California irrigation districts sue the state water board after it demanded they stop using pre-1914 water rights. As California's drought woes worsen and tempers keep climbing, you just knew it would...
For those looking to shed pounds, dodging dairy fat may be bad for your waistline. Fat is having a heyday. For decades, the standard recommendation within the nutrition community has been to avoid fat...
Dairy challenge competition allows students to connect the dots between classes, experiences and instinct. I was the buzzer beater in junior dairy bowl. I studied and studied the questions, and on many...
While forage procurement and feeding play a huge role in the success of high-producing herds, they aren't the only factors. Reproduction and milk quality are critical elements, too. Each winter, 24 of...
Volatility and opportunities exist in the peaks and valleys.Producing milk is full of peaks and valleys. We love the highs and dread the lows. Understanding your financial status can help your herd maximize...
Record-dry January kicked off what looks to be a fourth straight year. It's raining today in big parts of California. A series of storms began pounding the northern half of the state earlier this week...
A PCR assay can enhance your milk quality diagnostics. The incorporation of a robust diagnostic strategy has been promoted heavily in recent years as a way to identify the predominant pathogens causing...
Keep fresh cows "fresher" by identifying high risk cows early on. The high-risk fresh cow: She's older (third lactation or greater), had a difficult calving and is battling lameness. She had a longer lactation...
"One of the most important events on a dairy is calving," said Mark Thomas, D.V.M., a New York veterinarian and consultant with Dairy Health and Management Services, LLC
This year's harvest marks two very different ends of the spectrum. Some dairies have been blessed with an abundance of forage to feed over the coming year
Water quality is paramount to cow health. "My cows are dying. What is going on?" sobbed the 65-year-old dairy producer as his cracked hands cradled his cheeks and covered his swollen eyes. "They calve,...
Manure is a valuable commodity that provides needed nutrients for crop acres, but it takes multiple steps to get it from Point A to Point B. Most times, moving manure from storage to the field happens...
Growth. Also known as improvement, advancement, prosperity or profit. Defined by Merriam-Webster as "progressive development." Growth on your dairy farm doesn't necessarily mean adding more cows, diversifying...
In an ideal world, every calving would happen unassisted and result in a perfectly healthy, active calf. However, as all dairy producers know, that sometimes is not the case. "We can have a critical impact...
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....
Tighter heifer management could be a window of opportunity for many herds. A heifer needs to make about 33,000 pounds of milk to repay her rearing costs, said Cheryl Marti, a dairy production specialist...
New dairy cattle evaluation educational book contains over 90-plus color photos comparing each trait. Understanding linear evaluation enhances every dairy farmer's ability to make better decisions for...
Dairy portion outlined in Hoard's Dairyman webinar. By Patti Hurtgen, Online Media Manager One of the earliest discussions on the farm bill took place on Monday, February 10, when Hoard's Dairyman presented...
