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Current Progressive Dairy digital edition

1. It’s not all about the ‘banner years’: (From the Editor); I’ve been struck with an odd realization this summer: I’m closer to having kids in 4-H and youth programs than I am to having been a participant myself. When my husband and I took our young daughters ...; Created on 11 September 2019
2. PD Poll: Concern about adequate forage supplies is real: (Industry News); Nearly half of dairy owners have heightened concern for adequate forage supplies for their farms this year. That’s according to recent online and phone surveys conducted by Progressive Dairy. Beginning ...; Created on 11 September 2019
3. Checkoff Watch: The biggest exporter of cheese the world doesn’t always know: (Organizations); What country leads the world in cheese exports and has received international recognition for high quality? The answer, of course, is the United States. With funding from the dairy checkoff, the U.S. ...; Created on 11 September 2019
4. In Focus: In these districts, dairy cows are the constituents: (Industry News); The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released results of the 2017 Census of Agriculture, spanning some 6.4 million new points of information about U.S. farms and ranches and those ...; Created on 11 September 2019
5. North American Manure Expo showcases innovation in Indiana: (Event Coverage); The 2019 North American Manure Expo was held July 31 – Aug. 1 at Fair Oaks Farms in Indiana. It included tours, a workshop, seminars, equipment demonstrations and a trade show featuring nearly 70 exhibitors. ...; Created on 11 September 2019
6. What happened? What’s next? - DMC enrollment deadline is here: (Industry News); You’re busy milking cows and making corn silage. With that in mind, Progressive Dairy looks at issues in the news impacting you and your dairy business. In recognition of your time, we’ll attempt ...; Created on 11 September 2019
7. Value of “sweat equity” must be clear, communicated in transition plan: (Management); “Someday this will all be yours.” In today’s economy, most dairy families know that vague promises about transferring the farm to the next generation are simply inadequate. Unfortunately, there are ...; Created on 11 September 2019
8. Create a culture of dairy farm safety: (Management); Two employee fatalities at Riverview LLP led to the realization that the dairy company’s existing safety training program wasn’t enough to keep workers safe. The dairy’s management team realized safety ...; Created on 11 September 2019
9. Farming’s dangers, accidents add to stress levels: (Management); Editor’s note: The author, an Indiana dairy producer and freelance writer, is exploring resources and methods to help dairy farmers deal with farm stress. In this article, she shares personal reflections ...; Created on 11 September 2019
10. Dairy cows helping to revitalize Rwanda: (Management); The East Africa country of Rwanda is a densely populated, landlocked country composed of hills and mountains. The country is slightly smaller, geographically, than the state of Maryland but has a population ...; Created on 11 September 2019
11. The 1980s versus now: (Management); Recently I worked with a family in Wisconsin who had a cost of production of $19 per hundredweight (cwt), and they were getting paid a lot less than that. They were losing money. We sat down with their ...; Created on 11 September 2019
12. Jersey Youth Academy – the future of the Jersey breed: (People); “If you want to be part of the Jersey industry, we can find a place for you.” That is how one student summed up their experience at the Jersey Youth Academy, a biennial leadership training program ...; Created on 11 September 2019
13. Expo seminars offer educational opportunities for WDE attendees: (Event Coverage); Industry leaders will return to hold this year’s World Dairy Expo seminars during the annual event Oct. 1-5. Presenters will discuss topics focused on finances, climate, management practices and dairy ...; Created on 11 September 2019
14. World Dairy Expo 2019 dairy cattle show schedule and judges: (Event Coverage); Over five days, 16 judges will place more than 2,300 head of cattle during World Dairy Expo’s 52nd show. Don’t miss your chance to watch cows and heifers of your favorite breeds battle it out on the colored ...; Created on 11 September 2019
15. California’s Tony P. Lopes returns to dairy roots: (People); At the age of 23, Tony P. Lopes is managing employees twice his age. As the operations team leader for his family’s multisite dairies, this California dairyman credits his family, mentors and educators ...; Created on 11 September 2019
16. Heritage Calf Project gives youth a foundation for their own dairy herds: (People); Providing 4-H dairy youth the chance to purchase a purebred dairy calf and start their own herd is the cornerstone of the Heritage Calf Project, an effort initiated and kept alive by a committee of local ...; Created on 11 September 2019
17. Genetics and management yield pounds of success for Siemers Holsteins: (People); At Siemers Holsteins, genetics and management culminate with a 37,500-pound rolling herd average, touting 1,500 pounds of fat and 1,100 pounds of protein. From humble beginnings with a handful of cows ...; Created on 11 September 2019
18. Digging into 21-day breeding intervals: (A.I. & Breeding); When we look at reproduction on today’s dairy farms, we find more and more of them performing at a higher level than ever before. I can remember when we first started using pregnancy rate (PR) as the main ...; Created on 11 September 2019
19. Ovsynch: Know the options for timing, treatments and protocols: (A.I. & Breeding); Since the introduction of Ovsynch more than two decades ago, dairy cattle estrous synchronization programs have been revamped, tweaked and refined in the quest to boost dairy cattle fertility and optimize ...; Created on 11 September 2019
20. Safe storage, handling and administration of synchronization products: (A.I. & Breeding); During synchronization protocols, there are a variety of products which are used to manipulate the estrous cycle. Synchronization protocols are not “band-aids” and should not be used to overcome mismanagement. ...; Created on 11 September 2019
21. Negative DCAD: Good for the cows, good for you: (Feed & Nutrition); “My dad taught me that if we take care of the cows, they take care of us,” says Chris Heins, sixth-generation dairy farmer in Lafayette County, Missouri. Cow health and cow welfare affect cow performance, ...; Created on 11 September 2019
22. The proof is in the pasture: Grass-fed milk verification: (Feed & Nutrition); Milk and dairy products made from grass-fed cows are hitting grocery store shelves. Adding a grazing component is not only a consumer-friendly approach, it is also a viable economic one for many dairy ...; Created on 11 September 2019
23. The on-farm practicalities of grass-fed milk: (Feed & Nutrition); One hundred percent grass-fed milk is a relatively new – or at least re-emerging – focus for dairy farmers in the U.S. Unlike certified organic dairy practices, no grain is allowed to be fed, so these ...; Created on 11 September 2019
24. Life on the family farm under an open heaven: That’s stupid: (Guest Blog); Sometimes farm kids look at things totally different than other people do. Such is the case in what happened many years ago in my Sunday school classroom when I was a small child. My Sunday school ...; Created on 11 September 2019
25. Ask a Vet: How to clean and disinfect water troughs: (Herd Health); Water is the most important nutrient we can give our cattle, yet it is often overlooked. Dairy cows drink on average 30-50 gallons of water a day and produce 1 pound of milk for every 4.5 pounds of water ...; Created on 11 September 2019
26. Crossbred cows are more feed efficient than Holstein cows: (A.I. & Breeding); Interest in crossbreeding is at an all-time high among commercial dairy producers internationally. Generally speaking, however, circumstances have changed regarding the historical superiority of pure Holsteins ...; Created on 11 September 2019
27. Working a showmanship ring: 5 key guidelines for showmanship judges: (Organizations); As we look to the second Showmanship Judges Clinic to be held at the World Dairy Expo next month, we have experienced a year of learning and education which gives a whole new perspective on judging showmanship. ...; Created on 10 September 2019
28. Just dropping by... Line upon line: (Yevet Tenney); In a science class in college, I watched a video depicting rock formation and movement. The film hypothesized that rocks gradually change shape over time, not just with erosion but a kind of stretching. ...; Created on 10 September 2019
29. Equipment Hub: Leverage the latest in late cutting: (Barns & Equipment); One of the top storylines for the 2019 crop season is the weather-related delays that have impacted much of the country. For dairies and custom harvesters, that means making the requisite preparations ...; Created on 10 September 2019
30. The Milk House: Squelching the belching: (Ryan Dennis); One of the consequences of living in a city is inevitably picking up a few friends who are vegetarians. They see me order a burger and ask how I can eat beef, knowing that cattle contribute to greenhouse ...; Created on 10 September 2019
31. The Manure Spreader: Talk louder!: (Tim Moffett); How many times have we all heard the phrase, “You never listen to me!”? The majority of the time it’s said from spouse to spouse, from parents to kids, and from politicians to those of us that work for ...; Created on 10 September 2019
32. Qual Dairy: Better cow care through consistency: (People); When it comes to consistency, it’s hard to beat a robot. For brothers Jon and Mark Qual, their father, Alan, cousins Nathan and Tyler, and uncle Rodney, who all own and operate Qual Dairy in Lisbon, North ...; Created on 10 September 2019
33. High-desert dairy farming: How the Van Dams do it: (People); The high desert of Clovis, New Mexico, where rainfall is rare and wide-open spaces are plentiful, is also where Joel and Jaimie Van Dam call home on Route 77 Dairy. Joel and Jaimie are in partnership ...; Created on 10 September 2019
34. Two farming families team up to be one of Ohio’s most valuable players in the dairy industry: (People); When two farms form a partnership that closes the circle on operational and marketing needs for each farm on its own, a creative business fusion is formed. MVP Dairy LLC in Celina, Ohio, is that fusion ...; Created on 10 September 2019
35. Being a dairy worker: Blessing or curse? It will depend on your attitude: (Management); Recently, my team finished a research project on stress sources for dairy farm employees. The majority of the U.S. dairy farm workforce is Latino or has Latino heritage, and their main concern as it relates ...; Created on 10 September 2019
36. Grandpa, do you want to finish well?: (Management); “I wasn’t able to talk for over two years about what happened with my grandfather,” a young farmer confides as he describes a bitter battle over the transition of land titles from his father’s father to ...; Created on 10 September 2019
37. Don’t be intimidated by robot feeding programs: (Feed & Nutrition); Feeding robot herds does not have to be intimidating. The cows still receive all the nutrients they need. However, instead of all of the nutrients being in the TMR, some are fed in the partial mixed ration ...; Created on 05 September 2019
38. We all need a break; make sure to take one: (Guest Blog); Rest is both a noun and a verb according to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary. A bodily state characterized by minimal function and metabolic activities and peace of mind or spirit are a couple of the definitions ...; Created on 20 August 2019
39. Clean Slate: Richland Dairy rebuilds in 100 days post-tornado: (Barns & Equipment); It was early in the evening on Thursday, Sept. 20. Members of the Meyer family were catching up on various tasks. They had put in a long day on Wednesday, harvesting, packing and covering their corn silage ...; Created on 12 August 2019
40. Find your tribe: (Guest Blog); More than a year ago, I received a random direct message (DM) on Instagram. It was from a female farmer out in California who I had never met. She asked if I wanted to join a female farmer group. If I ...; Created on 08 August 2019
41. How to maximize embryo transfer programs in commercial dairy herds: (A.I. & Breeding); When doing anything to scale, it is key to look for critical points where efficiencies can be maximized to ensure the most value for your dollar. One of the benefits of working a donor group within ...; Created on 19 June 2019
42. Genomic testing: How to generate returns quickly: (A.I. & Breeding); There is a widespread misconception that dairies must wait to see financial returns from genomic testing – that cash-strapped dairies can’t justify the investment for potential long-term gains. A close ...; Created on 19 March 2019
43. Warm-season grasses and milk production in grazing dairies: (Feed & Nutrition); Pasture is the primary source of forage for grazing dairies. In the northern U.S., this requirement is typically met by a May-to-October grazing season, and profitability depends on pastures that provide ...; Created on 14 March 2019
44. How to audit your TMR for consistency: (Feed & Nutrition); A cow feeding program is only as good as the as-fed ration. No matter how good things look on paper, the reality of the cow diet is determined, day in and day out, when feeders prepare and deliver the ...; Created on 25 October 2018