Raising replacement heifers is a large investment for farmers to create the next generation for their herd. The cost of raising a replacement heifer on average is $2,500 with feed accounting for approximately 50% of the total rearing cost.1,2 The average age at first calving (AFC) has been decreasing in the United States because farmers […]
There are three stages to the birthing process, or parturition: dilation of the cervix, delivery of the calf, and delivery of the placenta. Knowing the normal birth process will help you decide whether or not to intervene.
Preconditioning dairy-beef calves for success as beef Various marketing opportunities exist for dairies to market dairy-beef cross calves including selling them ‘wet’ (i.e., preweaned, younger than 8 weeks of age). Dairies may retain ownership, marketing preconditioned or backgrounded feeder calves at approximately 400 or 700 lbs. Dairies may also finish beef cross cattle. Let’s take […]
Cocktail forage mixes have become popular due to their use after a cereal forage harvest, their good forage quality, and their ability to apply in-season manure. In general, cocktail forage mixes are a blend of annual grasses (warm and/or cool season) and legumes. The warm season grasses are usually sorghum-sudangrass, sudangrass, or millets, and cool […]
What is corn silage? Corn silage is a unique feed that combines high non-fiber carbohydrate (starch) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF). It does not feed strictly like a forage or a concentrate. Corn silage is also unique when looking at the NDF fraction of the feed. If corn silage is separated into its two primary […]
By Donald C. Sockett, DVM, MS, PHD, DACVIM (large animal); Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, UW-Madison It is important for livestock barns, calf pens, and calf feeding equipment to be properly cleaned before the disinfectant is applied. If surfaces are not properly cleaned, the disinfection step is much less effective at killing disease-causing microorganisms. Many disinfectants […]
Deciding when and how a dairy cow departs the farm is different on every operation. Making the decision to remove a cow from the herd is not always an easy one, but determining when the cow leaves and how is equally important. Changing the vocabulary from cull cow to market cow is a way to focus on what kind of animals are leaving the dairy.
Mastitis is the most frequently diagnosed and treated disease in dairy herds. Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland and most of the cases are caused by bacteria. This disease is associated with negative impacts on milk production and quality, and profitability. Prevention of new cases of mastitis and treatment of existing cases is extremely important to maintain excellent milk quality.
Picking animals for your farm is one of the most important decisions you can make to improve long-term profitability. Whether it is choosing replacements, or deciding who will become parents, without proper consideration the decisions could end up giving you the genetics you did not want.
Below is a visual representation of what to enter in the report screen to generate charts similar to what is shown in the companion factsheet: “Using Bovisync Reports to Assess Potential Impact of Heat Stress on a Dairy”. Milk Production Butterfat Percent Reproduction Milk Quality Clinical Mastitis and Transition Cow Health
In this fact sheet you will see examples of the resulting data you can use to unlock the power of your herd’s Bovisync records.
Want to learn about the latest research on calf housing? Two heads are better than one: A starter guide to pairing dairy calves This series of articles is a seven-part starter guide for pairing or group-housing pre-weaned dairy calves. Throughout this guide, we cover best practices to promote good health and welfare in calves raised […]
