Ensuring a comfortable and safe parlor environment for both cows and workers, while efficiently using all available resources—including time—is crucial for the dairy business’ profitability. Milking time on a dairy farm is a balancing act between maintaining cleanliness and calmness while moving quickly enough to finish on time and get the cows back to their pens, where they can eat, drink, rest, and produce milk.
Es crucial para la rentabilidad del negocio lechero, garantizar un entorno cómodo y seguro en la sala de ordeño tanto para las vacas como para los trabajadores, al tiempo que todos los recursos disponibles se utilicen de manera eficiente, incluido el tiempo. El ordeño en una granja lechera es un acto de equilibrio entre mantener la limpieza y la calma, mientras se mueve lo suficientemente rápido como para terminar a tiempo y llevar a las vacas de regreso a sus corrales, donde pueden comer, beber, descansar y producir leche.
In this insightful webinar, gain a comprehensive understanding of how these practices can significantly enhance efficiency in the milking parlor and beyond.
In this UW-Madison Extension Dairy Program webinar, Department of Animal & Dairy Sciences Lactation Physiology Professor Laura Hernandez discusses calcium metabolism in the mammary gland, the physiology during the transition period, and other things the mammary gland needs to thrive.
Badger Dairy Insight webinar recording from September 2023
Prototheca bovis has been cultured in herds and is emerging as a threat to producers statewide. Prototheca has been linked to mastitis since 1952, however, within the last five years, the prevalence has significantly increased. Similar to Staph aureus and mycoplasma, Prototheca is hard to detect, has no known cure, and is contagious by intermittently shedding from cow to cow.
Dairy producers often struggle to quantify the impact of heat stress on their operations. The ability to use dairy management records to identify seasonal trends is critical to assess potential heat stress related losses. Diving into a dairy’s herd management software can help a producer quantify where the losses are occurring and, with some easy calculations, determine the profitability of investing in cow cooling measures.
Heat stress occurs when an environment impacts the ability of a cow to get rid of body heat. Cows need to be raised in an environment where temperatures are within their thermoneutral zones to achieve their maximal genetic potential. Failures to establish adequate environmental temperatures can dramatically alter behavior, health, and productivity of cows.
UW-Extension Milk Quality Veterinarian Pam Ruegg shares in this UW-Extension Dairy Science Webinar series research findings associated with the recently published Impact of Bedding Choice on Udder Health Freestall Herds.