To boost transition success, focus on feed bunk space, pen moves, ample-size free stalls or bedded packs, surface cushion, and effective screening of cows needing attention. In 2005, we surveyed the transition...
New tool better estimates alfalfa quality. Relative forage quality (RFQ) is the new standard to measure alfalfa quality. It replaces Relative Feed Value (RFV) which was a good tool in ranking forages for...
Advocacy for the dairy industry and agriculture isn't always easy. It takes courage to stand up to what might not be the popular majority. But, one program for dairy industry enthusiasts is teaching the...
Fiber level (NDF) still rules. Compare digestibility values to the average for the lab. He acknowledges the useful input of Dave Mertens at USDA's Dairy Forage Research Center. Fiber and starch digestibility...
If continued low milk prices weren't depressing enough, there is now an embryo and semen thief in our midst. Based on information that Hoard's Dairyman has learned from four of the five victims, the thief...
New dairies aren't drawing more of area water supplies. Adding cows hasn't changed Texas Panhandle cropping. As the dairy industry has moved west, it has become more dependent upon groundwater rather...
What is the best test? How do diagnostic tests fit into a Johne's disease control program? Experts agree that it's prohibitively expensive to do a fecal culture or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test...
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...
A couple weeks ago we had the pleasure of visiting some impressive Ontario dairies during the First North American Conference on Precision Dairy Management. Our first stop of the day was to Summitholme...
You may have noted that the Hoard's Dairyman Farm has benefited from having a management team that has met regularly over the past 1-1/2 years (February 10, 2010, issue, page 108) and having converted...
You may have noted that the Hoard's Dairyman Farm has benefited from having a management team that has met regularly over the past 1-1/2 years (February 10, 2010, issue, page 108) and having converted...
The organic milk and meat world will change significantly on June 17, when stricter new regulations defining it go into effect. The new standards were announced by USDA earlier this month after several...
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...
Temple Grandin, one of the world's foremost humane livestock handling specialists, is the focus of an HBO movie that debuts on cable television on Saturday, February 6, 2010. Airing time is 8 p.m. Eastern...
Custom operators who also serve as feed suppliers was the topic at the January 26 panel discussion of the Wisconsin Custom Operators Symposium held at the Wisconsin Dells. Two panel members who actively...
On January 23, 1885, Wisconsin's 16th Governor, William Dempster Hoard, launched the very first edition of Hoard's Dairyman. In Hoard's own words, the masthead read, "Hoard's Dairyman is especially devoted...
New walls are going up again at the Hilmar Cheese Co. processing facility in Dalhart, Texas. Barely 28 months after its first milk shipments arrived for processing, phase two of construction at the plant...
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...
Tracie (Schwenck) Luedtke, 1994 University of Wisconsin-Madison I live in Beaver Dam, Wis., with my husband, Jason, and our three children: Alexis, Cassandra and Max. I currently work part-time for AgEdNet.com,...
