Hay is a high-dollar dairy investment, so it’s important to assess quality to make sure you get what you’ve paid for, and that your rations are formulated with accurate numbers.
The goal of formulating milk replacer is to as closely as possible duplicate – and even improve upon – whole milk. A team of researchers is exploring how to do that based on fat source choices and fatty acids.
Liver abscesses remain a singular, dark cloud over the otherwise sunny segment of dairy-beef-cross cattle. Several entities are performing research to try to solve this frustrating industry obstacle.
Bacteria, viruses, and protozoa all have crafty methods of making preweaned calves sick. Veterinarian Don Sockett shares his advice on fighting these organisms through effective cleaning and sanitation routines.
Animal health supplier, Solvet, has announced a philanthropic relationship with the National 4-H Council, in which it will donate proceeds from the sales of one of its animal-welfare-promoting products.
As dairy producers employ new breeding strategies to capture more revenue by creating beef cross calves, dairy replacement heifer inventories have taken a massive hit.
The best-quality colostrum is thick, creamy, and has a beautiful golden color, right? Not necessarily, according to Danish veterinarian and researcher Hanne Skovsgaard Pedersen.
If there’s any assurance about the economic picture for the dairy industry and agriculture in general going forward in the next few years, it’s that volatility will be a constant.
If you want to stay ahead of calf health and catch sickness in its earliest stage, University of Minnesota Graduate Student Abbigail Prins offers a handy detection tip.
If you’ve flown internationally recently, you may have had a first-hand experience with facial recognition software.Now that technology has found its way to the dairy parlor.
The “old” AI (artificial insemination) is intended to land cows in the maternity pen. Now, the “new” AI (Artificial Intelligence) is being engaged to monitor them.
Some call it concentrated yogurt. Others call it yogurt cheese. No matter the description, labneh is an ancient Middle Eastern dairy staple that is making a fresh appearance in the U.S. dairy case.
It's a secret that needs to be shared - Dairy cows can take the “leftovers” of human food and fiber processing and turn them into high-quality protein.
Whether you’re building a new calf barn or retrofitting an existing structure, there are measures that can be taken to ensure the best possible calf comfort, welfare, and health.
It’s almost time for the Dairy Calf and Heifer Association’s 2024 Annual Conference, and this year the organization heads to a western location in Westminster, Colo. for the 3-day event.
Gene editing has been used experimentally to produce polled calves and calves with lighter-colored haircoats. Now, USDA researchers, have produced a calf with reduced susceptibility to bovine viral diarrhea virus.
Is there a drug-free way to improve cattle health, feed utilization, reproductive efficiency, and environmental impact, all at the prenatal level? Researchers at North Dakota State University think so.
Anyone who works with cows is bound to have “favorite” and “least favorite” based on their dispositions. Those personality traits appear to influence behaviors that can affect their health, well-being, and productivity.
With the start of the new year comes the setting of resolutions for personal habits, behaviors and practices. Dairies can and should do the same for their operations. Here are six places to start.
Inulin is a type of soluble fiber found in plants that is not digestible by humans. However, this not-so-talked-about substance is showing considerable promise in enhancing lactating-cow nutrition.
Routinely monitoring transfer of passive immunity is an effective way to evaluate colostrum management and identify calves with failure of passive transfer.
A recent survey shows that the likelihood of using pain mitigation for common procedures like dehorning, disbudding and castration was directly linked to the human managers’ perception of pain for the animal.
Cryptosporidia is one of the most common scours-causing pathogens in preweaned calves, and, unfortunately, it strikes in the early weeks of life when calves are most vulnerable.
Capturing the benefits of socially rearing calves while avoiding the negative effects of cross-sucking is a challenge. An alternative to keep calves busy? Hay.
Dairy replacement heifer trade has been light nationwide. Similarly, global dairy trade has been on the decline. Will the trend continue as we head into 2024?
Beef cross calves are currently generating healthy profits for dairies. They also are a welcome addition to the beef supply chain, according to Dr. Zeb Gray, Beef Technical Feedlot Specialist with Diamond V.
The more we learn about the myriad virtues of colostrum, the more of it we want. And if it also could be even higher quality and/or produce higher offspring immunity, that would be even better for calves.
If your Christmas shopping list contains people who work daily with animals, you’ll want to get them something meaningful that speaks to the things they enjoy, and might make their workday a little more pleasant, too.
The 2023 World Forage Analysis Superbowl, held in conjunction with World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis. in October, once again produced a host of stunning forage quality results.
A team of Irish researchers has developed a breakthrough innovation to monitor activity and health characteristics of dairy cows – and it doesn’t involve and wires, chips, batteries, or electronics of any kind.
More calves born on dairies than ever before are eventually headed to feedyards these days. Performance and profitability merits sending healthy animals from the calf-rearing stage to the feedlot.
