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,...
Delaying a herd's age at first calving to 25 months has the potential to cost $45 to $90 per heifer. Age? Weight? Height? If you ask three dairy producers what criteria they use to breed heifers, each...
National-winning FFA Dairy Judging Coach talks about preparing a non-traditional dairy judging team. "This was an extremely hard-working bunch of kids," commented coach Bland Baird. His dairy judging program...
Winners hail from coast to coast By Corey A. Geiger, Managing Editor Carly-O Tequila Alley (shown to the far right), the winning senior 3 year old and Intermediate Champion was selected Grand Champion...
Three national contest wins for these college programs. The University of Minnesota and Ohio State University Ag Tech each swept the three major dairy cattle judging competitions this year by winning this...
Empire State continues dairy bowl dominance. With teams from coast to coast, the 36th North American 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl once again fielded an extremely competitive contest. Teams came from as far west...
A deep dip in rumination during the week prior to calving could hint that a cow is on track to develop a health disorder. While it's strongly driven by a cow's diet, rumination time is influenced by much...
One Wisconsin county is looking to take advantage of new manure treatment technology to turn manure into usable water. Manure may be animal waste, but a complete waste it is not. The nutrients in manure...
Now is the time to conduct a postmortem on your heat stress mitigation plan and evaluate potential modifications. With full bunkers and only a few remaining harvest tasks to check off the list, the warmth...
Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) training is one way for cattleman to show consumers how much they care about animals and the food they produce. Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to become Beef Quality...
Choosing the correct bedding material for your farm's system is an integral part of managing milk quality and production. Selecting the ideal bedding for a farm can be a difficult and intensive project....
Adequate protein consumption is crucial. Beef can play a central role in meeting that need. Most people readily recognize the "Beef, It's What's for Dinner" slogan. Yet, higher than average beef prices...
Genomic testing can benefit a dairy if the results are utilized; one Idaho dairyman shared his thoughts on the use of this technology on farm. When the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) held its...
Animal welfare is at the forefront of consumers' minds and at the core of dairy producers' businesses. Happy cows come from California or Wisconsin or wherever. Whatever your opinion is as to where the...
The recently signed bill, which goes into effect on January 1, 2018, will restrict the routine use of antibiotics for disease prevention and bans antibiotic use for growth promotion. California has long...
Focus on identification and management to diminish heel wart prevalence. I can remember the first time we detected digital dermatitis, also referred to as hoof warts or hairy heel warts, in my family's...
The success of a robotic milking system depends on four good feet to get each cow to the robot with ease. "Healthy feet are absolutely critical for success in robot barns," said Jack Rodenburg from DairyLogix...
