Question: We have had two cases recently of what we initially thought were unusual milk fevers in first-calf heifers. One of them was three days in milk, and the other about seven. Both of the heifers...
Four million soil samples reveal fertility shifts Soil fertility rises and falls in response to crop removal rates. At the same time, nutrient surpluses raise soil test levels, while deficits draw them...
While the job market remains bullish for students pursuing agricultural majors, federal and state budgets are full of bears. Those budget shortfalls spell gloom for many ag schools that rely on government...
The FAO's "Livestock's Long Shadow" shrinks dramatically in new estimates. The carbon footprint of food production is under more scrutiny at the regional, national, and international levels than ever before....
This article is part of a series being prepared Ashland, Ohio. This article is part of a series being prepared Practitioners. Protocols ensure sick animals get relief and return to production soon. Also,...
My father used to recite an old saying now and then, "What's good for the goose is good for the gander." What this phrase means is that what is good for the goose is good for everybody else. Recently,...
From Europe, a glimpse of the future Robots are leading the way in a dairy automation trend that is clearly headed this way. Sometimes going far away gives a better look at things back home, as we learned...
Each winter, we start to receive this call, "Hey Doc, I have 10- to 14-day-old calves that are dying and nothing I treat them with works." When we visit the farm, we see thin, weak calves that are scouring,...
In order to get a better idea on how A.I. is used on farms, we developed a survey asking producers a variety of questions about it. The questionnaire was distributed by University of Wisconsin Extension...
Do you remember what it was like in 2008 . . . when corn and other feed costs were really high, but the milk price also was quite high? Well, I think that 2011 is going to feel a lot like that except without...
Proposed 3-step reduction by 2014 would make U.S. standards among world's best. Somatic cells were perhaps the biggest news coming out of the joint annual meeting of National Dairy Board, National Milk...
This time of year, growers are under a lot of pressure to buy seed. Seed salesman pursue seed seed commitments through volume pricing and early purchase incentives even before the current year's yield...
Low milk prices caused these dairy producers to take a serious look at production costs, labor efficiency, and individual cow's profitability. The past two years have been challenging for many of us. Finding...
Strong believers in genomics, the Pecks are performing embryo transfer on 7 to 10 individuals every two weeks. Since its introduction two years ago, genomics has dramatically changed dairy cattle breeding....
Producers have various opportunities to manage their risk. Exerting control requires that you know your breakeven income over feed cost (IOFC) and your milk margin breakeven
Like the bump in the bottom of the peanut butter jar, some dairy products packaging reduces consumption but maintains manufacturer profits. That leaves producers with lower sales and income
[From A to Z] Sorting through your feed additive choices. Here's a look at feed additives and how they might fit your ration and your budget. Feed additives are ingredients added for a non-nutrient role
As a result of an unprecedented study, we know the carbon footprint required to produce one gallon of milk. Action plans are being developed to improve it. Prior to this decade, the words cows and carbon...