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 […]
Hot summer weather can be hard on feed ingredients and total mixed rations (TMRs). It is vital that feed quality and aerobic stability be maintained during this challenging season. Doing so will minimize nutrient losses while optimizing cow intakes which are often compromised due to heat stress challenges.
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 not only affects the productive ability of your cattle but also their ability to conceive and sustain a pregnancy. It is important to understand the effect heat stress can have on reproduction and how you can help minimize the effect.
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.
