Last night, my 6-year-old proudly stated that after one week of school she learned “the big three.” When most people think of education, especially grade school, they would consider the big three to be ...
Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) has been a proud supporter of dairy cattle research at the UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre in Agassiz, British Columbia, for close to two decades.
The centre is ...
Canadian dairy farmers have always taken pride in being at the forefront of animal and food safety, and creating a traceability system is just part of that ongoing commitment.
Dairy Farmers of Canada ...
Crisis: A time of intense difficulty, trouble or danger; a time when a difficult or important decision must be made.
Crisis situations are not fun. No one looks forward to them or wishes they would happen, ...
After years of hard work, you’ve built the family business into a great success and you take pride in meeting the challenges that each day brings. At some point, though, the day arrives when it’s time ...
Dairy farming is a revered way of life. Famous folk from evangelist Billy Graham to Hall of Fame basketball coach Pat Summit have extolled the virtues of working on a dairy farm.
Hard work, self-reliance, ...
Note: This is the first article in a five-part series for Progressive Dairyman about dairy culture.
People live and work in cultures. In fact, you have spent your whole life in various cultures, whether ...
“An experiment was conducted in 1992 at Stanford University, in which 4-year-old children were given a choice. A marshmallow was put in front of them; they could either eat the marshmallow now or wait ...
Brian and Amber Craswell had a decision to make, a huge decision. Dairy farmers for many years, their 62-cow tiestall facility had outlived its usefulness. They had no room to expand, and the facility ...
Western Canada now has an organized, regional group of hoof care professionals. The Western Canadian Certified Hoof Trimmers Association (WCCHTA) recently celebrated its founding, and in August, the group ...
Reproductive synchronization protocols, along with renewed attention to detail, are integral parts of dairy reproductive success.
The development of these protocols and their rapid on-farm adoption ...
Robotic milking has established itself more and more across the country – to the detriment of tiestall barns. Although this milking and herd management method provides several advantages, it also requires ...
Your best cow is in standing heat this morning. Just two weeks ago, she was diagnosed pregnant. Bummer! The first thing you want to do is find someone to blame.
Usually, the veterinarian is first on ...
Canada is world-renowned for having outstanding dairy cattle with superior genetic potential. In 2014, the exports of dairy genetics from Canada exceeded $158 million, which was nearly a 30 percent increase ...
Polled dairy cattle trace back at least as far as pedigree records have been kept.
The polled gene in dairy cattle is dominant over the horned gene, yet horned cattle are still much more prevalent ...
A dairy cow’s immune system, along with reproduction, is an important fitness trait.
It’s a trait that’s of major consideration for producers because the ability to find and identify cows with a superior ...
When working with dairy farms, it is a well-known fact no two systems are the same. Large variation in management, facilities, time budgets and attitudes can impact many parts of the business, including ...
From Florida to California or the Riviera to Rio, from white fine sugar to black or “green,” locations around the globe claim to be the home of the “best beach in the world.”
All of their claims to ...
As farmers struggle to maintain the proper level of animal care without breaking the bank, an item which can potentially improve profitability while increasing cow comfort is a welcomed relief.
Specifically, ...
Milking routines include milking procedures such as pre-dipping, forestripping and drying of the teats along with timing of milking unit attachment.
The timing between these events is important if ...
This article originally appeared in the PD Extra enewsletter. Sign up here to receive new online articles before you see them in print.
What could your farm accomplish with an extra $73,000? According ...
In the short term, milk production may be normal, but animals may be experiencing subclinical acidosis. The long-term effects can be a decline in milk production along with the onset of laminitis and other ...
Adoption of robotic milking systems is taking place across Canada. Greater labour flexibility and decreased labour are often given by dairy farmers as reasons for adopting this technology.
These changes ...
Milking equipment that is installed properly and functioning at its best is a key part of optimizing milk quality, cow comfort and facility efficiency.
In the following paragraphs, I will be offering ...
When it comes to mastitis, everyone agrees that nowadays, along with lameness, it is the disease with the greatest economic impact on dairy farms. This applies here in Canada, as indeed everywhere.
The ...
The ultimate goal for any heifer management program is to develop a healthy adult cow that produces high-quality milk. This success depends on how heifers are managed from birth to first calving.
Mastitis ...
Mailboxes and email inboxes will be filled with seed catalogs and silage plot results as the 2015 corn silage harvest nears completion.
Selecting the right seed for the right acre with the traits and ...
Across the Canadian dairy industry and around the world, fermented and ensiled forages and grains have become popular feedstuffs in dairy herd diets.
Fermentation and ensiling allows dairy farms to ...
Silage avalanches are real, and there is no way to predict when and where they will occur. It only takes a fraction of a second for part of a silage feedout face to silently break off and fall, and the ...
The crux of my article last month was taken from the words of Jeremiah, an Old Testament prophet, who spoke of broken cisterns. In the early days, a cistern was a place capturing and storing rainwater. ...
“You put a suit on a monkey – and it’s still a suit,” I’ve always said. Usually the other person would try to correct me and suggest that I’ve switched the expression, that it’s “still a monkey.”
“No,” ...
Age: 56
Location: Surrey, British Columbia
History of your dairy, in a nutshell: Nicomekl Farms Ltd. is a second-generation farm established in 1957 and now operated by David and Sandy Janssens.
The ...
A variety of equipment is used in a dairy operation – from tractors and skid steers to compact track loaders – yet they all have tire or tracks that need to be maintained.
With replacement tracks and ...
Created on 17 September 2015
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