Proper timing of forage availability can ease the rocky transition of weaning. Weaning time is easily one of the more difficult management challenges for producers with calf and heifer feeding programs....
One Wisconsin city rings in the New Year by dropping a big piece of cheese. It's a bird, it's a plane, it's an . . . 80-pound Styrofoam cheese wedge . . . falling from the sky . . . at midnight? Yes, it...
Independent report says the agency illegally tried to shape public opinion about its water rule proposal. The firestorm that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ignited last May with a proposal...
When used regularly, body condition scoring can help you recognize potential issues and act proactively instead of reactively. After a two-month vacation, our cows can calve in one of two ways: slow and...
Gadgets and devices aid – not replace dairy management. All that cool technology that people use to communicate, record exercise levels and monitor their sleep patterns, now are being applied to...
The old saying goes, "the first step to fixing a problem is knowing you have one." I would argue the second step is knowing what and how significant that problem is
The math behind a plan to give a liter per day to 30 million schoolchildren doesn't work. by Dennis Halladay, Hoard's Dairyman Western Editor In the middle of a rising global flood of dairy products, the...
121.5 million dairy farms exist on our planet. By Patti Hurtgen, Hoard's Dairyman Online Media Manager Yep! Those numbers are current. They are based on worldwide data. Initially, your reaction might be...
College students can't solve their own problems according to psychologists and professors, but farm kids are raised differently. by Maggie Seiler, Special Publications Editor I was 16 or 17 years old,...
Disappointing milk price situation likely to get worse before it gets better. Since they became a key part of the worldwide dairy export pipeline, American milk producers have seen these "dots" before...
A clean environment, adequate cow comfort and footbath use all bolster your ability to prevent digital dermatitis. Lameness affects everything a cow does. Feed intake, fertility, milk production and, in...
It was a full 85 years for World Wide Sires' Willard "Bill" Clark. A cowman, businessman and art collector, World Wide Sires Founder, Bill Clark was unafraid to pursue his passions. Born in the Central...
A warming box can save young calves born during the frigid cold. There's definitely a chill in the air, and for those of us in Northern climates, that chill is not going away any time soon. Falling temperatures...
Cottonseed availability was going to be lower even before Hurricane Joaquin flooded major growing areas. Even with milk prices down, whole cottonseed prices were on track to be up this year – and...
Subclinical hypocalcemia management is important, but it remains hard to monitor the successfulness of treatments.Drink your milk so you can have strong bones and healthy teeth was probably the first nutrition...
Producers who are most ahead are those who didn't sign up at all. No matter what kind of insurance a dairy owner has, not needing to use it means nothing bad has happened, which is exactly what they hope...
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...