Understanding science takes away the scare tactics. A few of us liked science class. Others catnapped during the detailed and technical presentations. However, some of those very concepts are now playing...
Additional milk per day is just the start. The signs of heat stress in dry cows are less obvious when there is no production to monitor. In the March Hoard's Dairyman webinar, Geoff Dahl, University of...
Only 1,631 farms left, but it was still the 22nd yearly decline in a row. "Get out while the getting is good" saw 1,631 U.S. dairies leave the industry in 2014. According to data released earlier this...
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...
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...
Slowly but surely, the average quality of U.S. milk is becoming amazingly good. In 2013, for the 12th year in a row, the nationwide average somatic cell count (SCC) for all cows on Dairy Herd Information...
Keeping teats soft and healthy is the goal of every producer, but becomes more challenging during winter's cold temperatures. Leo Timms, Iowa State University, discussed this topic during the Hoard's...
"Milk quality is a topic of continued debate that poses significant problems for the sustainability of the Southeastern dairy industry," noted Steve Oliver, University of Tennessee, at the Southeast
100-year-old replacement for antibiotics might be on the horizon. Antibiotics are a common remedy in today's society for human and livestock illnesses. However, there is a rise in antibiotic-resistant...
Not long ago, calf care was a bit of an afterthought, and many young animals received a standard serving of milk that was adequate for survival and some growth
Low prices for corn and other feed grains are expected to last for the rest of the decade, according to a recent forecast by a leading agricultural research group
When times are tough, the ag family is one of the most supportive around. **Update on Reece and Hans: Hans had a successful second stem-cell transplant and is back home. He is doing well and is working...
Comfortable cows or easily maintained manure systems. It seems like many dairy producers feel they must choose between one or the other. Sand has a strong reputation for enhancing cow comfort and lowering...
Shades, fans, misters and water make milk production possible even in the desert. Few places in the U.S. are as deadly an environment for cows as Arizona, but milk producers there have become masters at...
Steady growth in the number of Jersey herds in the U.S., particularly among large dairy owners in the West, naturally leads to the question of how do they do financially? It's not an easy question to answer,...
I grew up listening to my grandpa talk about the "good ol' days" when computers did not exist and cellphones were a figment of the imagination. For better or worse, I have never known agriculture without...
In the decades ahead, climate change is expected to make heat stress an increasingly bigger problem for dairy cows everywhere. Breeding animals with more natural resistance is one way farmers will cope,...
More than 15 percent of U.S. milk was exported in 2013. That equates to one out of every seven U.S. tanker loads of milk being turned into products destined for overseas
"How can I improve my dairy farm?" It was an unexpected question from a Ugandan dairy farmer to the group - an assembly of one Canadian, two American and 12 European farm writers touring farms in this...
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...
