When it comes to finding sick cows, tie stall herds have the upper hand. As we have transitioned our dairies from this individual care system to managing groups, illness detection has become one of our...
Most of the time, a single type of bacteria will cause mastitis. When multiple strains are recovered the milk sample is almost useless. It becomes difficult to interpret which bacteria is the culprit,...
Garrett Oetzel, University of Wisconsin, presented "Cows and their calcium", in our Monday, March 10 webinar. For 30 years our presenter has studied the topic. With development of a new calf and the onset...
"If you don't want to graze your cows, at least consider rotationally grazing your heifers." That was the advice given by Larry Tranel, Iowa State Extension Dairy Specialist, at an Iowa Dairy Days meeting...
"Bacteria must be kept away from the teat ends. Fundamentally, 99 percent of the time mastitis occurs when the ability of the teat end sphincter to control bacteria is exceeded. To control mastitis, the...
A Canadian consultant shares his four cornerstones to designing barns for robotic milkers. By Abby Bauer, Hoard's Dairyman Associate Editor Robotic milking systems can fit in a variety of barn layouts,...
Digital dermatitis, commonly known as hairy heel warts, is a major cause of lameness on dairy farms. Digital dermatitis was identified in the early 1970s, came to the U.S. in the 1980s and has been a management...
W.D. Hoard's Notice to the Help set the standard for all farm staff over a century ago. The recent video showing employees at a northeast Wisconsin dairy mistreating dairy calves and cows is very disheartening....
"got milk?" quickly became a part of American culture . . . and still is. Advertising campaigns tend to live briefly, see marginal success, and be forgotten quickly. But every once in a while something...
A growing world calls for more conversation about feed versus food and its impact on animal agriculture and you. Animal feed versus human food. It's an increasingly important global, societal conversation....
Hayley Fernandes used all her resources to prepare for national competition. Whether it's showing, judging or dairy bowl, everyone starts at the beginning. Often times an older sibling shows the younger...
Extensive research conducted five decades ago still serves as the basis for milking practices today. Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is a Gram-positive, facultatively anaerobic, nonmotile, nonsporulating,...
Using technology to identify lameness earlier can help farms better treat this widespread disease. Lameness is a health and welfare issue for the entire dairy industry. In North America, an estimated 21...
Despite public perception, growing herd size does not have to equate to less individualized care for animals. by In a conversation about animal welfare, or more specifically poor animal welfare, oftentimes...
New dairy farm technologies were center stage at the Precision Dairy Conference last week. Just as cellphones are slowly phasing out landlines, some current mechanics and methods of operation on dairy...
In the 1916 issues of Hoard's Dairyman, Dr. E.V. McCollum first reported the discovery of vitamins. In present day ration balancing, vitamin requirements have become an integral portion of any software...
Mastitis occurs in individual cows. Our control programs are designed for the whole herd. "The ideal system for recording clinical mastitis will allow the practitioner to evaluate important cow factors...
Foot health impacts reproduction, production and early culling. Nigel Cook presented theHoard's Dairyman monthly webinar on Monday, May 13, 2013, entitled "No more lame excuses." Lameness prevalence has...
