Shrink is hard to define, but committing to best management practices during harvest, ensiling and feedout can reduce its impact. Over the past few years, sustainability has earned its status as a dairy...
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...
My bout with an intestinal infection hardened my stance on raw milk. I spent most of my Christmas break helping my boyfriend on his 40-cow dairy in northwestern Wisconsin. The first couple of weeks of...
Since pulsation came on-line, machines have taken a lot of flak for causing mastitis. Observations of the entire milking process, though, are needed to unroot the cause of milk quality problems. Since...
New school lunch policies improved food consumption and minimized waste in one school district; can we do even better? By Abby Bauer, Hoard's Dairyman Associate Editor When the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids...
Automated calf feeding systems offer huge benefits but can also challenge management systems. Offering quicker gains, healthier calves and greater labor efficiencies, automated calf feeders have revolutionized...
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...
The steps you take before administering an animal health product play a large role in the treatment's effectiveness. In our animal care toolbox, vaccines and antibiotics are powerful instruments. These...
Crisis management is intimidating to address but essential for long-term success. When I was 12, my family had an experience that significantly altered our operation. At 11 p.m. in the middle of wheat...
Up just 1,000 cells/mL, SCC reverted to 2012 levels this past year.After trending downward for nearly a decade, the somatic cell count average of herds enrolled in Dairy HerdInformation (DHI) testing rose...
If you have good prep and good milkers, the use of an automatic teat scrubber or more conventional prep routine should have little impact on production. Forestripping serves two purposes in the parlor:...
Watch the cows to be sure your facility provides the resting space they need. Cows are busy creatures, and one of the most important activities they do is rest. "We want to see high-producing cows lying...
