For a good part of my childhood and most of my high school and college years, I have been the employee at my parents' 150-cow dairy in Valley Center, Kan. Like most farm children, I headed up calf care
Genomics was a large focus at the Advancing Dairy Cattle Genetics workshop this past February in Phoenix, Ariz. The issue of bias in genomic evaluations was not on the official agenda, but it was discussed...
Dairy farmers in the nation's top milk producing state saw minor relief in their production costs last year. According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, it cost California dairy producers...
We can learn a great deal from studying weather patterns. That was the main take away from a recent presentation by Elwynn Taylor, a professor of ag meteorology who has been studying his trade since 1982,...
This time it's okay to play on your computer at work. "Dairy Land" is a new interactive online game unveiled May 5 by the Washington Dairy Products Commission (WDPC). It's a fun and very educational take...
Handy Hint: May 25, 2014 Creative solution for a small commodity bay We have a commodity bay on the farm that is too small for a truck to dump into. To solve this problem, we mounted a used cyclone from...
While the 2001 National Research Council (NRC) has been an ally of nutritionists for years, Bill Weiss' research and experience have proven that some of the minimum levels set in the NRC guidelines are...
Hoard's Dairyman Webinar Archives May 12, 2014: "Update on mineral nutrition of dairy cows" presented by Bill Weiss, Ohio State University Sponsored by Zinpro Performance Minerals (www.zinpro.com/dairy)...
Brazil's second confirmed case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was announced last week by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The animal, a 12-year-old beef cow that was born and...
China has further tightened its borders to infant formula made in other countries. New restrictions now require foreign makers of milk powder to register their product and their manufacturing and storage...
Heat abatement is not just for the milking herd. Dry cows that are cooled are healthier, breed back sooner and produce more milk. Heat stress has substantial impacts on milk yield during lactation
When it rained, it didn't pour in California last year. As a result, the California Department of Water Resources (CDWR) has officially declared 2013 the driest year since records began being kept in 1895
Milk fever impacts fresh cow health, production, reproduction and immune function. As our cows transition into lactation, their calcium requirements elevate two to three-fold over their dry period needs....
This Thursday, the Cooperative Extension System turns 100 years old. President Woodrow Wilson signed legislation a century ago, on May 8, 1914, that extended the land-grant university concept beyond college...
Wisconsin is known for its cheese. In fact, a good friend of mine just told me last week "a Wisconsin-style pub just opened" near her apartment in New York City. It's serving "Sheboygan bratwurst, fried...
Reader Response: Corn waste biofuel study unfair It appears you were pretty narrow in your reporting of corn waste biofuel's impact on the environment. The research you shared isn't all that credible,...
I won't be Chicken Little and shout, "the sky is falling!" but California's agricultural horizon is definitely a long way from being filled with sunshine and butterflies
Handy Hint: May 10, 2014 Jig moves combine headers I needed a way to move combine headers to work on them or put them away for storage without always starting the combine. I made this simple jig from scrap...
When combined with the five slip-ups below, fluctuating temperatures and wet spring conditions can often lead to an uptick in the rate of scours and respiratory illness we see on farm, noted Sam Leadley...
