“For us, the Pocket Cow Card on the phone and tablet is a great reference tool when out among the herd,” said Jake Weisenbeck when discussing how his farm tracks heats, breeding records, and...
Veterinarian Cesar Narciso pointed to some advantages of IVF (in vitro fertilization), including accelerated genetic gain by using genomically superior donors, strategic reproduction management (like crossbreeding...
“We ultrasound cows at 33 days carried calf to determine pregnancy. Pregnant cows are given a second ultrasound at 60 days carried calf to confirm pregnancy, determine fetal sex, and to check for...
Most folks in the dairy industry are aware, at least to some extent, that California became the No. 1 milk-producing state in 1994. It took over having the most cows in 1998
Conventional thought for many years was that feeding supplemental fat and fresh cows don’t mix. Early studies showed supplemental fats often reduced feed intake in fresh cows
“Our voluntary waiting period or VWP is 77 days for all cows. A few years ago, we backed up the VWP almost a full week,” explained Jeff McNeely. “After moving it back, we haven’t...
During the November Hoard’s Dairyman monthly webinar, Cornell professor, Dave Barbano talked about how milk fatty acid analysis can reflect the metabolic health of cows
Dave Endres of Endres Jazzy Jerseys in Lodi, Wis., came up with a solution to keep newborn calves clean and well fed. Rather than struggle to keep a newborn calf still and off the dirty floor while tr
Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is the cause of enzootic bovine leukosis, which is a noncurable, progressive disease that affects cattle in almost all U.S. dairy herds. The virus infects white blood
Linear score and percent of the herd not infected are two additional measures for evaluating udder health and milk quality. Of course, somatic cell counts are key, too.One of the key factors affecting
Marilyn Hershey When we give water to the pens in our calf barn, we do this by filling a 30-gallon tub using a hose. On days when that is my task, I end up tucking the water hose into the tub, le