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, ...
Watching a new documentary about the 2009 plight of a group of Maine dairy farmers was like eating a Tootsie Pop –I kept counting how many licks it would take before getting into the best part of it. ...
This issue contains updated information about how proposed immigration reform impacts your dairy business. Most dairymen are likely pleased with the proposals in a Senate bill introduced in late April. ...
Officer John Bradley of the Brookline Police Department in the Boston area is the subject of a recent viral Internet photo.
During the citywide lockdown following the Boston Marathon bombing, Bradley ...
The author of this post, Tom Wall of Dairy Interactive, is a regular contributor to the magazine. He maintains a blog, “The Almost Perfect Parlor” with Paul Peetz, a territory sales manager for Milk-Rite. ...
According to new analysis of DHI test-day records bythe USDA’s Animal Improvement Laboratory, the averagetest-day SCC in the U.S. declined by 17,000 cells per mL in2012 to 200,000. The analysis showed ...
Note: The following commentary is based on legislative language as it was introduced and does not reflect any changes that may be made during legislative proceedings.
Dairy producers and their current ...
Ed Taylor, Diane Charlton and Antonio Yúnez-Naude recently published new economic research using nationally representative household survey data from rural Mexico that tracks workers over 30 years.
Their ...
Have you heard the phrase “lean in” mentioned in the last few months? Most likely it was in regards to women in leadership.
It stems from the book “Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead,” by Sheryl ...
For anyone who grows crops for a living or gardens as a hobby, this past “spring” will be hard to forget. Throughout most of the Midwest, it’s been an unusually long, snowy winter and short, wet spring. ...
In health and fitness circles, people are often encouraged to “know your numbers.” Key statistics like height, weight, body mass index, cholesterol and blood pressure numbers are often used as basic measurements ...
In my last column for Progressive Dairyman, I discussed how lower SCC limits are being put in place by processors and how the system of premiums for quality milk is potentially going to be replaced by ...
Sometimes the most interesting and worthwhile films aren’t the ones on the marquee at your local cineplex.
That’s especially the case if you’re a farmer looking for a film you can relate to or are someone ...
After renovating our parlor and updating its equipment, we invested time with each milking shift to retrain workers on proper milking protocols.
Our goal, of course, is better milk quality. We already ...
From tractors to loaders, to machinery in the milking parlor, dairies depend on equipment to run their operations. The use of equipment allows dairies to operate more efficiently. However, equipment required ...
There is no magic to getting workers to do exactly what you want. It’s possible by simply executing good management. But you’ll need help from a few key workers who can assist if you’ve put them in the ...
With an automatic milking system (AMS), producers can work smarter rather than harder.
They might also enjoy a better quality of life with added flexibility in their schedule and activities – a clear ...
One of the more unique items on the recent Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference schedule was the robot producer panel. The four different farms represented on the panel were of varying sizes with different ...
The past two years have been a challenge in the dairy industry.
Drought conditions have wreaked havoc on feed prices, feed availability and the quality of crops grown, not to mention the nutrient content ...
Arguably, the most-discussed proposal at this year’s National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) was once again the discussion to lower the somatic cell count (SCC) limit from 750,000 to 400,000. ...
Although 2012 brought many challenges, some herds saw remarkable improvements compared to 2011. Midwestern states endured record temperatures for a prolonged period of time followed by a drought, impacting ...
The price a dairy farm receives for milk is determined by a system that tries to calculate the value of the milk components based on products produced from milk. The prices for the end products of cheese, ...
Low-milk-fat syndrome, commonly known as milk fat depression (MFD), has been studied for approximately 170 years. Many hypotheses have been evaluated in order to explain the biological mechanisms by which ...
In order to achieve any goal in life, the first step is to believe it is possible. Perhaps your herd is averaging 26,000 or 28,000 pounds of milk. That’s nothing to shake your head at. But what if you ...
The most profitable cow on your dairy is the fresh cow. She makes more milk more efficiently than at any other time of the lactation. Feeding fresh cows to maximize their peak milk production is some of ...
Historically high cull cow values, along with increased scrutiny for residues in milk and meat, should have already advanced your decision process for mastitis treatment by now.
A valid veterinary-client-patient-relationship ...
Dairy farmers work from sunup to sundown to establish a herd of high-producing cows, but no farmer is thrilled with the risks and consequences that linger in the shadows.
As farmers, we have to face the ...
Just when you think you’ve done everything you can to grow healthy, robust heifers and avoid health challenges such as respiratory disease and scours, there’s more: heifer mastitis.
It can appear in your ...
Often, we hear things like, “Perhaps you should change your treatment; maybe the ‘bugs’ on your farm are building up a resistance to what you are using.”
I’ve heard arguments that this could happen and ...
Mastitis is a complicated and costly problem for the dairy farmer. No simple solutions are available for its prevention. Some aspects are well understood and documented in scientific literature.
Others ...
Editor’s note: The following information is reprinted with permission from a National Mastitis Council fact sheet.
Definition Organic dairy production in the U.S. is regulated by the U.S. Department of ...
It is common knowledge that hoof health and lameness in dairy cattle is a significant problem for the producer and the dairy industry in general.
Research from 2009 reported that as many as 52 percent ...
Functional claw trimming was devised by Toussaint Raven in the 1970s. The protocol for claw trimming was developed based on animals and housing systems at that time. Today, the housing conditions and the ...
In a 2011 article, “Foot rot in dairy cows,” I explained what foot rot is and briefly mentioned the different hoof problems that could be misdiagnosed as foot rot.
Lameness seems to be on the rise, and ...
Tyler Dockendorf plays a vital role in his family’s 130-cow robotic milking operation.
Find out the five things he can’t do without when it comes to hoof health in the herd.
Mobile barn cleaner
The ...
Best management practices allow all the good things for the baby calf that keep her properly nourished and comfortable as she grows from heifer into her first lactation. We like to think these include ...
When a manure spill resulted in a large fish kill, officials in Dane County wanted to be able to address the issue of manure and water quality without hindering the dairy industry. A public/private partnership ...
Industry representatives attending the Western Dairy Air Quality Symposium April 17 in Boise, Idaho, described a regulatory environment that’s about as predictable as the weather.
The gathering, sponsored ...
Anaerobic digestion is a natural process where solids are broken down into a slurry and gases in an oxygen-free environment. In nature, this continually happens on the floors of bodies of water.
Similarly, ...
It happens almost every day. I pull up my Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest and there it is, someone has posted an article, blogpost or something else related to milk and nutrition. Sadly, a good majority ...
In a society adrift on a raging sea of changing values and uncharted permissiveness, we must take time to teach our children that freedom is not free or they will be lost with proverbial chains around ...
Equipment maintenance and repair is necessary to avoid downtime and to minimize major repairs.
However, maintaining and repairing machines can lead to serious injury.
Workers should be trained in shop ...
Roto-Mix VX single-auger mixers
The new VX Series single-auger vertical mixers by Roto-Mix includes three models: the VX-315, VX-415 and VX-515, which provide capacities in 300, 400 and 500 cubic feet, ...
• John Kappelman of Cedar Grove, Wisconsin, has joined the board of the Professional Dairy Producers Foundation. A former dairy producer, he is currently a consultant for Cereal Byproducts Company. Logan ...
Sometimes I am struck by how fields keep their past. No matter how thoroughly a dead furrow seems to be disked before new seeding, you can still find it after every cutting. I can look from the top of ...
Age: 60
Location: Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
My dairy’s history: I am the second generation of my family that has milked cows at our farm, which began in 1951 with 40 cows by my father and mother, Walter ...
I’ve been pondering the state of veterinary medicine in the new millennium. These subjects deserve deeper thought or at least a master’s degree thesis:• Why a barber and a surgeon should never say, “Oops!” ...
Uncle Joe was makin’ his rounds this spring checking the horses and cows to make sure everything had water.
When he got to the bull lot, one of his prize young Charolais bulls had managed to crawl through ...
In December 1968 economist Dr. Garrett Hardin wrote a seminal paper called “The Tragedy of the Commons.” Largely used in the field of economic theory, I believe it has relevance to those of us tasked with ...
About 250 calf raisers and company representatives attended the Dairy Calf & Heifer Conference, held April 4-5 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The two-day conference featured several general sessions, a variety ...
Created on 09 April 2013
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