It’s Cattle Industry Summer Conference time once again. I’m helping out the Cattlemen’s Beef Board with their Beef Board Meeting.com as I have for several years now. The current Vice Chairman of the CBB is Lucinda Williams. Lucinda is married to a 12th-generation dairy producer and farmer in Hatfield, Mass., on her 220-acre family owned farm, which dates back to … Read More
Tragedy in Calif.
This is a heartbreaking story to have to report, as the situation in Calif. continues to develop concerning three dairies where cows have tested positive for tuberculosis. Now it looks like many of the animals will have to be slaughtered. Tuberculosis is a highly contagious respiratory disease that California had been free of since 2005. Our thoughts and prayers here … Read More
Dairy Industry Distributes Animal Handling Guidelines
Expect a valuable addition to your barn wall in your mailbox soon. The “Top 10 Considerations for Culling and Transporting Dairy Animals to a Packing or Processing Facility” is being mailed to the nation’s dairy producers as a common industry guideline. Produced by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), along with Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) and the American Association of … Read More
Using Infrared Technology for Bunker Management
With increased feed costs, producers are looking to refine management techniques for optimum feeding. Pioneer recently invested in an infrared camera that shows heat in the silage face. This technology shows several qualities about the silage in the bunker. With this camera, Pioneer professionals can show producers if silage was packed properly, if the method for feeding silage from the … Read More
Another Case in Canada
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed another case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a cow in the Province of British Columbia. An ongoing investigation into the case will reveal more information. This case poses no risk to human or animal health since Canada’s stringent BSE safeguards prevented any part of the animal’s carcass from entering the human … Read More
Heat Stress and Nutrition
As we head into the summer months and temperatures begin to rise, producers need to monitor feed rations. Inevitably, dairy cows will go through an intake depression. Bill Mahanna, coordinator of global nutritional sciences for Pioneer, says we need to pay close attention to our starch digestibility – how much effective fiber is in the ration. Producers need to have … Read More
Idaho Dairy Goes Ruggedly Wireless in the Corral
The idea of gaining two extra hours in dairy farm management each day without working extra hours seems like a dream, right? What about cutting the time employees spend searching for animals… in half? Well, Scott Haag at Box Canyon Dairy in Wendell, Idaho says a set of MobileDemand rugged tablet PC’s makes those dairy farm dreams an everyday reality. … Read More
New Zealand Study May Find Production Increase
A new scientific study being conducted in New Zealand could yield a natural, non-hormonal supplement that will significantly increase milk production. The study is being co-funded by the country’s governmental lab AgResearch Ltd.. and Ancare Scientific. The study with Ancare Scientific Ltd. will take a year and cost more than NZ$500,000 ($377,000), Andy West, chief executive officer of state-owned AgResearch … Read More
Baytril Approved
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of Baytril® 100 (enrofloxacin) in dairy replacement heifers less than 20 months of age. Baytril 100 is a powerful, fast-acting antimicrobial for first-line treatment of BRD that beef cattle producers and bovine veterinarians have relied on for more than a decade. This lifesaving antimicrobial kills all three major BRD-causing bacteria … Read More
Look for Your Johne's Survey
A national Johne’s survey is now under way. Surveys were mailed to about 15-percent of each state’s dairy producers. The goal is to identify barriers and incentives for participating in the Voluntary Bovine Johne’s Disease Control Program. The information will be used to improve Johne’s-control efforts. For more information