Heat stress during late gestation impacts not only cow health and production but calf performance and immunity, as well. As temperatures rise, so does the need for cow cooling. On some farms, milking...
Some are already gone. More will follow. The big question is, how many can be saved? The greatest milk-producing machine the U.S. dairy industry has ever seen is breaking down. Doomsday feed prices and...
Producers have options for identifying ketotic cows, but some methods are better than others. Cows that do not adapt to the negative energy balance experienced after calving are candidates for developing...
Earlier this week, we addressed Ryan Gosling's letter to NMPF (National Milk Producers Federation) in regards to the practice of dehorning (www.hoards.com/blog_dehorning-calves)
On conventional dairy farms, antibiotics have a place in treating sick animals but never in the milk or meat sold by the farm. Consumers can drink milk happily and safely thanks to the efforts put forth...
Mastitis has severe economic consequences costing, on average, $200 or more per case. The disease also impairs cattle well being. While prevention is preferred, there are a number of technologies that...
Sometimes we are so close to a topic that we often forget the values and assume everyone else is just as familiar with it as those who are so deeply entrenched. My responsibilities include the online content...
Focusing on "the other bacteria," or emerging mastitis pathogens, Pam Ruegg, University of Wisconsin-Madison, addressed those gathered at the Wisconsin Dairy Field Representative Conference
Per case, mastitis and metritis rank as the most costly transition disorders. On every dairy, the transition period, the three weeks before to the three weeks after calving, is a critical time for our...
Hoard's Dairyman completed its 20th webinar yesterday. Paul Fricke of the University of Wisconsin-Madison shared "Five keys to reproductive success" with attendees from 25 states, seven Canadian provinces...
It's hard to watch milk production drop during extended periods of high temperature. As you try to stay hydrated and cool while working outside during hot and humid temperatures, you must work even harder...
After 22 years leading the largest dairy state's nutrition education program, Peggy Biltz will retire July 13 as CEO of Dairy Council of California. Replacing her will be Tammy Anderson-Wise (pictured),...
A recent visit to the Chino, Calif., milk shed was a sad sight. What once was is no more, and what remains doesn't have much left. A visit to the Chino, Calif., dairy area this week found only fragments...
The jargon in our industry can overwhelm the ordinary urbanite. The words we choose when talking to our dairy neighbor at the feed mill are different than the vocabulary used to talk to the teacher at...
"Many retailers understand the science behind food production practices, but their customers do not," noted Charlie Arnot with the Center for Food Integrity (CFI), at the 2012 North American Strategy Conference...