The milking system checks you need. Whether you use the latest high-tech robot or a traditional milking system, maintaining your system's peak performance is crucial to prevent profits from going down...
How you can identify and correct abnormal calving positions. That heifer is definitely in labor. Sometimes you can just tell. She is straining and looks uncomfortable. Plus, there has been little progress...
Often, it's replacer or electrolyte mixing errors, intentional or otherwise. Scours vaccinations may help. Offering water to calves can help control bloat, as well as help growth rates. Be as consistent...
The whys, do's, and don'ts of drug use. Milk and meat are our products, but we work with animals, living beings that require care and management to ensure their welfare
Misuse of grinders can lead to removing too much of the hoof's outer wall. Your goal is to balance the weight bearing between the inner and outer claws, correct the altered displacement of weight from...
You need to remain vigilant as warmer spring weather can cause shelled corn to deteriorate in bins and other storage units. With the late fall harvest and need to dry corn rapidly, shelled corn may not...
Learning from history: Manure's value is ageless Let's continue the synergism of crops and livestock. By Natalie Rector The author is the senior nutrient management educator for Michigan State University...
Mastitis control hinges on dry and fresh cow care Much mastitis starts during the dry period and in the fresh cow pen. That's where you can make the most progress. Dry cow care has a lot to do with how...
At our 2009 annual Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council meeting, Maarten Drost, D.V.M., professor emeritus, University of Florida, spoke about on-farm management of obstetrics. His expertise and perspective...
Despite growing amounts of research about transition cow health and performance, we still are searching for solutions to find the best way to care for these cows during the window of time around calving
Getting the mastitis numbers we need. Consistency is an important factor in caring for cows, and in no place is it more important than during milking. Ann could recite the milking technique that was used...
Don't Forget to Consider BVD Unexplained breeding problems and calf losses are warning signs. Recently, I had the opportunity to work with a small Jersey herd that was losing more and more calves. They...
Health risks are real. Nutritional benefits are nil, according to food specialists. by Lorre Kolb The author is a journalist with the University of Wisconsin. Pasteurization is the safest, most effective...
Some people argue that, while fermentation analysis is interesting, it is of little value, providing no information that can be used directly for ration balancing
Even though yeast has been included in rations for many years and experts agree that it does benefit cows, there continues to be differing opinions as to how it works and whether live yeast is better than...
Whether you are treating a cow for mastitis, uterine infection, diarrhea, or a number of other diseases, fluid therapy frequently is recommended. Many of these "sick" cows become dehydrated - meaning they...
One of the exciting areas of research in which nutrition may impact reproductive performance are the results from many experiments feeding fats. These fats may be a big boost to improving lactating dairy...