received top honors in the American Farm Bureau Federation’s 2018 Rural Entrepreneurship Challenge. Husband and wife Andrew and Blake Place, owners ...; Created on 06 February 2018
30. Par-Chier Farms downsized in a big way: (People); Jim and Sylvia Parish downsized their dairy operation back in 1998 – but only if you look at the size of their animals. In all other respects, they upsized. Their Blyth, Ontario-area farm originally ...; Created on 06 February 2018
31. Dairy farmers need to do more than just tell their story: (Herd Health); When dairy farmers tell their stories of animal care and well-being to the public, there are a few things to consider to make sure those messages don’t fall on deaf ears. Beth Ventura, assistant professor ...; Created on 06 February 2018
32. Cattle-handling basics can save labor and lives: (Herd Health); Training employees in the basics of dairy cattle handling can do more than save hours of labor; it can even save a life. During the 2017 Vita Plus Dairy Summit, animal-handling consultant Jim Lewis ...; Created on 06 February 2018
33. Just Dropping by... Money isn’t everything: (Yevet Tenney); Recently, I finished my book Burn the Boats – Finding the Treasure in Marriage and Family Life. It was ready for publication when I realized I did not have a chapter on one of the most important aspects ...; Created on 04 February 2018
34. Problem: Repeat tripping of the auto wrap: (Barns & Equipment); The auto wrap system is a mechanical operation, and if you understand how the process works, you can tackle repair jobs easier. Here’s how it functions. As the bale grows, the take-up arm rotates. ...; Created on 04 February 2018
35. Ship them or not? Key decision points for nonambulatory cattle: (Herd Health); Not every down cow can or should be saved. It’s a harsh truth, but sometimes euthanasia is in the animal’s best interest. However, euthanizing every down or sick cow isn’t the right answer either. Shipping ...; Created on 04 February 2018
36. The Milk House: Wind watching: (Ryan Dennis); Several months ago Ireland braced for Hurricane Ophelia. It was expected to be the worst storm in 50 years. Several days before it was to land, the government decided to close all schools, and the night ...; Created on 04 February 2018
37. The Manure Spreader: Romantic dinner: (Tim Moffett); This is a reminder to all male farmers: Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. Just a tip from your adviser here; this is not the time to buy something for the farm and tell your significant other, ...; Created on 04 February 2018
38. Nutrigenomics confirm role of protected B vitamins in reproduction: (A.I. & Breeding); Although some dairy herds do have excellent reproductive performance, the average Canadian herd is still showing unsatisfactory performance with an insemination rate of 44.1 percent, pregnancy rate of ...; Created on 04 February 2018
39. All joking aside: Goats step from comic relief to dairy spotlight: (Management); There are plenty of jokes shared among cow dairymen that praise one breed at the expense of another, but at the bottom of the heap in nearly every joke is the lowly goat. Lowly in stature compared ...; Created on 02 February 2018
40. Negative DCAD for pre-fresh cows: How far is too far?: (Feed & Nutrition); The goal for every cow on every dairy is to have healthy, productive cows that transition well into lactation. About 30 years ago, researchers discovered a way to help cows achieve this goal. Feeding ...; Created on 02 February 2018
41. Milk margins, generational differences and baseball discussed at Dairy Strong 2018: (Event Coverage); Wisconsin dairy producers and industry members came in from the bitter cold to hear about hot topics at the fourth annual Dairy Strong conference, held at the Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center ...; Created on 30 January 2018
42. Prevent and treat mold and mycotoxin problems in dairy feed: (Feed & Nutrition); By definition, molds are filamentous fungi that occur in feedstuffs, including roughages and concentrates. They date back to biblical times; however, molds have been gaining more attention in recent years ...; Created on 21 December 2017
43. Times are changing: How women contribute on the farm: (Guest Blog); Sitting in our combine, harvesting this year’s corn crop, gives me lots of time to think. On a recent pass back and forth down the corn rows, I started thinking about what the rest of my family was doing ...; Created on 16 November 2017
44. CEO Corner: Siri, Alexa meet Ida – the AI dairy farmer: (From the Editor); Editor’s note: The CEO Corner contains editors’ compilations of business insights and analysis of current news, which they have tailored for the dairy industry. This column inspires million-dollar dairy ...; Created on 15 November 2017
45. CEO Corner: How to be your farm's CEO without an MB: (From the Editor); These days, school is heralded as the only way to get ahead, be considered an expert or learn the cutting-edge way to do something. Not so. Let me save you some money before you decide formal education ...; Created on 30 October 2017
46. 6 tips to improve feeding accuracy: (Feed & Nutrition); Feed is the single largest cost on a dairy. So why, then, do we settle for such low levels of accuracy when loading feed ingredients into the TMR mixer? In a study of 26 California dairies using FeedWatch ...; Created on 25 October 2017
47. How do you feed when you anticipate big pen moves?: (Guest Blog); How do you handle move day? It’s not uncommon to have a big move day once a week. Dry cows move to pre-fresh; new dry cows move to far-off dry pens; post-fresh cows move to high groups. It’s a big merry-go-round. ...; Created on 12 October 2017
48. Euthanasia methods and risks: What every producer needs to know: (Herd Health); Timely euthanasia is perhaps one of the biggest challenges for farmers and veterinarians. Many times, there isn’t a definite answer. Euthanizing the animal too early could mean a missed opportunity, but ...; Created on 08 September 2017
49. CEO Corner: More handy than hands – the automation of your dreams is coming: (Industry News); Editor's note: The CEO Corner contains editors' compilations of business news from top publications, which they have tailored for the dairy industry. Don’t tell me you’ve never done this before: It’s ...; Created on 18 July 2017
50. Top 3 reasons why workers leave your dairy: (Management); If your farm experiences high turnover on a constant basis, it may be time for a self-evaluation to address the reasons why this is occurring. I recently took to social media and asked employees what was ...; Created on 10 July 2017