Various research initiatives since 2009 that culminated to a national project funded under the Dairy Research Cluster 2 and led by University of Guelph has resulted in the development of genomic evaluations for digital dermatitis in Holsteins.

Canadian dairy farmers are constantly targeted by new policies and activists. They typically all fuel off the same issue: negative consumer perspective – and the new updated Canadian food guide is no different.

Some farmers had a phenomenal 2017 crop season, thanks to heaps of snow that resulted in residual moisture during the hot, dry summer.

It will definitely be a minority of farms where people wake up in the morning and get excited about the prospects of discussing farm finances within the family, and almost certainly when the discussions involve the next generation.

With 50 percent of dairy production costs tied into feed, conventional wisdom dictates that many dairy operators would look for ways to drive down those costs without sacrificing production — and feed management software accomplishes that. When used consistently and effectively, however, it can also drive up production while maintaining or increasing feed costs to create a greater net positive increase/return on investment. It accomplishes this by more closely monitoring/tracking feed use, animal intakes, mixing ratios and chemistries, waste, optimizing pen feeding, and tracking/examining income in relation to feed price.

If you like old Westerns, then you are familiar with the popular scene where the heroine of the story is tied to the railroad tracks as a speeding locomotive races towards her peril. That scene aptly describes the scenario lingering in the dairy community.