Transporting dairy animals requires a careful and considerate approach to guarantee their welfare while adhering to industry standards. Here are some factors to consider before shipping a cull cow.

There are discussions in dairy industries in many countries about whether it should be an explicit aim to increase longevity. Some assert that retaining cows for longer lactations or more years contributes to sustainability because fewer replacement animals would be needed, reducing the environmental costs of these non-productive animals.

Dairy enterprises invest considerable resources to raise replacements. To capture the opportunities that raising programs offer to farm profitability, dairy operations should not only make efforts to control raising expenses but also to ensure the return of their investment by evaluating the resulting quality of their replacements.

As exciting as calving season is, it is also riddled with challenges, including death loss. Now that we are nearing the end of calving season, and pasture turnout is around the corner, what are we going to do with the cows without a calf at side? All potential scenarios boil down to two: sell or keep.

A dry and cool Red Deer, Alberta, welcomed the dairy industry March 5-7 for the Western Canadian Dairy Seminar. Students, producers and industry professionals gathered for the three-day conference and settled in to learn about topics relating to this year’s theme, “Excellence in efficiency.”

I have had the opportunity to analyze dairy software files from dairy operations across many states in the U.S., and I still see great opportunities to reduce herd turnover costs within many dairy operations. Here are a few areas to consider as you look at how to plan for your future replacement costs.

Selecting cattle that match the forage resources and environment of an operation is essential for long-term success. But how can producers identify and select animals that will maintain body condition throughout the grazing season?