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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 Dairyman. 2019 Issue 20, 2019: December 12, 2019 Issue 19, 2019: November 29, 2019 Issue 18, 2019: November 7, ...; Created on 16 October 2019
2. The worm farmer, the boss lady and the poet: (From the Editor); Between thawing frozen pipes and putting earmuffs on calves, hopefully these cold winter days allow a few moments to catch up on your reading list. One book in particular has got me thinking deeply and ...; Created on 22 February 2019
3. Progressive Events: PDPW 2019 Managers Academy: Manage with your head, heart: (Event Coverage); Successfully managing a dairy farm requires utilizing both the head and the heart, dairy producers and representatives of allied industries were reminded during the Professional Dairy Producers (PDPW) ...; Created on 20 February 2019
4. What happened? What’s next? - MPP-Dairy writing last chapter: (Industry News); You’re busy – milking cows, managing employees and attending farm meetings and conferences. With that in mind, Progressive Dairyman looks at issues in the news impacting you and your dairy business. ...; Created on 20 February 2019
5. Crossbred calf economics and health: Considerations from three days to 300 pounds: (Herd Health); Crossbred dairy beef is big news as dairy producers seek to diversify and capture the most value from their bull calves, heifers that aren’t needed for the milking herd or cows which are no longer going ...; Created on 20 February 2019
6. Should we feed a different diet to fresh cows?: (Herd Health); Nutritional management during the transition period is very important, as it affects health, milk production and reproductive performance of dairy cows. As fresh cows usually experience a negative ...; Created on 20 February 2019
7. Hypocalcemia prevention pays: Every cow you treat is money lost: (Herd Health); Ask any producer who consistently feeds close-up dry cows a negative-DCAD diet if it makes a difference for transition cows, and the answer will be yes. Producers routinely report that when cows are metabolically ...; Created on 20 February 2019
8. See your start-up milk clearly: (Herd Health); Of all the performance indicators you can monitor on the dairy, fresh cow performance ranks near the top, since the start of the lactation really determines the rest of the lactation. Yet it is often ...; Created on 20 February 2019
9. Set ‘herd alarms’ to monitor transition cow issues: (Herd Health); “Implementation of best management practices for transition cows will plausibly improve metabolic health, immune function and regulation of inflammation,” says Luciano Caixeta, DVM, Ph.D., and associate ...; Created on 20 February 2019
10. The nuts and bolts of dairy welfare programs: (Herd Health); Programs to address dairy cattle welfare come in different shapes and sizes. They range from those that serve niche markets are relatively small and aim to differentiate their product with an animal welfare ...; Created on 20 February 2019
11. SOPs help your employees, your cows and your bottom line: (Herd Health); Drafting and updating standard operating procedures (SOPs) may not be a favorite task on the dairy farm, but it is critical for a well-run operation. According to a survey of large dairy farms conducted ...; Created on 20 February 2019
12. 4 tips for winter hoof care: (Herd Health); As temperatures in parts of the country dip below freezing, and moisture is prevalent, bovine hoof care demands some extra attention. Additionally, winter temperatures can affect common practices such ...; Created on 20 February 2019
13. Cost analysis: In-house vs. outsourced hoof trimming: (Herd Health); As dairy producers seek more ways to sharpen the pencil on profitability, they are examining each area of the farm budget for cost-saving opportunities. This leads some to ponder the pros and cons of contracting ...; Created on 20 February 2019
14. Can we cut back on hoof trimming in tough times?: (Herd Health); It has been painfully obvious to everyone involved the dairy economy has been in one of the longest financial droughts most of us can remember. It is only natural and financially responsible to cut ...; Created on 20 February 2019
15. 3 things to know about automated footbaths: (Herd Health); The best action plans for hoof health and digital dermatitis prevention call for consistent footbaths, and dairy farmers have the choice between manually filling and draining the bath or using an automated ...; Created on 20 February 2019
16. Semen tank checklist: (A.I. & Breeding); Don’t let poor semen tank maintenance and management be the cause of poor semen fertility. Use this handy checklist to ensure proper handling for best semen performance. Properly cool forceps or tweezers ...; Created on 20 February 2019
17. Laying out a beef-on-dairy business plan: (A.I. & Breeding); Operating a business without a plan is like going on a road trip without directions. A wanderlust attitude might lead to some interesting paths, but it will not get you to your destination quickly or efficiently. ...; Created on 20 February 2019
18. Looking for greater economic value from genomic testing: (A.I. & Breeding); The following is a summary from the Dairy Genomics Workshop series on the value of genomic testing females, presented in Idaho, Washington, Florida, Texas and California in late 2018. The extension ...; Created on 20 February 2019
19. Farmer group commits to clean water: (Manure); Instead of pointing fingers, a group of northeast Wisconsin farmers are raising their hands to acknowledge the local dairy industry’s part in groundwater issues and making a public commitment to solving ...; Created on 20 February 2019
20. Nutrient reduction: Scale of change needed and potential benefits: (Manure); Nutrient losses from agricultural systems in the Mississippi River basin have contributed to the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2008, in response to this challenge, the EPA’s Hypoxia Task Force ...; Created on 20 February 2019
21. Just dropping by ... ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’ solution to temperance: (Yevet Tenney); Laundry piles high, dishes totter and spill on the counter, crumbs scatter like ants under the table, and the teal carpet lies cluttered and brown from the want of a vacuum while I sit frustrated, once ...; Created on 20 February 2019
22. Equipment Hub: Stalking the elusive ‘good’ farm mechanic: (Barns & Equipment); Good help is hard to find … and those words are true in just about any industry you can imagine. Whether you are looking for a farm mechanic or a high-school basketball referee, a qualified person who ...; Created on 20 February 2019
23. The Milk House: Finding the story: (Ryan Dennis); Recently, I went back home and walked through the barn. The freestalls have held beef cattle in them since my parents quit dairy farming several years ago. Other areas, however, like the feed room, ...; Created on 20 February 2019
24. HERd Management: How I reached more than 470 students through a live virtual farm tour: (Guest Blog); I’ve always said, “If we can’t bring consumers to the farm, then let’s bring the farm to consumers.” As a dairy farmer and passionate agvocate, I particularly love to educate about agriculture through ...; Created on 20 February 2019
25. The Manure Spreader: Rural emergency: (Tim Moffett); Let’s face it; living where we live is different. It’s slower-paced, and people from big cities may poke fun at us, but who cares? These days, most cities have Uber. If you’re not familiar with Uber, ...; Created on 20 February 2019
26. Membrane technology to address excess water problem on Washington dairy: (Manure); “We really don’t have a nutrient problem; we have a water problem,” states Galen Smith, partner and general manager of Coldstream Farm LLC in Deming, Washington. With their new 50-stall rotary parlor ...; Created on 19 February 2019
27. 3 tips to manage mealtime for maximum performance: (Feed & Nutrition); How cows eat and ruminate is just as important as the nutritional composition of the feed in front of them. Make the most of every minute at the bunk by understanding dairy cow behavior and incorporating ...; Created on 28 January 2019
28. Strong lender-producer relationship helps during challenging times and beyond: (Management); With all of the bad news and market challenges dairy farmers have been contending with during the past year, Michael Hosterman, agricultural business consultant with AgChoice Farm Credit, has a bit of ...; Created on 08 January 2019
29. Effective use of genomics in commercial farms: Replacement heifer selection: (A.I. & Breeding); The selection of replacement heifers in commercial dairy farms has been traditionally characterized by very low intensity of selection, because in general farmers retain nearly every heifer calf as a future ...; Created on 29 November 2018
30. Top 10 water quality lessons from Bragger Family Dairy: (Manure); In 2002, Bragger Family Dairy became the first Discovery Farms Core Farm through monitoring efforts on two streams located on the farm. The dairy is located in Buffalo County, Wisconsin, which is known ...; Created on 28 November 2018
31. Winter footbaths: ‘Ifs,’ ‘ands’ and ‘buts’ debunked: (Herd Health); Many dairy producers point to freezing winter weather as a reason to reduce or eliminate footbath use. Before accepting this as fact, let’s review winter footbath research to see “if” there is a benefit ...; Created on 26 October 2018
32. Tough questions for tough times: (Guest Blog); These are tough times in the dairy industry, and tough times force us to do things that sometimes won’t happen when times are good. We all have comfort zones, and even if we don’t realize it, we do things ...; Created on 17 October 2018
33. Scraper system maintenance means less downtime, increased profits: (Manure); Most days your automatic scraper system chugs along in the barn, doing its job. Until it doesn’t. Then, it’s an emergency call to your dealer and extra shipping and service fees for replacement parts. ...; Created on 06 September 2018