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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
A cow that's come down with milk fever is easily recognizable. Oftentimes, the cow, unable to stand, has its head against its side, and its ears are cold to the touch
Marcie Feine's passion for calves clearly shined through as she spoke at a Land O'Lakes calf event last month. "I have the best job because I get the babies," she said. Marcie and her husband, Glen, are...
Safe, top quality milk is the goal of World Dairy Expo. With over 3,000 head of cattle entered in the 2014 World Dairy Expo, the milking parlor will be a busy place this week for both cows and exhibitors....
"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
There are no coincidences when animal activists are involved. A reminder of that came again this week when the undercover video circus moved to Albuquerque, N.M., looking more neatly scripted than ever
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...
When times are tough, the ag family is one of the most supportive around. **Update on Reece and Hans: Hans had a successful second stem-cell transplant and is back home. He is doing well and is working...
Since the early 2000s, automated heat detection has played an important role in reducing breeding and associated labor costs by eliminating the need for reproductive synchronization protocols
A common strategy for spending available dollars on the farm is investing it close to the milk parlor. Areas that tend to get the most attention are the ones that directly affect milk production such as...
It takes preventative strategies and early detection to keep cows walking comfortably on all four feet. Do lame cows get better on their own? According to Gerard Cramer, D.V.M, associate professor from...
Hemorrhagic bowel syndrome (HBS) was first detected in the early 1990s in dairy herds. Since that time, it has become a more common issue in the industry affecting all breeds of cattle and especially Brown...
I grew up listening to my grandpa talk about the "good ol' days" when computers did not exist and cellphones were a figment of the imagination. For better or worse, I have never known agriculture without...
If you ever sensed that organic sales tactics didn't seem to be totally honest, objective and unbiased, then you're smarter than many consumers, according to Organic Marketing Report by Academics Review
For a good part of my childhood and most of my high school and college years, I have been the employee at my parents' 150-cow dairy in Valley Center, Kan. Like most farm children, I headed up calf care
It was obvious who the clown was in this federal court case: an evil one whose underhanded methods were exposed for the world to see. Last week in a federal District Court in Washington, D.C., HSUS (Humane...
