A reader recently e-mailed me to say he enjoyed our animal welfare review series. He also read with interest the standards comparison chart in the last issue. (See pages 38-41 of this issue for the second ...
For nearly 150 years, members of Jay Hansen’s family have lived and farmed on Black Hawk County land near Waterloo, Iowa, where Jay and his four sons now work together. Between the five of them and Jay’s ...
The Western Dairy Challenge contest took place between Feb. 28 and March 1, at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Visalia, California. Fifty-four students from seven universities competed in the annual event. Student ...
As corn prices hovered near $3.50 per bushel, feed cost per cow per day increased over 80 cents per 100 pounds, while record milk prices occurred in July 2007. In 2007-2008, milk price will need to increase ...
Recent interest in animal welfare stems often from concerns related to intensive farming techniques. In many modern farms, especially in the industrialized world, dairy cattle are housed indoors, a system ...
Water is one of the most basic, yet important things we can supply for our cows. Despite the central role that water plays in mammalian physiology, we tend to take it for granted. It is even more crucial ...
At recent dairy production workshops sponsored by the University of Minnesota and the Minnesota Milk Producers Association, Dr. Joe Harner, Kansas State University, offered Minnesota dairy producers a ...
Dairy operators face a number of management problems during the production season. One of these problems is the control of insect pests. Insect pests generally fall into two groups: insects that feed on ...
We have been hammering away at relieving heat stress on dairy cows for a long time, including how to design, build, modify and manage facilities. Heat stress occurs when the heat generated by the cow and ...
Spring – time to plant corn, first cutting of hay and spread manure. But before you climb on the tractor seat, think about adjusting your barn ventilation in anticipation of warmer weather. That may be ...
As animal housing continues to move toward larger buildings, the research team at the Bioenvironmental and Structural Systems (BESS) Lab at the University of Illinois is working hard to keep up with industry ...
Since it’s time to cool cows again, it’s time to tune up your cow cooling systems. The first thing is to clean your fans; dirty fans reduce air speed by 50 percent. With the price of energy these days, ...
A Focus on Energy Technical Data Sheet Animal barns require ventilation to keep cows and other farm animals comfortable and productive year- round. Ventilation provides fresh air, removes excess moisture ...
The science behind building a ration that optimizes milk production and improves herd health is highly coveted. To formulate a performance-focused diet, nutritionists depend on quality feed ingredients ...
Do extra vitamins help? Today there are fewer cows producing more milk. Cows have become more efficient. The vitamins A, D, and E are routinely supplemented to lactating cows. In the past, B vitamins, ...
Feeding straw to dry dairy cows has become a popular strategy to decrease dietary energy content and increase the bulk fill of the ration. The key reasons for doing this are to maintain pre-calving dry ...
It’s been snowing lately, and I have been complaining about the cold. I am not as young as I used to be, and my bones hurt.My circulation isn’t the best; our big house doesn’t have central heating, and ...
You gotta feed cows in the winter in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. Liquid molasses is a common supplement. But Annie (an alias) was not prepared for the sticky surprise she found in their molasses tank. ...
I can’t remember the last time I heard someone say, “Boy, the weather has been almost perfect this year.” It seems like that used to happen every now and again when I was a kid. I suppose I could blame ...
Dairy cattle housed in freestall barns are normally separated from the feed delivery area by some sort of barrier. Barriers are important as they prevent cattle from walking and defecating on the feed. ...
A low-fat vegetarian diet is very efficient in terms of how much land is needed to support it. But adding some dairy products and a limited amount of meat may actually increase this efficiency, Cornell ...
STEP 1: Some cowboys are born and raised on a ranch; they grow up riding and working cows, they compete in high school rodeo, have a horse and an FFA project. They develop the art of hangin’ out and lookin’ ...
Our winter period is a slog, at least this year. The snow is old, the wind does not slow, and the sediments saturate the white layer of ice. On gravel roads near our home, sheets of ice overlay the curvature ...
Created on 14 April 2008
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