FEED & NUTRITION

How costly are pest birds on dairies? Would you be surprised to know some dairy farmers estimate the cost of feed loss from pest birds to be $55 per cow?

In 2007, my career path was somewhat redirected after working with a high-profile dairy herd’s health and performance challenge.

I’m a small-town girl hailing from la belle province who has a passion for dairy cows. Growing up on a dairy, following mom and dad around the farm, I developed my sense of curiosity and love for Holstein cows. 

With a desire to feed top-quality nutritious hay and increase their return on investment, Lars and Ingrid Steunebrink from Kirkton, Ontario, found themselves a new way to dry hay.

As we start the new year, there are some new regulations regarding medically important antibiotics. However, chances are you are already compliant with the changes, so take a deep breath and sip some hot chocolate.

Keeping productive and healthy cows longer positively impacts the profitability of a farm. Since the cost of raising a replacement heifer is about $2,100 to $2,500, it takes more than one lactation to pay it back. Therefore, a dairy cow will start to be profitable only once it is in its second lactation.