Latest News From Maureen Hanson

Give Dairy Calves a Toothpick
Give Dairy Calves a Toothpick

Young animals often benefit from stemmy, lower quality forages. WIth regard to nutrition, this may seem counterintuitive but research indicates that's the case.

Sole Ulcers: Don’t Blame the Ration
Sole Ulcers: Don’t Blame the Ration

A high incidence of sole ulcers in a dairy herd is probably not the fault of the ration.

Late Maternal Stress Proves to be Real
Late Maternal Stress Proves to be Real

It’s important to stay abreast of new research that can influence dairy management practices. That’s what happened recently at Rosy-Lane Holsteins, Watertown, Wis.

Essential Oils Earn a Seat at the Calf Management Table
Essential Oils Earn a Seat at the Calf Management Table

In the quest to find alternatives to antibiotics to fight disease in dairy calves, essential oils are the subject of a growing body of calf health research.

Over-The-Counter Access to Antibiotics is Going Away
Over-The-Counter Access to Antibiotics is Going Away

Access to livestock drugs through over-the-counter (OTC) channels was curbed considerably starting in 2017. Soon, OTC antibiotics may no longer be available through traditional channels at all.

FDA Makes Breakthrough Decision on Genome Edited Livestock
FDA Makes Breakthrough Decision on Genome Edited Livestock

This first-of-its-kind decision by FDA opens the door for progress on other genome editing efforts.

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What Her Gut Can Tell You

A researcher explores the intricacies of fecal pH and explains how changes in the metric can be an early signal of digestive and health disruptions in dairy cows.

Foolproof Colostrum Protocols Makes all the Difference
Foolproof Colostrum Protocols Makes all the Difference

A protocol overhaul helped the team at Singing Brook Farms, Imler, Pa., up their game in colostrum delivery. Two of their key managers share how they now seamlessly deliver high-quality colostrum to every newborn calf.

Could SARA be “Good” for Calves?
Could SARA be “Good” for Calves?

It is well-known that sub-acute ruminal acidosis (SARA) is a harmful and costly condition for adult dairy cows. But when calves get SARA, is it bad news for them, too? A Canadian researcher’s conclusion: maybe not.

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Bottle Beats the Bucket in Providing Winter Water

Providing free choice water to newborn calves has been shown to deliver a wide array of benefits in terms of calf health and performance. But it’s also a huge challenge for some farms in the winter.

CowToilet is Coming to a Farm Near You
CowToilet is Coming to a Farm Near You

This invention keeps Bessie's urine and manure separated. There are some excellent reasons why this makes sense, and there are several benefits.

Research Assesses Beef Sires' impact on Dairy Dam Productivity
Research Assesses Beef Sires' impact on Dairy Dam Productivity

Dr. Donagh Berry wanted to answer the question some producers are asking their veterinarian: Does carrying a beef-sired calf have any impact on the subsequent performance of the dam?

Consistent Cow Routines Depend on the Right Mix
Consistent Cow Routines Depend on the Right Mix

TMR consistency and composition are important to efficient and reliable nutrient delivery in lactating cow rations. But the impact of those factors actually can span much further.

Calcium Boluses are Not Created Equal. Consider the Differences
Calcium Boluses are Not Created Equal. Consider the Differences

A research team, led by Walter Verhoef with the Bureau Vétérinaire de Richmond, Richmond, Quebec, Canada, evaluated three different, commercially available calcium boluses. Here are their conclusions.

Multiple Routes to Cattle Methane Reduction Explored
Multiple Routes to Cattle Methane Reduction Explored

There are a range of efforts underway worldwide to curb methane production by cattle.

Calf Care & Quality Assurance Unites Dairy, Beef and Veal Industries
Calf Care & Quality Assurance Unites Dairy, Beef and Veal Industries

The dairy, beef, and veal sectors are collaborating to form a first-of-its-kind program to promote the health and welfare of calves throughout the supply chain.

Slug-feeding Starter May Create Bad Habits for Life
Slug-feeding Starter May Create Bad Habits for Life

Habits formed early in life – whether good or bad – often carry through to adulthood. Like little children, calves, too, need to be trained on positive behaviors, including the way they eat.

The 411 on Anti-caking Agents
The 411 on Anti-caking Agents

Anti-caking agents make the pellet manufacturing process easier, and can help prevent ground feeds from doming, bridging, and sticking to equipment.

Supply Chain Issues Hamper Animal Medicine Availability
Supply Chain Issues Hamper Animal Medicine Availability

Breakdowns in the global supply chain are hitting home for U.S. livestock producers and the veterinarians who serve them, in the form of shortages of commonly used medications.

Cattle Veterinarians Have New Vaccination Guidelines
Cattle Veterinarians Have New Vaccination Guidelines

The American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) recently released a first-of-its-kind document on cattle vaccine guidelines.

Crypto in Calves: Better Managed with a Shovel than a Needle
Crypto in Calves: Better Managed with a Shovel than a Needle

As one of the top scourges to calf raisers, cryptosporidium is an ever-present challenge that rarely takes a holiday.

Feedipedia – The Global Animal Feed Resource
Feedipedia – The Global Animal Feed Resource

As feed prices currently challenge U.S. livestock producers, Feedipedia can be a resource for incorporating non-traditional feedstuffs into innovative rations.

The Liver Functionality Index: A Measure of Transition-cow Health
The Liver Functionality Index: A Measure of Transition-cow Health

The intricacies of transition-cow nutrition and its role in lactation success may be made a bit easier with the Liver Functionality Index.

10 Early Interventions to Help Sick Calves
10 Early Interventions to Help Sick Calves

The natural inclination to manage calf diseases solely with a needle and a bottle is trumped by a host of other care methods that can guide calves on the road to recovery.

More Rest for Dry Cows May Equal More Live Calves
More Rest for Dry Cows May Equal More Live Calves

It appears that making sure dry cows are comfortable and encouraged to rest influences the survival of their newborns.

6 Steps to help You Assess Fetal Calf Loss
6 Steps to help You Assess Fetal Calf Loss

About 1% of pregnancies annually is the standard of acceptable herd-wide loss, according to Cameron Knight, veterinary pathologist at the University of Calgary.

Rumens Might Hold the Keys to Plastic Recycling
Rumens Might Hold the Keys to Plastic Recycling

The rumen may be taking center stage in digesting another global challenge: plastics

“Take This Job and Shove It”
“Take This Job and Shove It”

A record 4.3 million people quit their jobs in the United States in August 2021, a historic high that has far-reaching effects on American life in general, and agriculture specifically

How Methionine Supports Reproductive Success
How Methionine Supports Reproductive Success

“The more we understand about how specific nutrition components influence health and performance responses, the more we can support cows in their production cycles.”

Watch Liquid Feed Temps when Mercury Drops
Watch Liquid Feed Temps when Mercury Drops

Wintry weather demands extra attention for preweaned calves, and that includes the temperature of their liquid feedings.

Are we Interpreting Transition Problems all Wrong?
Are we Interpreting Transition Problems all Wrong?

If a way could be devised to shut down immune system activation, and thus reduce the detrimental effects of inflammation at its root cause, cows in transition may remain healthier.

Bodyweight at First Calving: How Critical Is It?
Bodyweight at First Calving: How Critical Is It?

Growing the ideal heifer is an ever-changing goal. A research team from Penn State University and the University of Florida recently explored the impact of bodyweight at first calving on milk yield and herd longevity.

Colostrum works like Fuel for the Calf Furnace
Colostrum works like Fuel for the Calf Furnace

A team of Brazilian researchers recently conducted a study on the longer-term impact of colostrum on calves’ ability to tolerate cold and regulate their body temperatures.

Consider a Danish Entry for Calf Biosecurity
Consider a Danish Entry for Calf Biosecurity

Want to keep disease out of your calf barn? If so, it might be prudent to take a page from the biosecurity measures of our pig-and-poultry-raising kin, and set up a “Danish entry.”

Heart Rate Variability Can Help Assess Stress and Pain
Heart Rate Variability Can Help Assess Stress and Pain

As awareness of animal welfare grows, new methods of detecting and evaluating stress and pain in calves are being evaluated. Researchers are exploring heart rate variability as an accurate, non-invasive assessment tool.

Feed Cost Per Cow Per Day: It's A Critical Metric Today
Feed Cost Per Cow Per Day: It's A Critical Metric Today

Penn State Dairy Extension specialist Virginia Ishler said current conditions are mimicking those of 2012, when feed prices soared to unprecedented highs.

Wanted: Ruminant Nutritionists
Wanted: Ruminant Nutritionists

It’s currently a seller’s market for qualified ruminant nutritionists, especially in the dairy industry.

'Emotional Compensation' Can Help Fight Labor Shortage
'Emotional Compensation' Can Help Fight Labor Shortage

Most businesses currently are fighting the uphill battle of finding and retaining reliable, productive workers. In this environment, employers should not limit their thinking to compensation that is purely financial

Mycotoxins Threaten Calves and Heifers, Too
Mycotoxins Threaten Calves and Heifers, Too

They’re a danger to milk cows, to be sure. But mycotoxins in feedstuffs also can be damaging to the health and development of calves and heifers.

New Johne’s Vaccine in the Works
New Johne’s Vaccine in the Works

It’s an old and frustrating disease that is not easily controlled. But Johne’s disease may soon be tamed by a new vaccine under development.

The Fast Track to Polled Genetics
The Fast Track to Polled Genetics

Moving to 100% polled genetics is an air-tight method of dispelling consumer concerns about dehorning pain. But the wheels of genetic progress turn relatively slowly in cattle.

Bull Calves Deserve Colostrum, Too
Bull Calves Deserve Colostrum, Too

If you sell your bull calves shortly after birth, it’s tempting to send them down the road with no colostrum. But those animals will be far better served if you take the time to get them the colostrum they need.

Watch Calves Carefully for Dehydration Signs
Watch Calves Carefully for Dehydration Signs

Even healthy calves can suffer dehydration in extremely hot weather.

Cows Tell Stories with their Facial Expressions
Cows Tell Stories with their Facial Expressions

If you watch carefully, you can tell a lot about a cow by reading her face. Know the telltale facial expressions of cows in the early stages of pain and sickness.

Blood Pregnancy Tests Keep Repro Humming at this Iowa Dairy
Blood Pregnancy Tests Keep Repro Humming at this Iowa Dairy

Reproduction clicks along like a well-oiled machine at Schanbacher Acres near Atkins, Iowa, thanks in part to the farm’s routine use of blood pregnancy tests for the past 17 years.

Does Breeding to Beef Sires Alter Dam Productivity?
Does Breeding to Beef Sires Alter Dam Productivity?

Beef-on-dairy breeding is a growing phenomenon, not just in the U.S., but worldwide.

Calving: The New Frontier in Pain Management
Calving: The New Frontier in Pain Management

Researchers are exploring whether cattle would benefit from pain management associated with calving.

Consumers Care About Calves
Consumers Care About Calves

When consumers think about dairy farming, one of their greatest concerns are the calves. That can be a good thing because farmers have a great story to tell. But it also may require some flexing of rearing practices.

HSAs Offer Health Care, Retirement Savings
HSAs Offer Health Care, Retirement Savings

Health insurance coverage and healthcare costs are among the greatest challenges for self-employed Americans, including farmers.

Follow the “4 S’s” for Dehorning Pain Management
Follow the “4 S’s” for Dehorning Pain Management

Using pain mitigation techniques when disbudding or dehorning is now the standard of care for U.S. cattle veterinary and quality assurance organizations.