Livestock feed prices are on the rise, and there’s no clear sign when that trend will reverse. These escalating costs may have dairy farmers reconsidering their current rations
The fresh cow requires neutral detergent fiber (NDF) from high-quality forages such as brown midrib (BMR) corn silage, alfalfa, and even nonforage sources of fiber
Feed costs per pound of dry matter are rising as corn and soybean meal prices climb, squeezing farmers’ profit margins. Strategies to improve ration economics while maintaining milk yield are discussed....
When the Maddox family expanded their dairy herd to 3,200 cows in the late 1970s, there weren’t many farms of that size in California or across the country
The most important employees on a dairy farm are the cows. What we do for our bovine employees during the dry period plays a big role in how they perform once they re-enter the milking herd
The benefits of feeding sugar, often by means of molasses, to dairy cows have been well-researched. From a physiological standpoint, sugar supplementation improves microbial efficiency and supports fiber-digesting...
Jim Davenport, a dairy farmer from Ancramdale, N.Y., presents “Clean cows make clean milk.” According to Davenport, “The most important contact surface on the dairy is the teat and the...
Although it might be entertaining to see cows running toward the feedbunk and eagerly start eating, this is also a sign that they’re hungry. Unfortunately, they might be so hungry that it’s...
We started the pandemic thinking milk production would need to be cut somewhere between 3% to 10% to bring supply into alignment with the weaker demand
Training farm personnel not only improves animal welfare and improves farm profitability, but it also enhances the work environment by making people feel like part of a cohesive team
There are about 100 organisms that can cause infections in the udders of dairy cows. Selecting the best path of management for an individual case of mastitis starts with knowing what type of bacteria
“We have to ask for practical use, is it helpful? Does the farmer know more after consulting the system than he or she did before? Of course, we want perfect sensor systems, but we have to use the...
There’s almost always a shortage of time and a lack of space on dairy farms. When deciding which animals get the most attention and best resources, the answer is typically the milking herd, and understandably...
