Reproduction
Published:
3/28/2012
Written by:
Milkproduction.com staff
The genomes of cows that have difficulty reproducing often contain fragments of the male Y chromosome, according to a new study in press in the Journal of Animal Science. The researchers say this finding could help cattle producers identify subfertile females before investing time and resources on breeding attempts.
Read more »
Animal health
Published:
3/27/2012
Written by:
Milkproduction.com staff
Food-borne diseases might soon have another warrior to contend with, thanks to a new molecule discovered by chemists at the University of Illinois. The new antibiotic, an analog of the widely used food preservative nisin, also has potential to be a boon to the dairy industry as a treatment for bovine mastitis.
Read more »
Automatic Milking
Published:
3/16/2012
Written by:
Milkproduction.com staff
Transitioning a dairy herd to an automatic milking system (AMS) from a conventional parlor system may be stressful for the cow, as many changes occur during this process. Chronic stress may affect the welfare of the cow, and acute stress during milking can decrease milk yield. Therefore, it is important to quantify if and how long stress during adaptation to an AMS might persist.
Read more »
Feeding
Published:
2/25/2012
To understand what is the right order of ingredients into the mixer wagon, we must consider the physical properties of the ingredients that affect mixing such as size, shape, density, water absorption capacity (hydroscopy), static electricity and adhesiveness.
Read more »
Automatic Milking
Published:
2/16/2012
During the last several decades, new milking management systems have been introduced, of which development of automatic milking (AM) systems is a significant step forward. In Europe, AM has become an established management system and has shown to be much more than milking management. Factors such as milking, milk quality, feeding, cow traffic, grazing, and animal behavior are essential elements of AM. This system offers possibilities for more frequent milking and can be adapted to lactational stage. Increased milk yield with AM has been observed, but lack of increased production has also been reported from the field, probably due to less attention paid to the total management system.
Read more »
Milk quality
Published:
2/14/2012
With input costs on the rise around the country, dairy producers are looking for ways to reduce their overhead. One often overlooked, but costly nonetheless, is energy costs. According to a study of dairy farms in New York state published in 2003, dairy farms use between 800 and 1,200 kilowatt hours per cow per year with some operations as high as 1,736 kWh. This study also reported that 46 percent of all electrical use was for milk harvesting, specifically milk cooling, vacuum pump, and heating water.
Read more »
Animal health
Published:
2/6/2012
It will take at least two years before a vaccine to control the newly discovered Schmallenberg virus. The vacine needs to be developed, thoroughly tested and then manufactured.
Read more »
Animal health
Published:
1/31/2012
The Schmallenberg virus, which affects sheep, cattle and goats was first detected last August in cattle in the Netherlands and Germany. It has now spread to the UK, and Farmer's Weekly has a web page where you can learn more about this viral disease and also follow the reports of number of affected farms.
Read more »
Milk production
Published:
1/27/2012
Written by:
Monica Wadsworth
World milk production increases. Among the exporting countries, Argentina, New Zealand and Uruguay increased their production significantly compared to last year same period, with +12,62%, +10,04% and +19,50% respectively. Within the group importing countries Brazil and Mexico showed a modest increase in production, with +3,15% and +0,42% respectively.
Read more »
Published:
1/13/2012
Written by:
Monica Wadsworth
Can cows have a positive effect on inmates in correctional facilities? According to the staff at Sörbyn in Northern Sweden the answer is yes. Inmates that work with the cows show more feelings and have more empathy. But what do the inmates think? This will be the subject of a research project that has just started on the three correctional facilities in Sweden that still have dairy herds. A reporter from Swedish National Radio visited one of them, Sörbyn outside Umeå in Northern Sweden. This is an excerpt from the story translated from Swedish.
Read more »
The dairy farms
Published:
12/27/2011
In a region where the milk production level is the country’s lowest, and the demand for milk is ten times larger than what is produced, new innovative management methods and technology can be the solution to the problem and a key to a profitable venture. It can also serve as inspiration to other milk producers in the region.
Read more »
Labour management
Published:
12/7/2011
Written by:
Gregorio Billikopf
As we interact with others of different cultures, there is no good substitute for receptiveness to interpersonal feedback, good observation skills, effective questions, and some horse sense. There is much to be gained by observing how people of the same culture interact with each other. Don't be afraid to ask questions as most people respond very positively to inquiries about their culture. Ask a variety of people so you can get a balanced view.
Read more »
Dairy consumption
Published:
12/13/2011
Written by:
Monica Wadsworth
According to an article in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition insufficient calcium intake can be part of the obesity problem in some individuals and an increase in calcium/dairy intake is part of the solution.
Read more »
Nutrition
Published:
11/21/2011
Written by:
David R. Smith
Paul Kononoff
Jeff Keown
Nutritional imbalances, deficiencies, or erratic management of feeding programs for dairy cows can create large numbers and various types of health problems generally categorized as metabolic diseases. Compounding the problem are the ever-changing nutritional needs of the cow, her lactation/dry period needs, feed quality changes, and the producer’s personal management practices. This article describes the various implications and effects of dairy cow metabolic problems, their causes, and management recommendations for prevention.
Read more »
World milk production
Published:
11/7/2011
Milk production in the EU, New Zealand and the Americas for January to October 2011 has increased between +0.53% (Australia) and +18.03% (Uruguay) compared to the same period last year. No increase in Eastern Europe and the Baltic states due to high costs.Source: CLAL.it
Read more »
Dairy report
Published:
11/4/2011
An extended period of favourable international prices has meant that publically financed inventories of dairy commodities have been drawn down and are now at minimal levels in the EU and the United States. Consequently, international dairy quotations for the coming year will remain particularly sensitive to climatic conditions in relation to pasture growth, the availability and price of fodder and feed, and their effect on milk production.
Read more »
Animal welfare
Published:
10/28/2011
Written by:
Monica Wadsworth
"Milk producers need to engage with the public and address the animal welfare concerns that arise. We need to make sure that our on-farm practices haven’t fallen out of step with the main stream values in our society." At the IDF World Dairy Summit in Parma, Dan Weary from the Animal welfare program at the University of British Columbia gave his presentation Identifying and addressing animal welfare issues that undermine the societal sustainability of dairy farming.
Read more »
Milk Quality
Published:
10/19/2011
Written by:
Eial Izak
Emilia Castello
Guillermo Veneranda
The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of an internal teat sealant during drought and rainy weather dry period on incidence of clinical mastitis in the first 100 days of lactation. Eighty cows from 2 dairy herds were randomly assigned to receive either a long-acting antibiotic or the same antibiotic combined with an internal teat sealant at dry off.
Read more »
Farm management
Published:
10/7/2011
Dairy farmers’ production systems worldwide need to be able to combine profitability with the responsibility of protecting human health, animal health, animal welfare and the environment. Dairy farmers, as the primary producers in the supply chain, should also be given the opportunity to add value to their product by adopting methods of production that satisfy the demands of processors and customers. This updated Guide to Good Dairy Farm practice from FAO and IDF gives individual dairy farmers proactive guidance on how these objectives can be achieved on their farm.
Read more »
Milk Quality
Published:
9/27/2011
Written by:
Teat Club International
This paper descibes effective treatments, changes in management or changes in machine settings that appear to provide successful solutions for particular teat condition problems in commercial herds. It also indicates the expected time scale - after the start of a successful treatment or management change - until improvements in teat condition should become evident.
Read more »
Manure handling
Published:
9/15/2011
A workshop was held in the Netherlands in November 2010 aiming to promote exchange of information on manure management among member states of the European Union, with special focus on manure processing.
Read more »
Housing
Published:
9/2/2011
There are several on-line traning resources available, to support dairy producers, their employees and advisers in their daily work. One of them, the Technology Tuesdays webinar series from the Extension Dairy team at Penn State University, focuses on animal well-being and housing.
Read more »
Automation
Published:
1/18/2012
Written by:
Monica Wadsworth
Automatic milking is becoming more and more interesting to milk producers around the world. In the next few months we will post interviews and articles about AMS milking. For the curious, but also for those of you who are already milking with robots, for benchmarking and sharing of best practices. Let us know if there is any particular subject within Automatic Milking that you would like to read more about.
Read more »
Interview
Published:
8/10/2011
“The most remarkable thing I have noticed is that after two months the farmers stop talking about heat detection. They start trusting the system more than their own observations. And from what I see they are right in doing so.”
Read more »
Interview
Published:
8/11/2011
"I think better control of the reproduction is the main advantage of the Herd Navigator. The ketosis warnings are also very useful, monitoring the energy balance of the fresh cows is very important, especially in large herds. And let's not forget that the time saving is significant,” says Annica Hansson, dairy production advisor in Sweden.
Read more »
Financial management
Published:
7/28/2011
Written by:
Monica Wadsworth
High feed costs and low profit margins are challenging dairy farmers to do more with less. A tool create by Michigan State University Extension can help you evaluate and manage cash flow. And it’s in an easy-to-use Microsoft Excel format.
Read more »
Bio security
Published:
7/18/2011
Written by:
Milkproduction.com staff
With the high cost of feed these days, it is the largest expense in raising dairy heifers. One way to control feed costs is to manage shrink. Shrink is defined as the amount of feed delivered or grown on a farm that is never consumed. Experts estimate that shrink may account for 5 to 30 percent of feed purchased.
Read more »
Animal welfare
Published:
7/15/2011
Written by:
Milkproduction.com staff
Beef and dairy producers, veterinarians and other people involved with animal agriculture condemn willful acts of animal abuse. A key component to preventing this type of cruelty is the education of animal caregivers on downed animal care and humane euthanasia techniques. An online non-ambulatory cattle management training program that allows tracking of the people who have completed the training is now available in English and Spanish for animal caregivers on beef and dairy cattle operations
Read more »
The dairy farms
Published:
6/29/2011
Knowledge and animal welfare are the main challenges for Argentina’s dairy farmers today, according to Raúl Martinich, owner of Don Mateo dairy farm in San Jorge, Santa Fé province in Argentina.
Read more »
Housing
Published:
5/27/2011
At the Washington State University web site everybody involved in calf management can assess the dairy calf housing and environment through online courses. The purpose of the educational materials presented there is to provide the background and science behind current recommendations for dairy calf housing and environmental management to dairy producers, calf care-takers, dairy advisors, and veterinarians. Their ultimate goals are to improve the health, welfare, and performance of young dairy calves and mitigate the pathogen load into the environment.
Read more »
Management
Published:
5/20/2011
Written by:
Monica Wadsworth
Do you know how much mastitis is costing every year?
Jeffrey Bewley, University of Kentucky extension dairy specialist, has developed a tool to help you calculate the economic impact of mastitis due to lost milk production. Individual farm data can be entered to calculate losses, and a dashboard shows you what’s happening in your herd.
Read more »
