As we look upon another season of giving thanks, I want to challenge you to look beyond the obvious blessings in your life and relish in the little things that bring you happiness each day.
Too often, ...
Improving the comfort and longevity of dairy cows can improve dairy farm sustainability and profitability. This is the premise of the industrial research chair in the sustainable life of dairy cattle, ...
Anyone who has ever climbed an open ladder up a silo or grain bin can appreciate the importance of ladder safety.
Take this reality check for example. John was a farmworker who had been working for ...
“Work/life balance” comes up for many young farmers, but it’s time to change our language to “choices we make to manage time” and take action.
“We freak about not having time when what we really don’t ...
Stress is a powerful, and at times inevitable, force within our lives. Stress affects our minds, personal energy levels and ultimately health.
The emotional impact is so powerful that it’s known to ...
Right-sizing the heifer population to fit replacement needs not only reduces raising costs, but it can also provide an opportunity for the best future milking females to thrive.
Two Wisconsin dairymen ...
Avonlea Genetics Inc. aims to supply tools for dairy’s progress while striving to earn World Dairy Expo champion honours to add to their herd’s award tool chest.
For this well-known Canadian Jersey ...
As nutritionists and dairy producers, our goal when feeding dairy cattle is to provide each group of cows with the nutrients needed to support their milk production, maintenance, growth, health and reproduction. ...
While beet pulp is well-known for being an energy concentrate that cows love, feed beets have yet to be discovered in a big way.
Feed beets are sugarbeets grown specifically for use in feed for dairy ...
There are now stricter regulations of antibiotics commonly used in the animal-feeding industry. Livestock and poultry producers alike have been accused of overfeeding various antibiotics, largely for growth ...
Great strides have been made recently in improving the fertility of dairy cows, with significant focus on genomics and improvements in sync programs.
As the genetic potential of our herds continues ...
Although both disease-causing (pathogenic) and non-disease-causing bacteria, and fungi (yeasts and molds) can be brought in with the harvested crop or can flourish during storage or at feedout, there are ...
Forage particle size is a “hot” topic on dairy farms. Nutritionists, veterinarians and dairy farmers are asking how long forage fibre needs to be.
What it the impact of the fibre source? What are the ...
Various additives, including micro-organisms, enzymes and chemical compounds, have been added to forages to maintain or improve the nutritive value of a crop as silage.
As is the nature of most biological ...
While the heat stress season is behind us, now is the time to evaluate current heat abatement efforts and look into improvements for the coming year, particularly regarding circulation fans.
It’s been ...
Ventilation systems are divided into two main types: natural and mechanical ventilation systems. These are then subdivided into four types: natural, tunnel (where the air flows parallel to feedlane), hybrid ...
Promoting a surface on which cows want to lie down is about more than just comfort. The bedding material a dairy chooses plays a critical role in preventing mastitis, reducing injury, regulating temperature ...
Dairy cows need water to turn feed into milk – a product that is already nearly 90 percent water.
Achieving ideal water intake comes down to two criteria: quantity and quality. While that seems like ...
Bedded pack barns – either deep-bedded or compost bedded – allow cows to freely roam and lie down in any configuration they prefer.
Manure is kept in place and managed in solid form. The bedded pack ...
Maintaining your equipment is key to maximizing its longevity. More often than not, maintenance of milking parlour stalls and gates is forgotten until something breaks down.
By being proactive with ...
I recently had an opportunity to teach a grandchild about the truth of this statement: As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.
My adopted grandson has been struggling with the loss of a father and ...
One of the jobs I enjoyed most as I traveled throughout eastern North America was visiting customers. These visits helped me to understand better how they were using their mixers, and on almost every visit ...
All hail to the countryside when it comes to candy on Halloween. There were only a few houses on the roads in either direction – most of them relatives – but, boy, would they fill your bags up.
They ...
There’s no doubt the dairy industry is in challenging times. Low milk prices, changing consumer preferences, devastating weather conditions and an ever-changing political environment has resulted in much ...
From Aug. 20-23, members of Progressive Dairy Operators (PDO) toured dairy farms and other agricultural businesses in eastern Ontario and western Quebec to gather new ideas to bring back to their dairy ...
A clean, fresh water supply is one of the most important things you can provide for your herd. And even though it may be a very low-cost input item, it should be viewed as one of the most critical. There ...
Created on 28 August 2019
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