Automatic milking
Published:
6/6/2013
Written by:
Francisco Rodriguez
With an Automatic Milking System (AMS) producers can work smarter rather than harder. They might also enjoy a better quality of life with added flexibility in their schedule and activities – a clear advantage of robotic milking over conventional operations. A robot operator decides when to start, stop, continue and go home, making it possible to start later and finish earlier in the day.
Read more »
Animal health
Published:
5/24/2013
Fresh cows in your herd may be suffering from something you don’t see. What is it and how can you prevent it?
Read more »
Cow Comfort
Published:
5/21/2013
We know that rumination is highly influenced by the amount of physically effective fiber (peNDF) a dairy cow consumes. The amount of NDF, particle length and digestibility all affect how long she needs to chew on that fiber. We also know that some things can depress rumination such as illness and anxiety. Sick cows stop ruminating and nervous cows stop ruminating. This made me wonder if rumination is a good indicator of cow comfort. Cows at ease, lying or standing will ruminate in the classic lazy dozing state while cows at dis-ease or ill-at-ease do not.
Read more »
Milking equipment
Published:
5/10/2013
Keeping equipment ready and able requires advance planning, scheduling of check-ups and tune-ups, and routine maintenance. As costs continue to rise, it’s tempting to forego these expenses to stretch a few more hours out of the old tractor, chopper, or baler. As expensive as some of these maintenance costs are, repairs and the opportunity cost losses from breakdowns are far more expensive and stress producing.
Read more »
Cow comfort
Published:
5/2/2013
Research from the University of Florida shows that calves exposed to heat stress before birth have lower birth weights and compromised immunity
Read more »
Cow Comfort
Published:
4/12/2013
Written by:
Milkproduction.com staff
We often forget that the foundation of cow comfort is the human-cow interaction. Increasingly, we focus on management strategies to minimize the cost of production and optimize performance, but the focus is seldom on how we interact with the cows in our herd.
Read more »
Calf management
Published:
4/5/2013
Written by:
Sam Leadley
Yes, it is discouraging to get the lab culture results back and find high coliform counts in the colostrum. However, there is good news! It is possible to deliver clean colostrum to calves.
Read more »
Farm management
Published:
3/6/2013
Written by:
Francisco Rodriguez
Just like snowflakes and udder conformations, no two farms are exactly the same. Robotic milking has certainly highlighted this fact as more North American dairy producers are preparing their farms for the latest in milking technology. Before the robots are delivered to the farm, many planning decisions need to be in place. How should I design the layout of my barn? Which cow traffic system should I use? What about feeding strategies, bedding management and cow comfort?
Read more »
Farm management
Published:
3/4/2013
Written by:
Francisco Rodriguez
Like other industries, it’s absolutely essential that all dairy farms have a strategic plan in place. But to gauge how well an automated milking operation is running, I recommend using some specific key performance indicators (KPIs).
Read more »
Farm management
Published:
12/3/2012
Written by:
Lior Yaron
A dairy farm is a complex system. There are many areas to manage in order to secure profitability, and few farms can be profitable without balancing milk production, feeding, animal health and reproduction. Research and personal experience show that measurement and proactive herd management in all these areas is critical to ensure the optimal performance of the herd and to achieve high economic returns. There is technology available that makes it possible for professional farmers to measure, manage and optimise the performance of each individual cow in the key areas of feeding, animal health and reproduction.
Read more »
Dairy World
Published:
2/14/2013
Starting with the charts from December 2012, every month we will post the world milk and feed price indicators from the IFCN (International Farm Comparison Network) on the Milkproduction.com web site.
Read more »
Sustainability
Published:
1/23/2013
Written by:
Monica Wadsworth
New FAO report profiles the state of the natural resource base upon which world food production depends.
Read more »
Dairy farms
Published:
10/31/2012
Patrik Johansson is a fifth generation farmer who together with his wife Elin and six employees runs Torp Farm in Månstad, Sweden. The farm has three main activities: dairy, beef and contract work. In 2008 they switched over to a more automatic operation, by installing four milking robots, and a fully automated feeding system, including calf feeders. They also use automatic climate controls in the barn to ensure that their cows have optimal conditions.
Read more »
Dairy farms
Published:
10/2/2012
Innovation and technology for the future, today
Read more »
Dairy world
Published:
9/28/2012
The global dairy market appears to be heading for a period of renewed supply scarcity in the coming 12 months, according to Rabobank.
Read more »
Dairy world
Published:
9/26/2012
School students around the world will be celebrating World School Milk Day on September 26. Now in its 13th year, World School Milk Day provides an opportunity for schools around the world to celebrate the health benefits of milk for school-aged children. An initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World School Milk Day aims to highlight the importance of milk in every child's diet.
Read more »
Automatic milking
Published:
8/21/2012
Written by:
Francisco Rodriguez
A growing lack of high-quality, affordable labor, in combination with the demand for higher efficiency, lower costs and flexible lifestyles, has created a need for robotic milking and other automated systems on dairies. This article aims to introduce the different types of automatic milking systems available and the realities of operating each system.
Read more »
Sustainability
Published:
8/9/2012
A dairy cow’s rumen allows her to digest the high-fiber feed necessary for milk production, but it also causes her to produce enteric methane gas. Enteric methane is the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with milk production. The dairy industry has made great strides in reducing GHG emissions on the farm. The Cow of the Future project seeks scientifically sound, economically viable and socially responsible ways of reducing enteric methane emissions through improvements in dairy cow nutrition, genetics and health. The Cow of the Future project aims to reduce GHG emissions for fluid milk by 600,000 metric tons through the adoption of existing technologies and practices and research into new opportunities.
Read more »
Milk quality
Published:
8/4/2012
The National Mastitis Council announces the release of its commemorative book.
The book is a collection of the past 50 years of mastitis control, milk quality, the history of the National Mastitis Council, personal recollections from current and past members as well as a look at what the future of milk quality holds.
Read more »
Housing
Published:
7/25/2012
Written by:
Israel Flamenbaum
A lot of information has been published in last three decades on the negative effect of summer heat stress on the productive and reproductive traits of the high yielding cow. Very limited information existed, however, up until the last few years, on the effect of heat stress on the feed efficiency of cows (as estimated by the feed to milk ratio).
Read more »
Housing
Published:
7/10/2012
Written by:
Craig Thomas
Heat stress abatement is a critical dairy management strategy for all dairy producers. Properly applied, these seven heat stress abatement strategies can minimize the harmful effects of heat stress on dry matter intake, milk production (volume and components) and reproduction. Be sure to include every animal on your dairy when considering heat stress abatement strategies. Heat stress affects not only high producing milk cows, but also dry cows, heifers and calves. Minimize heat stress in your dairy cows by following these strategies.
Read more »
Animal health
Published:
6/27/2012
Ultimate objective is to achieve FMD-free status. FAO and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) are joining forces to combat foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) on a global scale, laying out a detailed strategy today to bring the devastating livestock disease under control.
The two organizations underlined, however, that only solid commitments from global partners will make the strategy possible, as they opened an international meeting in Bangkok supported by the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.
Read more »
Biosecurity
Published:
6/18/2012
To prevent introducing mastitis pathogens into a herd when purchasing cows, a balance has to be struck between minimizing the probability of purchasing an infected cow and maintaining sufficient choice in the population from which to select replacements. This is also influenced by the farm attitude to risk – what degree of risk is acceptable for purchasing an infected cow.
Read more »
Heat stress
Published:
6/19/2012
Written by:
Israel Flamenbaum
Dairy farmers over the world, mostly in hot regions, are familiar with the negative impact of heat stress on their cow’s performance, but only few of them have the means to quantify the economical losses caused by hot summer, as well as the potential benefit that can be obtained, when intensively cooling their cows in this season.
Read more »
Dairy world
Published:
5/30/2013
Written by:
Milkproduction.com staff
A four-monthly EU Dairy Outlook by Erhard Richarts, Dairy Market Consultant, Chairman of IFE (Institut für Ernährungswirtschaft e. V., Kiel) A Special report produced for CLAL
Read more »
Sustainability
Published:
5/29/2013
Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy® releases Guide for dairy companies and farms to measure and report on sustainability and publishes 2012 Sustainability Report
Read more »
Management
Published:
5/27/2013
With fluctuating milk prices, many dairy producers desire a more reliable, less cyclical income stream. At the same time, the local food movement has increased demand for locally produced foods. Throughout the country, dairy producers are considering on-farm processing to add value to the milk produced on their farms.
Read more »
Animal health
Published:
5/23/2013
Should we consider routine treatment of subclinical milk fever? How does that differ from treating clinical milk fever?
Read more »
Calf management
Published:
4/25/2013
Written by:
Jud Heinrichs
Two real world examples of group housing and feeding systems for calves and a discussion of the challenges in each system
Read more »
Sustainability
Published:
4/23/2013
Written by:
Milkproduction.com staff
The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy® today announced new science-based resources available for dairy producers, processors, industry partners and stakeholders. The resources help the industry act on the unprecedented scientific research commissioned as part of the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Commitment — a collective effort of the dairy value chain to measure and improve the sustainability of U.S. dairy from farm to table. The Innovation Center, established under the leadership of dairy producers, launched the Sustainability Commitment in 2008.
Read more »
Reproduction
Published:
4/22/2013
Written by:
Milkproduction.com staff
Dr. Fricke covered two areas of reproductive research that have investigated new tools for reproduction and conclude each with an economic analysis of the data.
Read more »
Nutrition
Published:
4/16/2013
Written by:
Milkproduction.com staff
When it comes to fertilizing crops, maximizing nutrient uptake and minimizing losses is what it’s all about. The ability to capture a greater fraction of applied nutrients in your crops increases nutrient efficiency and most importantly, your bottom line. Right source. Right rate. Right time. Right place. These are the four R’s of ‘4R nutrient management’
Read more »
Nutrition
Published:
4/18/2013
Written by:
Milkproduction.com staff
Oftentimes, you’ll see the carbohydrate terms nonstructural carbohydrates (NSC) and nonfibrous carbohydrates (NFC) listed on your forage report, or they may be used as parameters for comparing forage seed varieties. Both NSC and NFC measure carbohydrates that are not “structural”, in other words, carbohydrates other than cellulose and hemicellulose (constituents of the plant cell wall).
Read more »
Nutrition
Published:
3/22/2013
Written by:
Jennifer Heguy
Ed DePeters
Jed Asmus
It’s imperative for nutritionists to test forages for quality parameters to formulate rations, but it’s also helpful for you to be able to read your forage results and have a basic understanding of the different components. The concept of DM is something everyone working with feed on your dairy, including feeders, should understand.
Read more »
Nutrition
Published:
3/20/2013
Written by:
Ed DePeters
Jennifer Heguy
The composition of your forages provides valuable information to feed your cows. It also provides information that aids in determining forage pricing.
Read more »
Energy saving
Published:
3/18/2013
Written by:
David I. Johnson
Planning an energy budget is difficult, but with the high cost of natural gas, heating oil, and other energy sources, budgeting for the increased price of fuel and electricity is imperative. Fortunately, there are alternative methods dairy producers can employ to lessen the strain of skyrocketing energy costs.
Read more »
Calf management
Published:
3/11/2013
Written by:
Milkproduction.com staff
As we find ourselves shivering in the early morning temperatures and craving a warm cup of soup, it’s a good time to think about the nutritional needs of calves. Calves expend significantly more energy to maintain body weight as the mercury dips and will need even greater nutrition for optimal growth. Should you consider
increasing the quality and/or quantity of milk for your pre-weaned calves?
Read more »
Farm management
Published:
3/6/2013
Written by:
Francisco Rodriguez
Just like snowflakes and udder conformations, no two farms are exactly the same. Robotic milking has certainly highlighted this fact as more North American dairy producers are preparing their farms for the latest in milking technology. Before the robots are delivered to the farm, many planning decisions need to be in place. How should I design the layout of my barn? Which cow traffic system should I use? What about feeding strategies, bedding management and cow comfort?
Read more »
Reproduction
Published:
2/25/2013
Written by:
Gary Hennip
There are several ways to economically evaluate better reproduction. Whatever economic indicator is used, research suggests that the more efficient our dairy producers become at getting their entire dairy herd pregnant, both first service cows and repeat breeders, the potential exists for increased profitability for the dairy enterprise.
Read more »
Hoof health
Published:
2/20/2013
This study, which was made at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, investigated the effects of rubber alley flooring on cow locomotion, claw and leg health, production, cleanliness, grooming behaviour and cow exclusion rate in a free stall herd.
Read more »
Reproduction
Published:
2/8/2013
In this webinar from DAIReXNET, Dr. Dechow from Pennsylvania State University reviewed genomic technology and implementation, comparisons of early genomic predictions to actual daughter proofs, a discussion of inbreeding, and how genomics can be used as a herd management tool.
Read more »
Dairy outlook
Published:
2/5/2013
Special report produced for CLAL by Erhard Richarts, Dairy Market Consultant, Chairman of IFE (Institut für Ernährungswirtschaft e. V., Kiel)
Read more »
Research
Published:
1/29/2013
Pasture-based milk production using mainly nitrogen fertilizer emits more greenhouse gases than pasture-based milk production that relies mainly on fertilizing with white clover.
Read more »
Research
Published:
1/28/2013
Barn designs that promote animal comfort and that reflect preferences of dairy cattle play an important role in increasing animal production. A study was performed in free stall barn housing in Konya (Turkey) to determine the hourly and seasonal variation occurring in the barn area preferences of dairy cows.
Read more »
Milk production
Published:
1/18/2013
Written by:
Monica Wadsworth
Starting with the charts from December 2012, every month we will post the world milk and feed price indicators from the IFCN (International Farm Comparison Network) on the Milkproduction.com web site.
Read more »
Calf care
Published:
1/21/2013
Written by:
Monica Wadsworth
Calf care in cold temperatures requires different best management practices than in warm temperatures. Regardless of your growth goals, if you were achieving these goals during the summer and you continue the same feeding program as the weather gets colder you will not see the same level of success.
Below you will find a number of articles about calf care in cold weather.
Read more »
Milk production
Published:
10/17/2012
Costs of milk production are expected to increase by about 5% in 2012, compared to 2011. The main drivers for cost increase are: increasing feed prices, high energy costs, increasing competition on land market worldwide (affecting prices). From the return side, the average milk price from January to August has dropped by 24% in 2012 compared to the same period in 2011. Therefore, profitability of dairy farms is expected to decline significantly in 2012, compared to 2011. Feed prices have almost tripled since 2006, and price of feed is currently higher than the price of milk, resulting in a milk feed price ratio below 1. In times of high feed prices, dairy farms having low concentrate intake (like in Ireland) have a competitive advantage. Adaptation of the farming system by either increasing milk yields (maximise output) or by decreasing yields (minimise input) could help high input systems to improve their farm economics.
Read more »
Sustainability
Published:
9/12/2012
The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy®, established under the leadership of dairy farmers, is now accepting nominations for the second year of the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards. The award program recognizes dairy farms, businesses and collaborative partnerships for their contributions to healthy people, healthy products and a healthy planet and showcases that sustainability makes good business sense.
Read more »
Housing
Published:
9/7/2012
Written by:
Israel Flamenbaum
Summer losses in milk production are usually related to the negative impact of summer heat stress on the lactating cow. This is due to the large negative effect of heat stress on feed consumption and the efficiency of feed utilization of the lactating cow, as well as on reproductive traits. Recently, it was found that also dry cows, although they are not producing milk, are negatively affected when subjected to heat stress conditions.
Read more »
Management
Published:
7/31/2012
Written by:
Christian Poggensee
Volatile fuel costs are steadily becoming the new norm for consumers in the U.S. and much of the world. Earlier this year, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected the price of imported crude oil to peak at $115 per barrel this summer, but due to stagnant global economic growth backed by rising financial uncertainty in Europe, oil prices fell well below $100 in June.
Read more »
Housing
Published:
7/30/2012
Written by:
Israel Flamenbaum
Summer conditions make the implementation of cooling systems in the dairy farms an important tool for efficient milk production. In cooperation with the "Israeli Herd book" data, a new index was developed, called the summer: winter ratio. This index serves as an indicator for characterization of the effectiveness of farmer's efforts to reduce summer negative impact on cow's performance. In the following article, the use of this index will be described, and the achievements of the Israeli dairy sector in combating heat stress in the last 15 years will be presented.
Read more »
Housing
Published:
6/29/2012
Cow fertility tends to decline in the summer in hot and even temperate climates. Heat stress negatively affects all stages of the cow’s fertility, among them the manifestation of “heat signs”, conception and maintenance of pregnancy.
Read more »
Biosecurity
Published:
6/18/2012
There are many reasons to buy cows. It’s necessary to purchase cows as part of herd expansions and sometimes herd removal policies dictate that new animals must be brought into the dairy herd to maintain cow numbers but as you buy remember the saying, Caveat emptor, or “buyer beware.” People don’t sell their best cows, herds don’t disperse because of success, and cows like routine. The stress of moving and new environments make new arrivals to your herd more likely to shed disease organisms and become sick. You need to protect your investment in cows, your farm enterprise, and importantly, maintain your herd’s udder health by developing a sound biosecurity program for your farm.
Read more »
