Ah, March: that one month that starts out cold, chilly, snowy, and mostly miserable, but typically turns sunny, windy, and bearable

Pregnancy rate might be the best key performance indicator to evaluate the reproductive performance of the herd. It is a function of heat detection rate and conception rate

The age at first calving has been trending downward, with many farms aiming to bring heifers into the milking herd at 22 months or even younger

By nature, cows are herd animals. This is true even of cows near lactation, but many cows on pasture will seek out solitude for the act of calving

Calving is one of the most stressful events a dairy cow will experience during a production cycle. During this time, the cow must be able to cope with a painful labor along with changes in its environment

I have pulled many newborn calves since coming home from college. I am usually the go-to person when one of our employees sees a cow or heifer struggling to calve

I received one of my favorite types of texts from my dad this weekend. It was a photo of a pitch black, newly born Holstein heifer out of one of my cows. Just the way I like them!

The chicken or the egg debate has been around for ages. But, in the field of animal care, the discussion of inflammation and its sources, or its repercussions, was presented by Barry Bradford

Are you ready to handle triplets on your farm? As farmers, we learn to always expect the unexpected. But when triplets arrive on the dairy, it is understandable to be in shock. Surprised was my reaction...

In some livestock species, multiple births are preferred, but that certainly is not the case in dairy cattle. "Nobody likes to have twins. Twins are an incredible problem," said Paul Fricke, a dairy cattle...

"One of the most important events on a dairy is calving," said Mark Thomas, D.V.M., a New York veterinarian and consultant with Dairy Health and Management Services, LLC

Typically, inflammation of any kind is considered to be a bad sign, a response to some sort of injury or disease. In the case of dairy cattle, inflammation of the udder is most often associated with mastitis....

But simple practices can help calves survive and thrive, even after a difficult birth. Do you know how many calves you lost as a result of dystocia last year?

Tight window: seasonal calving's lynch pin To take advantage of peak pasture growth, graziers must closely monitor reproductive performance. These same principles can benefit all dairy producers. Compact...

Learn what you can about calving now before it is too late. Two clean, white tips of hooves are peaking out of the rear end of your 4-H heifer. Soon, a pink nose starts to come. It is her first calf, and...

How you can identify and correct abnormal calving positions. That heifer is definitely in labor. Sometimes you can just tell. She is straining and looks uncomfortable. Plus, there has been little progress...

Questions from our readers . . . What are current dystocia and stillbirth rates among Holsteins? Have there been any comparisons between sexed and conventional semen? S.H., New York We looked at 10.8 million...

How you can identify and correct abnormal calving positions. That heifer is definitely in labor. Sometimes you can just tell. She is straining and looks uncomfortable. Plus, there has been little progress...

At our 2009 annual Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council meeting, Maarten Drost, D.V.M., professor emeritus, University of Florida, spoke about on-farm management of obstetrics. His expertise and perspective...