The gap between the Holstein breed’s number one net merit bull and other sires remains wide. As of February’s net merit sire evaluations, more than 90 points separated O-Bee Manfred Justice’s daughters from the offspring of other bulls in the breed. Since 2003, the bull has remained the highest net merit bull. He is also currently the second-highest TPI bull in the breed.

The daily challenge of getting cows pregnant is nothing new to any dairy producer. What is new is the variety of approaches researchers are taking to understand the mechanisms underlying this problem and propose effective solutions to it. Our applied reproductive research program in the Department of Animal Science at Michigan State University is focused on controlling ovarian physiology to optimize fertility of lactating dairy cows. Our goal is to develop and utilize new information to improve the fertility potential of Ovsynch.

Accelerated Genetics adds balance and power to Holstein lineup Accelerated Genetics lineup continues to impress Holstein breeders worldwide and now has added new sires after the February 2007 dairy sire proofs. New PACE graduates 014HO03964 BOB, 014HO04244 GLASCOW, 014HO04229 WES, 014HO04250 BIZ, and 014HO4213 GEORGE along with Winner’s Circle graduate 202HO00231 VELVET add to the strength of the lineup.

In the musical play, Camelot, the queen sings a song that has become my theme song these last few weeks: “Where are the Simple Joys of Maidenhood?” Guinevere’s lament is, of course, about her lack of knights in shining armor who have shown their valor in battle for her or who have jousted for her honor. My lament is a cry for peace.

Historically, to a lot of dairymen, calving ease has been a bit of a secondary trait. In many cases semen buying decisions were more centered on how much production or how much type a sire had. Calving ease was thrown into the mix almost as an afterthought, or as something to use on the heifers. However, the most stressful part of a cow’s life cycle is the calving process and its postpartum aftermath. The quality of life of a dairyman might increase dramatically if we could eliminate difficult calvings, retained placentas, ketosis, milk fever, displaced abomasums, etc. There would probably be a little less concern over the diminishing availability of large animal veterinarians if these ailments could be eliminated.

I wrote a book titled Blazin’ Bloats and Cows on Fire! It referred to the flammability of rumen gasses and the spectacular, but rarely harmful, occasions when they are ignited. I assumed that the predilection for ignition was confined to ruminants but, as is often the case, I was thinking too small. Dr. Charlie broadened my horizons.

Editor’s Note: The following is the second article of a two-part series including excerpts from the bulletin “Dairy Excel’s 15 Measures of Dairy Farm Competitiveness” found at http://ohioline.osu.edu/b864/index.html

Originally conceived as a cement pump, the hose pump is fast becoming the technology of choice for transferring abrasive dairy waste like sand-laden manure.

Animal waste storage and treatment systems have historically been selected and designed to efficiently use valuable fertilizer nutrients for crop production while protecting soil, air and water quality. The primary reason to store manure is to allow the producer to land-apply the manure at a time compatible with the climatic and cropping characteristics of the land receiving the manure. Manure nutrients can be best utilized when spread near or during the growing season of the crop. Therefore, the type of crop and method of manure application are important considerations in planning manure storage and treatment facilities.

It is well known that daughters from artificial insemination (A.I.) sires produce more milk than those bred by natural service. Incorrect A.I. techniques can lower the overall success rate of your breeding program. At one time, most producers have learned correct techniques in semen handling and insemination procedures, but unfortunately, many have developed some bad habits. Reviewing proper procedures should help eliminate many of these mistakes.