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Milking equipment that is installed properly and functioning at its best is a key part of optimizing milk quality, cow comfort and facility efficiency. In the following paragraphs, I will be offering some tips regarding the installation, operation and maintenance of milking equipment based on my observations over the last 25 years serving dairy producers.
Editor’s note: This is the first article in a two-part series about how to transition from conventional milking to robotic milking. Click here to read the second article.
Transitioning from conventional to robotic milking is a critical process that can be successfully executed as long as you plan your work and work your plan. It requires consistent work and methodic execution.
Dairy farming is a pricey business, no matter the size.
Data collected by the Center for Dairy Profitability estimates that the average dairy farm uses 800 to 1,200 kWh per cow of electricity each year.
The doors just opened on the newly built, multi-use New Holland cattle housing pavilions at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin. The pavilions, under construction since breaking ground in April, will serve as home to the annual World Dairy Expo for at least the next 10 years, according to the show’s officials.
Golden Oaks, Ransom Rail and Exels Holsteins and Jerseys are names familiar to the winner’s circle at World Dairy Expo, but these three herds have another common chord. They all operate commercial dairies.
Progressive Dairyman caught up with five industry professionals who step away from their main livelihoods for one week of the year to pursue passions close to their hearts.
They make their livings doing such things as balancing rations, planning manure pits or selling semen, yet when World Dairy Expo rolls around, they take on a different set of tasks.
The National Mastitis Council, a not-for-profit organization devoted to reducing mastitis and enhancing milk quality, holds an annual and regional meeting each year. While typically held in the U.S., NMC regional meetings have also included locations in Canada and Mexico.
Winter brings cold, harsh weather with low humidity – the perfect conditions for teat-skin chapping, damage and hyperkeratosis, the most common teat-skin and teat-end problems.
Even when temperatures are in the 30s, combined with wind speed around 20 to 25 mph, frozen teats are likely to occur if preventative measures aren’t in place. During these cold months, teat-skin damage is a major factor predisposing cows to mastitis.
While antimicrobials are essential and effective tools for use in humans and animals, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global concern which puts at risk the prevention and treatments of bacterial infections.
Increasingly, consumers are concerned about the transmission of resistant bacteria from animals and food that is derived from those animals.
Balancing for amino acids has become a new standard in dairy nutrition. Gone are the days when we created lactating rations with protein ingredients based on crude protein. Today, we know that balancing for metabolizable protein is a more precise, economical and beneficial way to maximize dairy ration effectiveness.
