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Current Progressive Dairy digital edition

1. Beef embryos provide options for dairies to diversify, maximize profit: (A.I. & Breeding); Dairy herds are looking for every advantage they can find these days. Diversifying into the beef market is one such avenue that offers multiple options to choose from: Dairy-beef crossbreeds Straight-dairy ...; Created on 15 September 2020
2. How to make breeding day more effective – Part 1: Nitrogen tank and equipment maintenance: (A.I. & Breeding); Despite being designed and built to be robust and reliable, nitrogen tanks are more fragile than they appear. They need proper, consistent care to achieve a long service life. A malfunctioning tank can ...; Created on 05 June 2020
3. How to make breeding day more effective – Part 2: Improve semen handling: (A.I. & Breeding); Before beginning work, check that all necessary equipment and supplies are ready. Identify potential problems before starting, as errors and fixes can waste time and compromise fertility. The key here ...; Created on 15 June 2020
4. How to make breeding day more effective – Part 3: Set reasonable expectations for your breeder: (A.I. & Breeding); Make breeding day more effective by being mindful of the expectations you are placing on your breeding technician. Inseminating all the cows enrolled into the timed-A.I. program only one day of the ...; Created on 17 June 2020
5. Mixed breed bulls maximizing efficiency and more: (A.I. & Breeding); Many factors have major impacts on dairy farm profitability but are out of the control of individual farm owners. However, genetic progress is one thing that can be controlled, and progressive herd owners ...; Created on 13 July 2020
6. New Feed Saved trait could improve dairy sustainability and profitability: (A.I. & Breeding); The genetics of feed efficiency was the central focus of the 2020 Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) industry meeting held via Zoom on Nov. 2. One of the latest Holstein genetic traits to be released ...; Created on 09 November 2020
7. Farm machinery digest: Engine warming and engine rebuild: Testing your diagnostic skills: (Barns & Equipment); Situation No. 1 It is cold out for this time of year. There is not much to do today on the farm, so you drive into town to have coffee with the guys and catch up on local gossip. Before you finish ...; Created on 28 December 2020
8. On the Edge of Common Sense: Tolerance: (Baxter Black); When our opinions get as immovable as a granite outhouse, God has a way of shaking the foundation. I was searching for an artist who could lend just the right feeling to a book I was putting together. ...; Created on 28 December 2020
9. Avoid these calf-raising bottlenecks: (Calves & Heifers); There are several systems on a dairy that need to operate in concert with one another for the entire dairy operation to be efficient. Every day, dairy producers have to manage feeding, milking, health, ...; Created on 28 December 2020
10. Calf mortality: Can it be too low?: (Calves & Heifers); The U.S. calf mortality rate is 6% to 8% (7.8%, USDA, 2007; 8.1%, USDA, 2010; 6%, USDA, 2017), inclusive of all housing types. According to Dairy Calf and Heifer Association Gold Standards, the target ...; Created on 16 November 2020
11. Can feed additives play a role in addressing calf health and performance challenges?: (Calves & Heifers); Replacement heifers are critical to the longevity and sustainability of dairy operations. Special attention should be paid to raising calves, as many aspects influence lifelong health and future productivity, ...; Created on 02 December 2020
12. Economic feeding strategies: When is milk replacer the right price?: (Calves & Heifers); Being a part of the dairy industry is a fulfilling and rewarding privilege, but it can also be an unpredictable journey. Milk prices are constantly fluctuating, and it can make budget evaluation difficult. ...; Created on 28 December 2020
13. The dairy producer’s role in producing healthy veal calves: (Calves & Heifers); “The dairy producer plays a critical role in veal production,” said Dr. Jessica Pempek, animal welfare specialist and assistant professor at Ohio State University. “Establishing the foundation for superior ...; Created on 14 September 2020
14. What is your ‘one word’ for 2021?: (From the Editor); One word. Each year, I pick a single word by which to live. It becomes my mantra for the next 12 months, acting as a guide not just for personal goals, but also personal growth. Since writing about ...; Created on 29 December 2020
15. HERd Management: Across the road: (Guest Blog); As I was doing some much-needed purging from my office, I came across a piece I wrote 10 years ago. It was about the busy schedule of two parents with four kids, milking cows and keeping up with life’s ...; Created on 28 December 2020
16. Psychological safety: Risk-taking in the workplace: (Guest Blog); Defeated, rejected, judged, belittled – I’d be willing to bet you’ve come across a boss, co-worker or peer in your lifetime who has made you feel that way when you’ve offered a suggestion or asked a “dumb” ...; Created on 09 November 2020
17. Progressive Dairy Industry Happenings: January 1, 2021: (Industry News); Progressive Dairy provides updates on dairy-related organizations and companies, compiled from staff news sources and industry press releases. Email industry and organization news to Progressive Dairy Editor ...; Created on 28 December 2020
18. What happened? What’s next? - Are we done with 2020 yet?: (Industry News); In this column, Progressive Dairy summarizes issues in the news and attempts to describe how they might affect dairy farmers. Look for more extensive background and details online (Progressive Dairy). ...; Created on 29 December 2020
19. Cash flow statement: The golden ticket for dairies to make money in 2021: (Management); The past year has confirmed one lesson for many of us in the dairy business: Not one of us holds a crystal ball to see the future. However, for many farming operations, a golden ticket is within reach. ...; Created on 24 December 2020
20. New website tracks updates on technology for cows: (Management); Tech and cows are two of my passions. Earlier this year, I started a new website to track the comings and goings of tech companies and their products. The site is called The Cow Tech Report. While ...; Created on 29 December 2020
21. Revenue per employee: A little-used but powerful metric: (Management); Revenue per employee. It is a widely known and used metric in evaluating businesses, both within a company and across companies in the same segments of industry. Somehow, in the dairy industry, it ...; Created on 29 December 2020
22. Sustainability: More than a game: (Management); While U.S. per-capita consumption of dairy products hit a 60-year high in 2019, maintaining and building on that growth will depend on the industry’s ability to implement and communicate efforts geared ...; Created on 29 December 2020
23. The people side of dairying: How to manage change at the farm level: (Management); We have been confronted with a lot of change this past year, and the dairy industry is no different. Getting comfortable with a changing marketplace, changing technology and changing consumer habits can ...; Created on 28 December 2020
24. Would your dairy farm owner team be a winning sports team?: (Management); I am a sports fan. We have season tickets to three University of Minnesota sports (oops, not this year). In addition to enjoying the games, I have the occupational hazard of studying how the coaches are ...; Created on 29 December 2020
25. The Milk House: Kayfabulous women: (Ryan Dennis); I have a feeling that most people are going to remember the moment when they realized that the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was a real threat. For me, it was when it ...; Created on 28 December 2020
26. Just dropping by ... 12 months to a better life: (Yevet Tenney); In the darkness of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am not sure how the feeble old man of 2020 staggered out and the chubby new babe of 2021 bounced into our lives. The confetti, the whistles, the fireworks ...; Created on 28 December 2020