When cows' light exposure is limited during the dry period, a milk production boost in the next lactation is likely. When light hits the eye, a cascade of hormonal events is triggered in the brain's pineal...
Introducing heifers to the milking barn or parlor before calving may be the ticket to reducing stress. When a dairy heifer has its first calf, its world changes dramatically. A first-lactation heifer is...
When we throw away food, we are tossing more than just nutrients into the trash. No doubt, water is a valuable resource. We use it every single day in a multitude of ways. When water supplies get tight,...
Managing corral conditions year round in open-lot dairies is important for cow health, comfort and production in the rainy season. In the areas of the country where open-lot dairies are popular, the onset...
Expansion at Southwest Cheese in Clovis is expected to take two years. Already one of the biggest single site cheese and whey protein powder processing plants in the world, a $140 million expansion of...
Delaying a herd's age at first calving to 25 months has the potential to cost $45 to $90 per heifer. Age? Weight? Height? If you ask three dairy producers what criteria they use to breed heifers, each...
Veterinarian shares ready-to-use information. "Technology is great, but you still need to manage it," shared Scott Poock, D.V.M., during the Hoard's Dairyman webinar, "An update on repro technologies and...
National-winning FFA Dairy Judging Coach talks about preparing a non-traditional dairy judging team. "This was an extremely hard-working bunch of kids," commented coach Bland Baird. His dairy judging program...
Winners hail from coast to coast By Corey A. Geiger, Managing Editor Carly-O Tequila Alley (shown to the far right), the winning senior 3 year old and Intermediate Champion was selected Grand Champion...
Three national contest wins for these college programs. The University of Minnesota and Ohio State University Ag Tech each swept the three major dairy cattle judging competitions this year by winning this...
Empire State continues dairy bowl dominance. With teams from coast to coast, the 36th North American 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl once again fielded an extremely competitive contest. Teams came from as far west...
Where people shop for food is constantly moving away from traditional outlets. More and more these days, taking a quick trip down to the grocery store doesn't involve a grocery store at all. Instead, a...
A deep dip in rumination during the week prior to calving could hint that a cow is on track to develop a health disorder. While it's strongly driven by a cow's diet, rumination time is influenced by much...
One Wisconsin county is looking to take advantage of new manure treatment technology to turn manure into usable water. Manure may be animal waste, but a complete waste it is not. The nutrients in manure...
Three years running and six wins in 11 years. Coach Baird, Tanner Goodlett, Marissa Allen, Jacob Whitely and Ryan Linton Winning the 2015 National FFA Dairy Cattle Evaluation and Management Career Development...
Prussic acid and nitrate poisoning should be a concern as first frosts arrive. As autumn progresses, it is accompanied by cool weather, better milk production and easier reproduction for dairy herds. However,...
FARM program has moved up its deadline to stop the practice by 2017. Time is running out faster than ever on the routine tail docking of dairy cows - and it can't end soon enough. The biggest step taken...
Now is the time to conduct a postmortem on your heat stress mitigation plan and evaluate potential modifications. With full bunkers and only a few remaining harvest tasks to check off the list, the warmth...
Illinois coach builds a "family" of team members. Whether you are a seasoned coach or someone looking to start a quiz bowl team, there are nuggets of wisdom in Becky's words - maybe something you can put...
Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) training is one way for cattleman to show consumers how much they care about animals and the food they produce. Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to become Beef Quality...
