Feature Articles
Shred it
There’s a new way to harvest corn silage, and research shows that cows respond favorably to it.
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Will only part of the world be fed?
Movie aficionados will remember the scene from “The Graduate” where the main character, Benjamin Braddock, is at a lavish party thrown by his parents, receiving career advice from the wellheeled guests.
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Dairy welfare programs
Retail purchasing behavior is proof that dairy welfare programs are important.
Last year, Purdue University researchers asked 1,000 households about their perceptions and preferences for dairy products and the importance of dairy product attributes.
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Manage calf surges
Even if a dairy is set up with maternity pens, a large amount of calves can overwhelm the typical calving area.
In a calving surge, producers need to find other places they can calve cows and heifers, says Sam Leadley, calf-care specialist with Attica (N.Y.) Veterinary Associates.
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Milk quality continues to improve
Dairy producers are doing something right. A study presented in September 2011 at the 3rd International Symposium on Mastitis and Milk Quality shows a continued decline in bulk tank somatic cell counts, indicating improved milk quality.
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New hope for coliform mastitis
A recent study shows that antibiotics can be effective in treating coliform mastitis. This refutes the long-held notion that antibiotics aren’t effective in treating coliform mastitis, which has people saying it’s now time for a paradigm shift.
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Tube ventilation
When a fire destroyed the calf barn at Hanke Farms four years ago, they did not hesitate to rebuild and install the same positive-pressure ventilation system in the new calf barn.
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The fertility tradeoff
In Hamlet’s famous soliloquy, “To be or not to be – that is the question,” the Shakespearian character toys with the idea of suicide. He doesn’t know what the consequences will be, which makes the decision all the more harder.
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Reduce lameness and improve fertility
It’s well-known that lame cattle can have reduced milk production and increased disease incidence, but the effects of lameness can also negatively affect fertility and reproduction.
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Shield forage quality
Getting a good seal is unarguably one of the most important things you can do to ensure the quality of forages in bunker silos and drive-over piles.
“After hybrid selection and packing density, it’s the third most important thing you do when you manage a bunker or pile,” says Keith Bolsen, a professor emeritus of ruminant nutrition at Kansas State University.
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Dairy sustainability award winners named
On March 7, the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy announced the winners of the inaugural Dairy Sustainability Awards, a program to recognize dairy farms, dairy companies and collaborative partnerships for efforts that advance the sustainability of the dairy industry.
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