Latest News From Animal Welfare

Managing Drought-Stressed Corn Silage

Harvesting drought-stressed corn silage will take extra testing for moisture and nitrates.

USDA Announces Foot-and-Mouth Vaccine

Animals vaccinated with the new vaccine can be differentiated from naturally infected animals.

Five Tips For Ensiling Drought-Stressed Corn

If it’s harvested, ensiled and fed correctly, drought-stressed corn silage can have up to 70% of the feed value of normal.

Heat Stress Evaporates Midwest Milk Production

Temperatures have exceeded 100°F several days this week, dew points have been above 70°F, and worst of all, nighttime lows rarely fell below 80°F.

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When Pastures Turn Deadly

When drought stops plants from making protein, nitrate poisoning can kill grazing livestock.

Wisconsin Branded ID Tag Program Launches

The tags offered under this program can be used to satisfy traceability needs for marketing, state and national animal health programs and on-farm management.

Keep Cows Eating in Hot Weather

18-point checklist to keep cows eating during bouts of hot weather.

Genex Expands DFM and Oral Electrolyte Offering Nationwide

Genex Cooperative, Inc. introduced NuLife® ReBOUND™ and NuLife® Oral Electrolyte to Midwest cattle producers in fall 2011 and has now expanded product marketing throughout the U.S.

Ten Percent of Midwest Farms Don’t Meet EU SCC Level

Co-op officials don’t expect many, if any, farms to go out of business as a result of non-compliance since they expect USDA will readily grant derogations.

Novartis Introduces Cattle Vaccine App for iPads

The Novartis Cattle Vaccine Literature Library app provides fast and convenient access tomore than 50 product brochures, technical bulletins, journal articles and other reference tools.

CRV Offers New Grazing Service

Grazing can be a viable system for new dairy operations.

Balchem Suspends Marketing AminoShure-L

Recent research indicates that the lysine availability of AminoShure-L is lower than originally projected.

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When FMD Strikes

Maintaining business continuity for farmers, haulers and processors is crucial in the event of a Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak.

Calves Get Heat Stressed, Too

Consequences of increased respiration rates and sweating are rapid dehydration, reduced feed intake, a weaker immune system and the internal body temperature of the calf rises – which is never good.

New Antibiotic for BRD From Merck

ZUPREVO is indicated for the treatment of BRD associated with Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida and Histophilus somni in beef and non-.lactating dairy cattle

Report Says Health Benefits of Free-range Rearing Are Not Clear-cut

More research needs to be done to determine whether less confinement will lead to healthier animals and greater food safety.

StrataGEN, new inbreeding management program, introduced

A herd’s probable, existing genetic base is evaluated and long-term herd goals are considered to develop a three- to five-line rotation of sires that will provide the greatest genetic intensity with minimized inbreeding.

EXCEDE® approved for metritis treatment in just two doses

Treatment of metritis with EXCEDE consists of two doses, administered 72 hours apart at the base of opposite ears.

Gold Standards III Address Animal Welfare

Housing, nutrition and other areas are covered.

Lower Crude Protein, Save Dollars and Environment

Many dairy herds have the potential to lower ration crude protein levels by at least 0.5 to 1.0 unit without impacting herd milk production.

MRSA Found on U.S. Dairies

The critical control point in preventing MRSA spread is cow-to-cow and cow-to-human is hygiene.

Landmark Stray Voltage Decision in Minnesota

The court found the utility 100% at fault and that electricity can cause a trespass onto the farm’s property, possibly resulting in treble damages.

Panel Established to Address Hidden Camera Livestock Investigations

A new animal-welfare panel will work to provide credible feedback on undercover video surveillance and foster balanced discussion.

Antimicrobials Focus Of Mastitis Meeting

The meeting provided the foundation for discussion on the use of antimicrobials for mastitis treatment, dry cow therapies and antimicrobial resistance.

California Court Rebukes PETA on Subpoenas

After a judge’s reprimand of a vegan activist group, a Western dairy leader urges dairy families to continue standing up to animal rights "terrorists."

Five Western Colleges Form Veterinary Medicine Consortium

Colorado State University, Oregon State University, Western University of Health Sciences, Washington State University and University of California at Davis are involved in the project.

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Euthanasia Done Right

There are not only right and wrong ways to euthanize dairy cows, but the guidelines for humane killing were recently revised.

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Heat Detection Made Easy

Activity monitors won’t eliminate synchronization programs on farms. But they can help identify cows that need ovulation help.

Wisconsin Campus Cows Getting Updated Home

Remodeled facilities will enable better animal care—with better cooling and ventilation and bigger, more comfortable stalls—and enhanced learning opportunities than are possible in the existing 56-year-old setup.

Barnyard Brawl: Farm Interests Feud over Egg Rules

WASHINGTON -- The feathers are flying over a deal the egg industry cut with the Humane Society of the United States to regulate how farms care for their laying hens.

Free Web Access to Dairy Facility Design for Veterinarians

A website addresses each aspect of facility design that affects cattle health and productivity, for calves through adult cows.

FDA Prohibits Extralabel Use of Cephalosporins

FDA says it is taking the action to preserve the effectiveness of cephalosporin drugs for treating diseases in humans.

Beware of Subclinical Salmonella

The majority of Salmonella infections in herds are sneaky and often can go undetected for long periods of time in the form of subclinical salmonellosis.

Minnesota Governor Declares Dec. 7 as TB Free Day

The first TB-infected beef cattle herd was detected in July 2005 in northwestern Minnesota. Since that time, more than 800,000 TB tests have been done around the state.

FDA to Begin More Residue Testing in Milk

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will begin a “nonregulatory milk double-blinded sampling survey” of milk samples of herds that have a history of antibiotic residues in meat.

400,000 SCC Requirement Takes Effect January 1

U.S. dairy farms will have until May 1 to come into compliance.

FDA Approves New BRD Therapy

Pulmotil is approved for the control of BRD associated with Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida and Histophilus somni in groups of beef and nonlactating dairy cattle.

White Paper Addresses Use of Antibiotics in Food Animals

The White Paper provides science-based information regarding the use of antibiotics in food-animal production, human health implications relative to antibiotic use and MRSA in livestock.

Johne's Control Works

Implementing Johne’s control measures must become a part of daily routine, and followed year after year.

New Video Tells Positive Story of Dairy Farmers

The video also serves as a library of facts that dairy farmers can reference in talking to consumers about the dairy industry.

Pfizer Launches Residue Risk Assessment Tool

The short, 10-question self-assessment takes only a few minutes to complete.

NMPF’s 2012 Antibiotic Residue Prevention Manual Now Available

Additions to the 2012 version include a section on meat drug residue testing, an expanded list of products and risk factors for residues, as well as an updated drug and test kit list.

South Dakota Cattle Need TB Tests to Enter Wisconsin

South Dakota State Veterinarian Dr. Dustin Oedekoven announced Nov. 9 that a TB-infected herd had been found in the southeastern part of the state.

Dairy Calves Vulnerable to Cold Stress

Take time to plan ahead for feeding and housing calves during cold weather, a time when they are extremely vulnerable to cold stress.

On-farm Culturing Helps Control Mastitis, Reduce Antibiotic Use

On-farm milk culturing is beneficial because it allows farmers to determine which cows are having problems and to design treatment plans that improve milk quality.

Feed Colostrum With Speed

This unique, patented system that allows dairy producers to feed colostrum replacer or supplement simply by adding warm water to a pre-measured plastic pouch.

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Set for Life

Many dairy producers believe that slow starting calves can catch up through compensatory growth. Not true.

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Feed More Forage

For a 1,450 lb. Holstein, that works out to about 26 lb. of forage dry matter.

Wisconsin No Longer Requires TB Tests on Gopher Cattle

The only requirements for Minnesota cattle entering Wisconsin now will be official identification and certificates of veterinary inspection – the same requirements that all livestock entering Wisconsin need.

Profit in the Details: Milk Up, Profit Down

The urge to overpopulate the lactating strings continues to result in overstocking – often at the expense of profits.