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“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.”
Tail docking of dairy cows was already an uncommon and diminishing practice in California when a state legislator introduced a bill in February 2009 to ban the practice.
Large dairy operations, those with 50 or more employees, will now be required to provide health insurance for their employees and possibly for their families as well.
Kevin Van der Poel, a co-owner of Focal Dairy, began an intensive, pasture-grazing business with a new spin on old dairy traditions. The business is not about producing the most milk. The New Zealander’s method is focused on efficiency, management and reduced costs.
Come August, dairy producers and calf raisers will no longer be able to buy milk replacers with Neomycin-Terramycin in the tried-and-true 2:1 ratio formulation.
Three years ago, Tillamook Cooperative Creamery switched to using the Foss Bactoscan for determining bacterial counts of milk samples. We also decided to test every load of milk received rather than testing weekly.
From June 2005 through November 2009, Osterkamp Dairy achieved a milk quality bonus for 52 out of 53 months—a 98% success rate. Those results, says owner Mark Osterkamp, don’t happen without teamwork. In fact, getting milkers to buy in to the team concept is key to making everything work, he says.
As dairy price support levels become less and less relevant to cost-of-production levels, milk price volatility has brought cash flows from booming highs to crushing lows.
Producer group offers a growth management plan, but many are wary
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.
You can reduce the risk of a hay fire on your farm with these tips
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 question before the dairy industry and USDA’s Dairy Industry Advisory Committee is where we go from here.
The challenge is to utilize wet corn correctly in your dairy rations
From birth, provide calves with a clean, comfortable environment with good colostrum management, consistent feeding and management practices and plenty of dietary calories
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.