If you grow wheat as part of your dairy cropping mix, this could be a good time to try "frost seeding" red clover to boost forage production. But it is important to follow seeding recommendations. The...
Every year, about this time, I spend extra effort developing my outlook for dairy. Every year a story unfolds about why milk prices are expected to move up or down, and the story usually derives from a...
Three years ago, one of my Christmas gifts was a ColdGear shirt. The giver thought this was the perfect undergear for someone who works outside through the winter. It is thin but keeps you warm by a technology...
I am working with a 600-cow dairy that is experiencing a unique pneumonia-like situation. The dairy is very well managed. When the symptoms appear, they are across all lactating cows, are random and begin...
As printed in our November 2012 issue... FARMFIRST DAIRY COOPERATIVE would be the name of the merged cooperatives of Family Dairies USA, Manitowoc Milk Producers Cooperative and Milwaukee Cooperative Milk...
Before winter hits, evaluate these five pieces of your feeding program with your nutritionist to improve your feeding regime now and develop a cropping strategy
While growth continues in many dairy product categories, including cheese, fluid milk is garnering attention due to its decades-long downward consumption trend. Domino's helped move an additional 6.6 billion...
Focus on fertility pays big dividends for the five Platinum winners of the Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council's Reproduction Award competition. Carefully following protocols; keen heat detection; comfortable...
Hoard's Dairyman Webinar Archives November 12, 2012: "Sorting through our cropping strategies" presented by Dan Undersander, University of Wisconsin-Madison Brought to you by Merial and their Best in Class...
She has the IT factor," said the voice of the veterinarian who trained me to be a practitioner. Of course, I hold what he says in high regard, but I honestly didn't know what he was talking about. I asked...
Being tight with a buck may bring the highest net per cow and hundredweight, but with high-quality management, profit is still possible. More milk won't equal more money if a producer only focuses on efficiencies...
As printed in our October 10, 2012 issue... THE LEADERSHIP IN HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES did not bring the farm bill up for a vote in September and left for a six-week election recess. WITH NO ACTION, THE...
Is it getting more difficult to successfully A.I. breed dairy cows? That was the question posed by colleagues in a scholarly review of research and history involving A.I. breeding of dairy cows. What follows...
Dairy industry veterans have long memories. Many in our industry have weathered a number of economic storms that took place in 2002, 2006, 2009 and now 2012. Whether comparing income-over-feed costs or...
As printed in our September 25, 2012 issue... GLOBAL PRODUCT PRICES WERE $1.44 per pound in early September trading at the Global Dairy Trade. Those composite index values are up 6 cents since late August...
We know that dairy cows and rumen microbes do not have an actual starch requirement. Rather, rumen microbes require adequate fermentable carbohydrates (starch, sugars, soluble fiber and digestible fiber)...
Making more milk is not the answer as the law of diminishing returns kicks in this year. As commodity prices continue their ascent, evaluate whether your herd's production level can offset the cost of...
The simple design can limit induced stress. When used routinely, cattle can accommodate to its function, leaving a positive impression. She wrote this series with Paul Rapnicki, D.V.M., formerly with the...
As printed in our September 10, 2012 issue... COW NUMBERS WERE DOWN 44,000 HEAD this July when compared to April's nationwide peak of 9.27 million. As a result, milk production grew only 0.7 percent, the...
