News
No matter the size of your herd or your show string, it is inevitably a balancing act to attend World Dairy Expo and make sure the operation continues to run smoothly at home.
The Cattlemen’s Beef Board is soliciting comments from beef and dairy producers and industry organizations for possible improvements to the beef checkoff program.
Dakota Country Cheese, Mandan, N.D., closes its doors June 28, 2010.
USDA reporting increasing numbers of crossbred dairy cattle.
Crisis management drill hones ability to respond to emergencies.
Neil Michael, director of technical services for ABS Global, says many herds consistently achieve pregnancy rates of 20% to 25%, with many commercial dairies already exceeding 35% to 40%. He lists eight influencers of reproductive success that every dairy should monitor.
“Genomics is a big step forward, but we still need daughter information,” says says Kent Weigel, University of Wisconsin dairy geneticist. “We’re not yet at the stage where we can identify the next sires of sons without using conventional genetics tools.”
With balance sheets in tatters and equity levels at record lows, crop insurance has renewed importance this year.
Key finding: Increasing population is key to increasing tonnage. In addition, narrow-row silage production increased tonnage without compromising quality as measured in milk tons per acre.
With tightening margins, higher feed cost and more attention to environmental consequences, there are opportunities to refocus on just how much or how little protein is needed to sustain high production and returns to the herd.
A three-year, $1.6 million project on six Wisconsin dairy operations is shedding light on management practices that control odors and emissions—and those that don’t.
Milk prices will be better in 2010, but how high will we go, and will it be enough?
It’s almost accepted as gospel that a high somatic cell count (SCC) cow in a small herd can throw off the entire bulk tank even if the rest of the herd is doing well. When it comes to large herds, the conventional wisdom is that a few high-count cows can get diluted by their herdmates.
A comfortable cow is a happy, productive cow.
The question before the dairy industry and USDA’s Dairy Industry Advisory Committee is where we go from here.
A simple check back in your records can give you a pretty good idea of whether your summer cow cooling practices are adequate.
One strategy used by Midwest dairy managers in 2009 when feed prices were high and milk prices were at record lows was feeding more forages.
Balancing dairy rations for rumen-protected amino acids is often an exercise in confusion. There are few hard and fast rules.
As more details emerge on the National Milk Producers Federation’s 2012 dairy policy proposal, there’s a lot to like
Through social media like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and his own Web site, Dino Giacomazzi communicates regularly with friends, family and business colleagues. Giacomazzi uses social networking sites to advocate on issues he believes are critical to dairy’s survival.
Evidence is mounting that cows housed in deep-bedded sand freestalls are outperforming cows on mattresses.
The challenge is to utilize wet corn correctly in your dairy rations
“Uncertainty about the future is creating consternation among producers,” says Tony Mendes, who milks 1,400 cows near Riverdale, Calif. “We’re preoccupied with survival.”
You can reduce the risk of a hay fire on your farm with these tips
GPS-guided auto-steering has not caught on as fast for dairy farmers as it has for their corn and soybean brethren who farm tabletop-flat prairies. But that’s changing, as pioneering dairy producers try to squeeze every advantage out of this constantly evolving technology.