A calf is like a bank account; for best results, make high-quality deposits starting at day one. On the farm, the best way to measure a calf's immune defenses is by testing for total protein (TP) in blood....
Hints to help you save time and computer space. Ah, a clean desk. No piles of brochures and papers surrounding your computer. Few farm offices can claim a pristine desk appearance much less a decluttered...
Keep fresh cows "fresher" by identifying high risk cows early on. The high-risk fresh cow: She's older (third lactation or greater), had a difficult calving and is battling lameness. She had a longer lactation...
To meet consumer demands, organic animal and crop production has grown a great deal in the past decade. Crop acres have more than doubled to the current 5.4-plus million acres split between crops and pasture....
With another new year underway, California continues to be the largest dairy state by a wide margin, accounting for over 20 percent of all milk made in the U.S. Its dairy industry continues to have much...
One of the keys for a breed to remain economically viable is the ability to make genetic progress, and small populations are at a large disadvantage in this respect. Genomic selection may create an even...
There were some surprises in who signed up for the Dairy Margin Protection Program (MPP-Dairy), according to figures announced recently by USDA. The biggest surprise is who didn't sign up: almost half...
A classic game, Jenga tests players' ability to strategically remove blocks from a sturdy tower. One by one, blocks are pulled until the stack comes crashing down. The individual with the steadiest hand...
Meat is a diet staple for many Americans, yet some parts of the country tend to be more meaty than others. In a nonscientific study, cable news channel CNN created a list of the top 12 meatiest cities...
The nation's major dairy states led the pack for both corn silage and alfalfa forage harvest. Producers in Wisconsin put up 15.7 million tons of corn silage, while California stored 10.9 million tons of...
In a 5-to-1 decision (with one additional justice not participating in the case), the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that when manure enters a groundwater well, it can be considered a pollutant. In making...
While a few sign-ups could still be trickling in from FSA offices, 59.4 percent of the nation's milk supply will be covered by the new Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy) in 2015
If there was one job I truly despised as a kid growing up on a dairy farm, it was helping bed the calf barn, which housed our calves from 3 months of age to around 500 pounds. I just never found a way...
Mastitis threatens your young ladies – and your bottom line – long before they reach the milking parlor. Heifer mastitis is real, it is costly, and dairy scientists say it is more common than...
Prevent problems before they cause early culling. Mike Hutjens presented "Feeding cows for transition success" during the January Hoard's Dairyman webinar. He shared 10 Key Performance Indicators (KPI)....
As a Holstein steer gets bigger, its ADG (average daily gain) and feed efficiency go down. However, they left out the facts that, with a proper implant and high energy, no forage feeding program, you can...
by Abby Bauer, Associate Editor Farms with high milk production do many things right, but a lot of it comes down to the four feet a cow walks on. "A sore foot impacts everything she does," said University...
USDA announced this morning that over 23,000 dairy producers signed up for the farm bill's new Margin Protection Program for Dairy or MPP-Dairy. That represents a brisk sign-up given that the nation's...
Hoard's Dairyman Webinar Archives January 12, 2015: "Feeding cows for transition success" presented by Mike Hutjens, University of Illinois "Feeding cows for transition success" was presented by Mike Hutjens,...
