Articles

Mooving Cows: Aprender las habilidades básicas del manejo de la vaca para estar seguro y mantener las vacas en calma [Video] ▶️

Cuando las vacas son manejadas apropiadamente, sus miedos y niveles de estrés se mantienen al mínimo. Las vacas en calma producen más leche y se comportan de manera más predecible, reduciendo los riesgos de lesiones a ellas mismas o a los humanos que cuidan de ellas.

🎧 Listen: Lameness affects up to 50% of dairy cows during their lifetime

Lameness issues impact every dairy herd in one form or another. Not only does lameness affect a cow’s health and well-being, but it’s also costly to the farm’s bottom line.

Feeding Zeolite A for Milk Fever Prevention in Dairy Cattle

Milk fever (hypocalcemia) is a common disorder than can occur is cows following calving. During this time, the demand for calcium in the body is high to support mammary function and milk production. When a cow is unable to meet these demands, she can develop milk fever.

Troubleshooting Milk Fat Depression, Key Questions to Ask

This article will explain the factors, farm practices associated with them, and key questions to help you investigate and manage milk fat depression in your herd.

Understanding Dry Matter: A Key to Better Dairy Feeding Management

Dairy cattle diets are formulated on a dry matter (DM) basis, so it is important to understand what that means. All forages and feeds contain both water and dry matter so, in a simplistic way, the DM fraction refers to the absence of water.

Entender Materia Seca: La clave para un mejor manejo de la alimentación en ganado lechero

Las dietas del ganado de leche se formulan usando materia seca (MS) y por ello es importante entender que es lo que significa. Todas las pasturas y alimentos contienen agua y materia seca, en una manera muy simple de explicarlo, la materia seca hace referencia a la ausencia de agua.

🎧 LISTEN: Engaging Positive Animal Behavior

[Listen to this 3-minute podcast] Research has shown cows love using brushes. A study found that lactating cows were willing to push heavy gates to get access to an automatic rotating brush, indicating that having a brush was important to them.

Dairy Margin Coverage 2025 Signup Update [Video] ▶️

In this presentation, Leonard Polzin, Extension Dairy Markets and Policy Outreach Specialist, covers what producers need to know for the 2025 DMC sign-up. He walks through changes and discusses the DMC decision tool that helps producers decide on the level of coverage necessary.

Healthy Cows: Management Tips for Transition Times

Fresh cow diseases such as ketosis, milk fever, displaced abomasum, retained placenta, metritis, and mastitis have a huge impact on the overall health of an animal. In addition to the health of the animal there are other factors including lost milk production, longer days to cycle and get pregnant, plus the cost to treat these fresh cow diseases.

Preparing Calves for the Road Ahead [Video] ▶️

Dr. Catie Cramer, Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at Colorado State University, discusses stressors associated with transport date (WI and US) from a fit-for-transport survey conducted by Colorado State University and offer some ways to mitigate transport stress.

Find Sick Cows Early to Ensure Dairy Health and Productivity

Early detection and treatment of sick cows are essential to minimize negative impacts.

Healthy Cows: Nutrition Recommendations for Transition Periods

We can manage some metabolic diseases by managing dry matter intake, nutrient needs, body condition score, and stress during this critical timeframe of the dry cow, transition, and fresh cow periods.