DAIRY
Freed up labor needs to be redirected toward cow management to make robot milking successful.
Lallemand Animal Health is introducing its newest product, MAGNIVA Platinum. MAGNIVA Platinum is part of the MAGNIVA line of forage inoculants.
USDA reporting increasing numbers of crossbred dairy cattle.
“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.”
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.
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.
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.”
2009 dairy exports may cool; long-term prospects hot
Regulatory obstacles curb digesters’’ future in California.
California dairies try to outlast the downturn
Producer group offers a growth management plan, but many are wary
California dairies combine for manure-to-energy benefits
Clear expectations, firsthand knowledge breed success
Scarred from the volatility that has trampled the world dairy markets in the last three-and-a-half years, traders have grabbed onto Fonterra’s monthly commodity auction as a new global benchmark.
The dairy industry was addressing global warming long before that was cool. We’re producing 59% more milk with 64% fewer cows than in 1944. We use 77% less feed, 65% less water, 90% less land, produce 76% less manure and have a 63% smaller carbon footprint per gallon of milk produced than we did 66 years ago.
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.
Overshadowed by the health-care debate, high unemployment and a struggling economy, attempts to overhaul immigration and the guest-worker program have not gone far.
“Homeland security begins with hometown security,” Secretary Janet Napolitano says.
DeLaval has introduced its prototype robotic rotary, a 24-stall herringbone configuration that can milk up to 800 cows 2X or 540 cows 3X.
Controlling variation requires that employees clearly understand the goals of the dairy.
Vermont’s congressional delegation is sponsoring companion bills to expand a visa program to allow struggling dairy farmers more access to foreign workers.
The installation uses four robotic milkers in sequence to prep and attach milker units.