With corn silage harvest underway or starting soon, in many areas the main focus is on optimizing the yield and nutritional value of this important feed ingredient, and rightly so. Trusting that plans...

It is accepted that an udder filled with milk is advantageous to the exhibition of dairy cattle

It’s the time of year when harvesting equipment is running all day and long into the night. Crops are coming off the fields, manure is moving to the fields, and on a dairy farm, the normal daily...

Regardless of the cropping season, now is a great time to think about how you can maximize your herd’s response to the forages you’ve harvested. Proper grouping and allocation of forages is...

The ring surface is so iconic that the term “colored shavings” is an alias for Expo itself, and showing on the colored shavings is a lifelong dream for many

While most euthanasia protocols prefer the use of captive bolt pistols to kill cows, bulls, and calves, these specialized instruments can be expensive and require particular ammunition and training in...

Dairy farmers, and particularly Holstein breeders, have become familiar with recessive genes and haplotype conditions in recent decades

NUEVA, 2ª EDICIÓN: Muy ampliada, esta valiosa guía incluye las enfermedades infecciosas y no infecciosas, ahora en dos capítulos. El diagnóstico de cojeras de becerras...

Calf caretakers know how quickly a calf can go from healthy to quite sick when challenged with scours. Decisions made at the first signs of illness can make a big difference in how quickly a calf recovers

Milk prices are finally on the rise, and some of that is thanks to what’s going on in beef markets. The USDA Cattle report that is released in January and July each year provides a snapshot of...

Madison Sifford served as the 35th Hoard's Dairyman editorial intern

Calf rearing aims to promote growth and intestinal development while minimizing health incidences. One of the significant challenges for young calves is diarrhea and other digestive issues. Digestive challenges...

We’ve probably all quipped the phrase, “If you have livestock, you’ll have dead stock, too.” It’s so true

Sometime during the summer, nearly every dairy-producing part of the country will experience enough heat to cause stress for bovines that results in reduced milk yield, poor reproductive performance, and...

Many complex systems make up the lactating dairy cow. For years, scientists have studied the transition from the dry period to lactation — exposing one puzzle piece at a time to create an image of...

By the time you read this article, I will be sitting under a shade tree with my feet propped up, sipping on a large chocolate milkshake

There is no “magic bullet” available to improve milkfat yields. Instead, many factors contribute to a healthy rumen and ultimately how much milkfat a cow makes

It is very easy to stay more than busy with the day-to-day operations of a dairy farm

Electrolytes are often just the ticket calves need to get through a bout of diarrhea. Veterinarian Amelia Woolums recommends administering electrolytes as soon as diarrhea is identified to prevent dehydration,...

As humans, we find companionship with animals. This comes in the form of pets in our homes, wildlife we observe, and the livestock we work with on farms