Herd Health

Michael Jordan had Gatorade, our children have PediaSure, but what about our cows? The creek, a pond, an automatic waterer? Dairy cow hydration is especially critical for production and reproduction, and effective management is more than just making sure there’s water in the tank.

The ideal dairy stall is clean, dry and comfortable. Yet when it comes to keeping moisture and pathogens at bay, many stalls fall short. Whether you’re bedding on organic or inorganic material, optimizing stalls for maximum cow health and comfort is critical for producing quality milk.

As we move past tail docking, down cows and the handling of dairy cattle on our farms, there are a number of other welfare concerns emerging for us to address in the near future. These issues are voiced by consumers through social media, open discussion with food marketers and are often amplified by animal activism groups.

We’ve all seen them, and most of us are probably guilty of ignoring them at one point or another. I’m referring to fans so coated in dust and other organic material you wonder how they still spin and, if they are off, you can only imagine the cloud that will be blown into the air when they do eventually start up.

There’s no shortage of sunshine in Buckeye, Arizona, where average highs hit over 100ºF during the summer. Keeping cows cool in this desert climate is no doubt a challenge, but dairyman Nick Vanderwey thinks outside the box to get the job done.

In October 2016, the Dairy Calf and Heifer Association (DCHA) introduced its revised Gold Standards, setting a new industry standard producers could use to measure their own operations.