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, ...
Words. When spoken, they have power but, when written down, they can change the trajectory of one’s future. During a recent farm visit, a dairyman told me about the words he wrote down 20 years ago and ...
Ice cream is more than a tasty treat. It’s big business in the U.S. In 2018, U.S. ice cream sales at retail exceeded $6.1 billion, according to IRI data courtesy of Dairy Management Inc.
As of Jan. 1, 2017, the National Milk Producers Federation set a ban on tail docking.
What’s the impact?
Changes to on-farm tail-docking protocols
Producers have to use an alternative to tail ...
From a young age, Dean Swager has been an innovative farmer, thinking of ways to make improvements both large and small for the benefit of his cattle, his time and the milk and meat he produces.
After ...
Dairy farmers established Dairy’s Foundation to ensure our dairy farms remain viable and socially responsible for generations to come.
Dairy farmers and industry partners engage in discussion and ask ...
You’re busy – milking cows, packing bunker silos and watching presidential candidate debates (well, maybe). With that in mind, Progressive Dairy looks at issues in the news impacting you and your dairy ...
In today’s unpredictable dairy economy, farmers have looked for ways to diversify their income streams. This isn’t a new way of thinking, though organizations have realized offering a place for brainstorming ...
“What is unique about you and your farm that you can build into your brand?” asked Tera Johnson, director of the Food Finance Institute (FFI) and founder of teraswhey, in her keynote presentation at the ...
As farmers, we face challenges and feel stress every day. It is when it becomes unrelenting and overwhelming we begin to experience negative side effects. Dairy farmers are some of the smartest, most innovative, ...
Think of a recent time when someone – employee, colleague, partner, family member, friend – was not listening when you had something important to say. Now think about how you felt, and describe your feelings ...
Scalability gives a certain level of flexibility to the way a farm can grow with robots, giving the producer a clear picture of what to expect throughout the path they choose, as well as how they can cash-flow ...
Parlor expectations have changed. The goal of milking cows the best we can remains: to milk them safely, gently, quickly and completely. But the need for efficiency has changed how we milk cows, the number ...
In our previous article in the Feb. 7, 2019 issue of Progressive Dairyman, we discussed the history of milk filters and their importance in the milking process (Milk filters: The unsung hero of successful ...
On most modern dairy operations across the U.S., you will find an office with a computer. The computer is most likely running 24 hours a day and may be covered with some dust or fly scat. In that computer, ...
In days past, before we learned the principles of good hoof care, we would see older, mature dairy cows with overgrown corkscrewed outer claws on their rear feet.
The geneticists got interested and ...
Consistency is usually a positive term when describing footbath management. However, there are so many footbath management variables that one or more mistakes can easily be made.
Without a simple, ...
With summer in full swing, high temperatures are here to stay. Increasing temperatures can have a multitude of negative effects on dairy cows, including hoof problems that rear their heads later on.
It’s ...
Hoof trimmers from across the country and around the world took a break from their chutes in order to enrich their minds and hone their skills at the 2019 Hoof Health Conference, held Feb. 21-23 in Albuquerque, ...
The transition period is the most critical period for a successful lactation. Many factors play a crucial role in the success of this period, such as comfort and ventilation, the overall health of the ...
In the coming years, heat waves may occur more frequently and last longer. Beyond reducing the quality and quantity of forage, high temperatures and humidity also affect productivity and reproductive performance ...
In the world of dairy nutrition, new recommendations are continually being made. An important area of focus in which new advances are being made is dry cow nutrition, especially the close-up dry cow period, ...
County and state fair season is upon us, and we don’t want you to miss winning a showmanship class on minor, yet important, details. Here are six tips to help you catch the competitive edge and win the ...
Recently, I was reminded the story of Helen Keller, who was 9 months old when she was stricken with the disease that left her both blind and deaf.
She was an amazing lady who accomplished more than ...
Often when we think about putting time into proper operation, maintenance and tool safety, our thoughts turn to the expensive power tools at our disposal.
While it certainly makes sense to take care ...
In farming, as well as in life, things sometimes go totally different than what a person expects or plans. This last winter proved to be a very hard one with all the ice, snow and bitter cold. Spring finally ...
There’s a lot happening on the planet’s surface right now. Global warming is killing off the biodiversity needed to sustain life as well as creating dangerous weather phenomena.
An increasing human ...
Let me take you back to a time of innocence. A time when I thought everything was legal as long as there was no game warden around. A time when I thought all the best places to hunt ducks had huge sand ...
Collecting and analyzing critical data points, from activity to rumination, for every individual cow can be a struggle for many dairy farms. But this type of information is paramount in maintaining the ...
Almost 10 years ago, brothers Mark and Paul Berning decided to install an automated calf feeder to assist with one of the tasks at Green Waves Farm in St. Michael, Minnesota.
Mark was spending more ...
We try to be faithful recyclers around the house. I make regular runs to town with the pickup full of newspapers, bottles, aluminum cans, cardboard boxes and tin.
I take old pipe and steel to the scrap ...
Milk yields are maximized when calm cows are milked with a consistent routine from one milking to the next and from one milker to the next.
The pulsation ratio or vacuum of a milking machine affects ...
The first dairy cows came to the United States in 1611, according to the International Dairy Foods Association.
Click here or on the image above to view it at full size in a new window.
A team is a group of people with different skills who perform different tasks and work together toward a common goal. All dairy workers, regardless of their roles in the farm, are team members. However, ...
By definition, lameness is any abnormality that causes a cow’s gait to change. However, within this broad term are very specific types of hoof lesions and injuries, and each requires specialized treatment ...
In the sandy soils of Wisconsin’s Northwoods sits the old sawmill city of Antigo.
Here, trees far outnumber people, and cows too, but tucked in between the towering tracks of timber and flat, open ...
The sun is shining, and winter is a distant memory. You may be eager to spend time in the field and catch up on tasks you couldn’t do all winter. But during this busy time, don’t forget how warmer weather ...
On Oct. 11, 1826, Theodore Jones of London, England, received a patent for what he called “wire wheels.” Jones found if he added wires, or what we now call spokes, to a circular rim, the wheel could bear ...
These are arguably the most difficult times in (dairy) farming history, with high costs and low market prices. The conversations and climate among dairy farmers and agriculturalists often reflect this. ...
Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Achieving any significant accomplishment is not the result of luck or chance. The winning Super Bowl team is not surprised they ...
In his fifth edition of Dairy Cattle and Milk Production published in 1939, Dr. Clarence Eckles reported that the “ratio between the human population and the number of cows in the United States had remained ...
Robotic milking systems are not for every operation. As we’ve written about previously, some of the original assumptions the industry had about the types of labor savings dairy robots would bring haven’t ...
Empty barns across America are a ghostly reminder of the dairy industry’s rapid exodus. Hollow and empty, they once housed the lifeblood of a farm, and are now begging a return to useful service for the ...
Consumer demands may be fickle and often are not based on a realistic view of livestock production. Yet today’s consumer focus on animal welfare should factor into dairy producer decisions. While market ...
Created on 18 July 2016
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