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Blog
Jan. 6 2021
Are we breeding cows wrong? It is an honest question. Have we lost sight of how or when to breed cows?
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Article
Jan. 4 2021
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
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Article
Dec. 29 2020
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
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Article
Dec. 10 2020
Raising heifers economically isn’t just about feed prices, as herd management practices can make a big impact on the bottom line
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Blog
Nov. 16 2020
Last week, as the North American International Livestock Expo in Louisville, Ky., finished up, it was easy to admire all the beautiful cows
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Article
Oct. 22 2020
“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...
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Article
Oct. 15 2020
Removing U.S. dairy cows may reduce nutrient supply while having little effect on greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Journal of Dairy Science
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Blog
Oct. 12 2020
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...
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Blog
Oct. 1 2020
As many of you know, we switched to a robotic milking system last November. When we made the change, we had a pretty good idea of how things would go initially
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Article
Sept. 28 2020
It was mid-January when a dairy manager and I scouted for inefficiencies within the herd. One tool I like is plotting milk production by days in milk to have an idea of the existence of cows with very...
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Article
Sept. 24 2020
At calving, cows find themselves in a negative calcium balance. That’s because they are literally drawing from their own calcium stores to put the mineral into milk
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Article
Sept. 21 2020
Automatic milking systems continue to grow in popularity as they provide benefits in improved cow health and more behavioral freedom, detailed Trevor DeVries of the University of Guelph
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Blog
Sept. 3 2020
Nearly every year we have had severe heat stress within our dry cow group. This happened for the most part because they were used to living life
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Blog
Sept. 2 2020
California is on fire once again, and the conversation of prevention is still being swept under the rug. How in the world can you allow your state to go up in flames every year so dramatically
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Article
Aug. 3 2020
Water trough capacity can make or break how cows deal with the heat of summer, not only for milk production but also to maintain body functions
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Article
Aug. 3 2020
Some farms adjust their feeding schedule in the summer and deliver feed at night, thinking that cows will eat more when it is cooler outside
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Article
July 30 2020
Herd size often dictates how many pens of milking cows are on a farm, but if having multiple pens is an option, consider grouping cows by age
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Blog
June 29 2020
This week is forecasted to be hot in nearly every dairy producing part of the country. Month-long predictions have much of the same with above average temperatures expected for all of July
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Article
June 22 2020
The value of water to cow comfort cannot be understated. It’s useful to remember that, in times of potential heat stress, water is not only necessary for drinking but can also help cows release excess...
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Article
June 22 2020
When you consider major sources of variability in terms of nutrition, a single ingredient might not be on the top of your list for consideration