Two new apps are now available to help producers evaluate calves' respiratory health. Respiratory disease can be a devastating issue for the calf caretakers on your farm. According to Terry Ollivett from...
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...
If there was one job I truly despised as a kid growing up on a dairy farm, it was helping bed the calf barn, which housed our calves from 3 months of age to around 500 pounds. I just never found a way...
Mastitis threatens your young ladies – and your bottom line – long before they reach the milking parlor. Heifer mastitis is real, it is costly, and dairy scientists say it is more common than...
Prevent problems before they cause early culling. Mike Hutjens presented "Feeding cows for transition success" during the January Hoard's Dairyman webinar. He shared 10 Key Performance Indicators (KPI)....
It was drilled into my head from a very young age to watch out for calves with droopy ears, sunken eyes and clear signs of illness. Many producers use physical and behavioral signs such as these to detect...
"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
On NFL draft night, the team with the worst record picks first. They are, in theory, in need of the best talent. It used to surprise me that the most touted college players, like Heisman Trophy finalists,...
Your lighting decisions affect animals at all ages, not just lactating dairy cows. A recent Kentucky Cooperative Extension paper reminds us of the importance of both long-day and short-day photoperiods...
Research sheds additional light on the specific effects of mastitis on reproductive efficiencies. The dairy cow's internal balance can often be a fragile thing, and it is never more apparent than when...
Milk alternatives are still giving cow's milk a run for its money, but they may not be all they're cracked up to be. There's a resurgence in the debate between cow's milk and milk alternatives for children....
This couple thought the magazine was a fitting prop for their wedding announcement. This love story may not have started in the Hoard's Dairyman, but the happy couple is no stranger to the magazine
"In the best-case scenario, we'll lose only 2 to 3 percent of our harvested forage tons to fermentation shrink," noted John Goeser, Rock River Laboratory, at the Penn State Dairy Nutrition Conference
When mastitis was detected in the week after insemination, the likelihood of the cow carrying a calf was greatly diminished. A dairy's success or failure hinges on a number of variables, one of which is...
Rabobank outlook sees worst effects of global supply and demand imbalance during first half of the year. by Dennis Halladay, Hoard's Dairyman Western Editor The "wave of milk" now coming from the U.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
Dehorning and castrating are not two of the most favorite jobs on a farm, and the calves are likely not fans either. The reality is that both need to be done, so the American Association of Bovine Practitioners...
Another round of expansion at Hilmar Cheese Company's processing facility in Dalhart, Texas, has been announced by the dairy farmer-owned firm. Two major expansions of the plant have already been done...
