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2021
Issue 2, 2021: January 19, 2021 Issue 1, 2021: January 1, 2021
2020 Issue 20, 2020: December 12, ...
Harvest season is upon us, and while you may be counting your corn silage by the ton and beans by the bushel, I’m counting my zucchini … on one hand.
It was a tough growing season this year in my 4-foot-by-8-foot ...
Many factors can affect the body temperature of a dairy cow or heifer: illness, stress, breed, age, reproduction status, water intake, environmental conditions and diurnal cycles.
These must all be ...
Proper care of pregnant heifers and cows starts calves off on the right foot
The care for heifers and cows in the days and weeks before calving, known as pre-parturition, has a significant impact on ...
Despite overall declines in drug residues found in bulk milk samples, marketing and regulatory efforts continue to apply pressure to reduce antimicrobial use in livestock, including dairy herds.
“A ...
Some combinations are simply meant to be. Can you imagine Abbott without Costello? Lucy without Rickie? Laverne without Shirley?
Likewise, dietary anion-cation difference (DCAD) and metabolizable protein ...
Trace minerals are required for essentially all biochemical processes in the body. Many of these minerals are dietary essentials for optimal growth, physiologic function and productivity in animals.
This ...
The reasons for seeking optimal reproductive results in your dairy herd are many. However, given the current dairy economic climate, the financial consequences of poor reproductive performance are even ...
For years, 50 to 60 days has been branded as the ideal length of time between calving and first service, but a recent study is looking at how giving dairy cows closer to 90 days before breeding could impact ...
Consider the scenario of a cow leaving the milking herd. Culling a cow can sometimes be a good situation when she is sold for reasons like poor production, fertility issues, health challenges or overstocked ...
The use of polled genetics can be a “kill two birds with one stone” solution for dairy producers: It can relieve the onerous management task of dehorning calves and can also ease consumer concerns about ...
Good luck in business is financial strategy in disguise. The most successful business owners have a financial game plan. Talent and hard work can only take a business so far.
How do you make your dairy ...
Properly identifying uterine diseases like metritis and developing effective treatment protocols can be a bit of a challenge for dairy farmers and their management teams.
Metritis can have significant ...
In the game of dairy herd reproduction, it’s the simple things that separate the top-performing herds from the rest. If you’re looking to up your game in terms of reproductive performance, get back to ...
Cow monitoring technologies bring real-time data to the dairy and are used to inspect every aspect of reproductive management, herd health and ration changes.
Three dairymen who have installed rumination ...
What is the difference between ‘genetics,’ ‘genomics’ and ‘genome’?
Genetics is a branch of biology focused on heredity and variation of organisms. In simpler terms, genetics focuses on the characteristics ...
With the changing of the seasons comes new challenges for dairy producers. As day length, temperature and environmental pests and pathogens change throughout the year, we see swings in intakes, production ...
A few Sundays ago, I spent some time in the nursery at our church with my two granddaughters, Hazel and Darcy. Hazel is 1, and Darcy is 2. Like the other six or seven children in the nursery, their eyes ...
“Helping a neighbor,” my dad used to say, “is the greatest church work you can ever do.” I remember when my wife and I started dating, I explained to her how we would help neighbors get their hay baled ...
“But it’s past its expiration date,” she said. “How do you know it’s still good?” “Because it’s butter,” I said. “It’s always good.”
I know when my father has done something wrong because there’s no ...
This September marked three years of agvocating for our dairy farm. Since I started, I have met so many amazing people across the country, traveled to states I have never visited and gained some great ...
I will never understand people’s obsession with costumes. I was invited to a costume party a while back, and when asked what I was going to come as, I replied, “A sexy farmer.” To which, my friend asked ...
It was time for a change. After the passing of my grandfather in the fall of 2013, it became clear to my uncle, Marty Costello, the 70-cow dairy needed a major update from the facilities that had been ...
The cows are out of the barn, but a court finally closed the door on public release of names and locations of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
In a unanimous ruling on Sept. 9, the U.S. ...
Two recent small experiences in my life have made me realize the need to be paying attention to the disruptors that we will be facing in agriculture as we move forward producing food for the world.
The ...
In an effort to take better care of their cows, prevent antibiotic residues and ensure their rights to use various treatments, two dairy producers have taken on a more dynamic approach in working with ...
“Training employees to properly handle cows and heifers in labor is not only important, it is imperative,” says Jenn Bentley, Iowa State University dairy specialist.
Bentley says the most common error ...
With a turnover rate of about one-third of the U.S. dairy herd annually, dairy records can help identify reasons why cows leave the milking herd. The Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) provides one ...
Created on 09 August 2016
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