A massive question dairy producers often ask themselves is who should be raising replacement heifers. Should they be raised by the producer, contracted out and customed raised, or should they be purchased?
Heat stress undoubtedly causes setbacks for cows. But a growing body of research shows it also impacts the calves they are carrying, and possibly even the generation after that.
When a cow freshens during the fall or winter, she tends to produce less colostrum than her herd mates who calved in spring and summer. It's no coincidence. Now research is shedding some "light" on the situation.
Getting cows pregnant is vital to keeping the pipeline full. According to Jeremey Natzke of Wayside Dairy, a 35% plus pregnancy rate equates to an outstanding repro program and a number his dairy worked hard to achieve.
With the cost of inflation impacting every corner of a dairy, the producer’s breeding strategy has been forced to become finetuned. More and more producers are keeping just enough replacements to fill the pipeline,.
“The more we understand about how specific nutrition components influence health and performance responses, the more we can support cows in their production cycles.”
Over-conditioned cows that lose weight after calving subsequently have lower fertility, produce fewer quality embryos and face higher rates of health problems.
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.
As dairy caregivers, we see “Poor Doer Syndrome.” These are cows that struggle for unknown reasons until they subsequently develop an infectious disease, a surgically correctable condition or are culled.
A highly fatal intestinal disease of adult cows, Hemorrhagic Bowel Syndrome (HBS), draws concerns from dairy producers, veterinarians and nutritionists, as it is also known as the sudden death disease of dairy cattle.
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.
There’s no bull about it, artificial insemination has come a long way since its first use in dairy cattle during the late 1930s. While the technology has vastly changed, the basic principles still remain.
Unfortunately, ovarian cysts are one of the most common ovarian dysfunctions in dairy cattle. In fact, approximately one in 10 cows will become cystic at some point in her life.
Animal scientist Phil Cardoso knew that milk protein increases when dairy cows are fed the amino acid methionine, but he suspected that the supplement might have additional health benefits.
