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Breakdowns in the global supply chain are hitting home for U.S. livestock producers and the veterinarians who serve them, in the form of shortages of commonly used medications.
Milk production is a risky business, even before COVID-19 hit. Bad weather can negatively impact forages, cows can get sick and breakdowns add up. Factor in a volatile milk market and it makes it difficult to plan.
The Nightmare Before Christmas: Plant Informs Hundreds of Producers it No Longer Will Buy Their Milk
The day before Christmas, producers Kent and Coreena Meyer opened a letter from their milk processor, Wakefern Food Corp., owner of Readington Farms informing them they no longer would be picking up their milk.
From local grocery shops to nearby warehouses to the neighboring farm, help wanted signs are literally everywhere you turn. The growing issue of labor shortages has many dairy farmers asking, “Where can I find help?”
To avoid possible teat damage during the winter months, it’s important to consider the following factors.
Your goal should be to have your new hire leave their first days feeling great about their choice to work for you. There is a lot you can do to make it a success.
While it is impossible for 100 percent healthy animals, we can minimize the number of sick animals with the help of technology.
With the global pandemic having a paralyzing effect on households, communities and the world economy, it is no wonder that the threat of disease to the livelihoods of dairy producers is also a very real concern.
To determine where deficiencies are within your system, there are a few areas you can focus on to isolate potential mastitis drivers.
Genetic selection goals may have to be adjusted
Amidst light trade through the December holidays, Holstein springer values mostly held their month-over-month values to round out 2021.
Raising quality heifers is a priority on every farm.
Emily Yeiser Stepp, vice president of The National Dairy FARM Program and Dr. Eric Rooker with Dairy Doctors Veterinary Services in Plymouth, Wis., both offer tips to consider when reviewing FARM protocols.
It may sound like the title of a middle-school science fair project, but the CowToilet is a real invention, and may soon be operating on commercial dairies around the world.
Dialing into greater ration precision can greatly enhance likelihood your calves are routinely receiving the ration you intend for them.
When the three most popular heifer housing types – confinement, dry lot, and pasture – were evaluated, University of Kentucky researchers determined that pasture was the hands-down economic winner.
Have you ever had a cow come down with a disease while she was pregnant? Probably so. But does that illness impact the calf? Maybe not.
Will dairy production once again pick up in 2022? A new dairy market report is looking ahead.
As one of the top scourges to calf raisers, cryptosporidium is an ever-present challenge that rarely takes a holiday.
Keeping dairy in your diet can actually help you achieve your New Year’s goals.
Once a dairy takes on employees, it is inevitable that at some point they will have to discipline or terminate one of them. Disciplining and terminating, like hiring, requires the employer to keep records. Dairy operato
Many dairies are looking towards other options to increase cash flow and create room for more family members on the farm.
Farmers are constantly faced with the headache of keeping the optimal number of animals in their herd without sacrificing productivity or cow comfort. But when do the barns become too full?
Sad. Depressed. Suicidal. When dairy farmer Randy Roecker looked in the mirror, he never thought these words would reflect who he was. However, when the recession hit in 2008, Randy’s cheery mood began dwindling.
Alfalfa is the fourth most widely grown crop in the United States, and a primary livestock feed source.
As feed prices currently challenge U.S. livestock producers, Feedipedia can be a resource for incorporating non-traditional feedstuffs into innovative rations.
The intricacies of transition-cow nutrition and its role in lactation success may be made a bit easier with the Liver Functionality Index.
A U.S. Department of Labor survey workers on U.S. farms are quite loyal to their employers, and like their bosses.
The debate to lower New York’s agriculture overtime limit to 40 hours has been postponed. New York dairy farmers anxiously await the proposed ultimatum, knowing if passed many farmworkers would find work elsewhere.
With the signup period for 2022 coverage under USDA’s Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program now underway, producers are eager to see how this spells out in terms of dollars and cents.