As I am writing this, Halloween candy is quickly being pulled from shelves to make room for Christmas candy, lights, ornaments, decorations, gift wrap, cards, etc. – a clear sign the holidays are approaching. ...
The government of Canada announced on Sept. 16 that it would invest $12 million in a second Dairy Research Cluster to drive innovation in dairy.The Dairy Research Cluster program, which is now in its second ...
The recent CETA deal opens up market opportunities to Canadian businesses with ambitions to increase their presence in Europe. However, Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) expressed the reaction of many farmers ...
There’s an old saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” What do you think? Would you agree? Of course, you’re not a dog, and you probably don’t do any “tricks.”
But this saying isn’t really about ...
Joe Krentz moved to British Columbia from Saskatchewan when he was 18 and began work in a sawmill. He and Loretta married in 1950, bought their farm in 1954 and started a dairy operation while raising ...
There’s nothing scarier for farm families who are trying to gain control over their lives than to have no clue about what the future holds.
I am chuckling as I write because recently I have been gently ...
There is no doubt in my mind that the vast majority of dairy farm owners care about and care for their animals. There is also no doubt, however, that society’s perception of appropriate animal-care practices ...
“Dear Panera Bread Company, you’ve lost a customer.” Blogger and southern Wisconsin dairy farmer Carrie Mess – or Dairy Carrie, as she’s known to her online fans – describes herself as honest and frank. ...
Many people who work with cows on a daily basis have a solid understanding of cow behaviour. Cows are fairly predictable.
What about the people you work with? Is their behaviour predictable? How do we ...
There have been many discussions about the economics of robotic milking systems, many of them even questioning their profitability and viability.
Today, more than two decades after the first commercial ...
Progressive Dairyman staff pulled a list of the articles that were the most well read between Oct. 1, 2012 through Oct. 1, 2013 at canada.progressivedairy.com
Here is a summary of each article and ...
There are many ways to benchmark your herd’s reproductive performance. But pregnancy rate is the best measurement to use when it comes to getting a sense of how well your whole herd is doing.
This ...
Embryo transfer has evolved since its inception in North America in the early 1970s. Today, it is a worldwide, established industry focusing on genetic improvement, with more than 500,000 dairy and beef ...
Over the past decade, the dairy industry has undergone an unprecedented shift in the manner in which the underlying genetics are managed for improved productivity and health of dairy cattle. Few individuals ...
Inbreeding continues to receive increasing attention on progressive dairy operations – and appropriately so.
Dairy producers are continuously looking for ways to maximize profits while minimizing their ...
With an annual pregnancy rate of 21 percent, the herd at D&D Dairy near Rushford, Minnesota, significantly exceeded the industry average for reproductive performance. But co-owner Dean Smith knew the dairy ...
Everyone wants enough replacement heifers to maintain or even grow their herd size. Producers have achieved this goal with relative ease throughout the past 20 years.
While the trend during that time ...
Genetic progress achieved over the years in the Canadian dairy cattle population has been quite impressive. As time passes and the industry progresses, it’s useful to re-evaluate our national index and ...
Fall is a busy time on the dairy. Crop harvest means that a new manure application season is upon us.
A safety reminder for anyone handling manure is a good idea. Most producers realize that dangerous ...
Very good agitation might be the most important step in utilizing liquid manure as a nutrient to grow a crop.
If every gallon is homogeneous throughout the pump-out, we have a better opportunity to be ...
Question: What are the two biggest factors affecting quality of recycled sand, regardless of the separation method? Answer: Sand type and water quality.
Sand type is easy to solve. Simply purchase ...
Every dairy farm, no matter the size, has to manage its production site waste. Production site waste, for the purpose of this article, is any material or its byproduct that requires routine management ...
Twenty years ago, farming’s carbon footprint was not a main item of debate, but today that has changed. Farmers want to know how governmental regulations will affect them.
Alltech took a closer look ...
Proper management of animal mortalities on livestock operations has important implications in nutrient management, herd and flock health, as well as the health of farm families and public health.
For ...
The choice of freestall base and bedding is a critical decision and should reflect management style and goals. Sand is the gold standard for a freestall base and bedding.
Maintaining a bed of loose sand, ...
Anaerobic digestion to turn waste into energy is a topic that continues to garner growing interest from the agricultural community – and rightfully so. The benefits of biogas systems are many and they ...
As one of the stops on the Progressive Dairy Operators’ (PDO) mini-bus tour in September, Athlone Farms Inc. opened its doors to allow visitors a look at its most recent expansion.
Instead of building ...
Without question, soil testing is one of the most important, most effective and yet most under-utilized best management practices available to agricultural producers.
Assessments in some areas have ...
Most dairy producers I know have set goals to improve milk production and quality; beef producers using high-forage diets want to sustain high growth rates for their cattle.
These goals are greatly affected ...
In the last several decades, climate change has gone from an abstract theory to something farmers all over the world now feel the effects of.
The characteristics of production are changing in accordance ...
Digi-Star introduces hand-held Moisture Tracker Digi-Star’s new Moisture Tracker, a handheld, near-infrared scanning device, rapidly measures the dry matter and moisture content of animal feeds.
It ...
Before we know it, spring will be here again, begging us to get back into our crop fields. Having our equipment ready and able to handle the task requires some advanced planning and scheduling of check-ups, ...
I just started teaching grade one again after 30 years. When I looked in the faces of those sweet children, I told them that I taught grade one many, many years ago.
Some of my students became dentists, ...
Created on 12 November 2013
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