Magazine

The triumphs of tomorrow start with good beginnings. How successful your milking herd is in the future begins with the health of calves being born today. By providing proper nutrition and management, you can get [Read More …]

Magazine

Perfect Pairing: New Checkoff Partner Delivers Chicken with Cheese

The “chicken sandwich war” is far from over. Dairy has yet to fully engage but that’s about to change. There is no missing how much attention has been given by leading quick-serve restaurant (QSR) chains [Read More …]

Meeting NASEM nutrition requirements when feeding whole milk

The nutrients fed to your calves are the building blocks for your future herd. A calf’s milk diet should optimize more than just growth in the first weeks of life; it should support both postweaning [Read More …]

Magazine

O’Brien Delivers First-Year Outcomes: A Refreshed Checkoff Strategy

DMI CEO’s strategic plan outlined during joint annual meeting Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) CEO Barbara O’Brien is modernizing the checkoff strategy with a fresh organizational structure and a new three-year plan and budget that [Read More …]

It Worked How Well?

Have you ever stepped back from your operation and suddenly realized that some tasks, frankly, just weren’t being done, either correctly or often enough? I have. In fact, we probably all have at some point. [Read More …]

Congress Needs To Pass Agriculture Immigration Legislation

Congress returns to Washington following the mid-term elections on November 8th on the week of the 14th. This will be for only a short legislative time period of 20 plus days before the new 118th [Read More …]

Vaccine Timing Impacts Colostrum Production

The old colostrum standards failed any colostrum with a Brix refractometer score of less than 24. That means that medium quality colostrum (Brix score of 18 to 24) was discarded. This colostrum can be [Read More …]

Getting energy values correct

I am often told by dairy nutritionists that canola meal “feeds better than my formulas predict.” Usually, that is an indication that the nutrient values of the feed are incorrect. Although canola meal is [Read More …]

Fall brings Southwest Dairy Day, elections and more

October is here, and before the ghosts and goblins appear at the end of the month, we hope you’ll join us in Windthorst and Scotland for a look at three robotic dairies as part [Read More …]

Should You Be Concerned about Hay Fields That Didn’t Get Mowed in Fall?

Ideally, forages would be between four and six inches tall going into winter. Are there issues when they are 18 to 24 inches tall? Many articles answer what happens if forages are cut below the [Read More …]

Historic Drought is Creating an Ongoing Crisis for Organic Dairy Farmers

A new coalition seeks immediate emergency relief from federal and California officials to help save organic dairy farms Straus Family Creamery, a certified organic creamery whose mission is to sustain family farms and revitalize rural [Read More …]

Managing Calf Stress: Don’t Overlook Nutrition

Just about anything can cause stress in young dairy calves. Weather, hunger, transportation, air quality and weaning are just a few examples of the natural and environmental factors that can affect calves. While producers [Read More …]

GENYOUth’s mission to end student hunger

It’s difficult to grasp how much of a stigma that breakfast in the school cafeteria can have with food-insecure children. In fact, many choose to go hungry rather than be seen entering the cafeteria [Read More …]

Why Productive Life Matters

Around the globe, there is a growing need to extend the productive lifetime of dairy cattle. There are several important drivers for this. Firstly, rising feed prices and declining water availability mean that fewer livestock [Read More …]

When BRD occurs, diagnose and treat early for best results

When it comes to bovine respiratory disease (BRD) in calves, it’s typically a matter of “when” and not “if” it will occur. While we know that preventative measures are crucial, even dairy operations with the [Read More …]

Can You Afford Not To?

I feel very strongly that one of the greatest advances of the Dairy industry during the past ten years has been the introduction of the Dairy Revenue Protection Program, also known as DRP. It [Read More …]

Get the sand out!

Discover how to effectively manage sand-laden dairy manure whether you have an anaerobic digester or not. Sand bedding is ideal for dairy cows, but it doesn’t always mix well with manure management systems. And this [Read More …]

Cover Crop Seeding Rates

With corn silage harvest under way, we are moving into cover crop seeding season across the Commonwealth. Cereal rye remains an important dual-purpose cover crop in the region due to its winter hardiness, nitrogen [Read More …]

Feeding cows becoming a challenge

One of the biggest struggles right now on Texas dairy farms is growing or sourcing enough feed for the herd. About 60% of the modern dairy cow’s diet is based on byproducts of other commodity [Read More …]

Managing the east coast animal feed mycotoxin challenge

Nestled on the banks of the Clyde River, overlooking Vermont’s widely reputed lush, forested hills sits Poulin Grain. Proud to call Vermont home since 1932, this fourth-generation family-owned business offers personalized service — including one-on-one [Read More …]

Beef embryos fill an important dairy niche

Full-blood beef calves bring higher value and more marketing options than dairy bull calves. Dairy herd reproductive dynamics are dramatically different from those even a few years ago. With the growing use of sexed semen [Read More …]

Managing Earlier Weaned Calves

Weaning calves at an earlier-than-normal age (< 180 days of age) is a proven strategy to reduce grass demands by 25% or more during drought conditions. The challenge with implementing this strategy is that [Read More …]

Overview of Dairy Programs in the Farm Bill

Going back almost 100 years, the history of the farm bill largely tracks the history of food production in the United States as the legislation evolves to meet the needs of its modern-day constituents – farmers [Read More …]

Sneak peek: Wolf’s Legendairy

Robotic dairy one to be featured at Southwest Dairy Day Three Archer County dairy farmers who have adopted robotic technology are opening their farms to the public for Southwest Dairy Day, set for Oct. 20 [Read More …]

Checkoff-Funded Research Centers Spark Dairy Innovation

Specialty cheese was barely noticeable back in the early 1980s, accounting for about 2 percent or less of total sales. Fast forward to today and the U.S. is producing about 1.6 billion pounds of artisan/specialty [Read More …]

Set your vaccination program up for success

A comprehensive vaccine program is critical for protecting your herd from health challenges that could damage your operation’s productivity and profitability, but it’s important to understand that “vaccinating” is not the same as “immunizing.” Vaccination [Read More …]

Cabot Farm Named Vermont Dairy Farm of the Year

Like many Vermont farms, Molly Brook Farm in Cabot, Vermont, can claim ownership by the same family for generations. Its current owners, Myles and Rhonda Goodrich, are the seventh generation of dairy producers on [Read More …]

Agriculture Labor Reform Legislation Remains In Limbo