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...
Volatility and opportunities exist in the peaks and valleys.Producing milk is full of peaks and valleys. We love the highs and dread the lows. Understanding your financial status can help your herd maximize...
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...
The Big Fat Surprise book turns society's view of fat upside down. A new book has taken the nation by storm, and it bodes well for both the dairy industry and agriculture as a whole. The Big Fat Surprise...
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...
Research shows that healthy and unhealthy eaters alike select foods on taste over nutritional value. An apple is healthier, but why do we reach for the doughnut instead? Most likely because we know it...
DHIA milk sample-based method is 91 percent accurate identifying herd prevalence. Next to mastitis, perhaps no subclinical health problem is as common, as unseen (if not outright ignored) or as costly...
In difficult economic times, we become better managers. Shrink is one area where we can tighten our belts. Dairy rations are balanced on the cents per cow that an ingredient will add to or cut from a feed...
Keep fresh cows "fresher" by identifying high risk cows early on. The high-risk fresh cow: She's older (third lactation or greater), had a difficult calving and is battling lameness. She had a longer lactation...
A classic game, Jenga tests players' ability to strategically remove blocks from a sturdy tower. One by one, blocks are pulled until the stack comes crashing down. The individual with the steadiest hand...
Meat is a diet staple for many Americans, yet some parts of the country tend to be more meaty than others. In a nonscientific study, cable news channel CNN created a list of the top 12 meatiest cities...
Lameness and hoof health have garnered a great deal of attention in recent years. At the Vita Plus Dairy Summit, veterinarian Gerard Cramer discussed how we can address hoof health globally. An often-mentioned...
Running a business has a lot to do with building and maintaining relationships, and for a farm, an extremely important relationship is the one with their lender. The foundation of that relationship is...
You may have heard this saying previously and wondered what it means or how it would apply to your dairy or everyday life. It's one I try to live by daily in all things, big and small, I sum it up with...
Growing prospect of another recession threatens exports and farm milk prices. Despite big dips in the stock market this week, the U.S. economy remains in fabulous shape. Except that's in comparison to...
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...
Print or digital, it's the same contest . . . with the same cows . . . and the same judges. The only difference . . . You can view the five classes and enter electronically. For 85 years the Hoard's Dairyman...
Strong production by most major dairy exporting nations during the second half of 2014 collided with weakening economies in much of the world to swamp global markets, cut demand, and trigger the rapid...
Dairymen balance their feed budgets on pennies. Ingredients are often pulled from a ration based on the perceived cents per cow it could save the bottom line
