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This article was #8 of the Top 25 most well-read articles on www.progressivedairy.com in 2013. It was published in the March 21, 2013 print issue.
Click here for the full list of the Top 25.
In this article, nutritionist Tom Whitten explains nutraceuticals, food that provides medical or health benefits. He details common nutraceuticals, including direct-fed microbials, enzymes, botanicals, antioxidants and fats.
Pre-fresh health in dairy cows is more than a feed ration adjustment and a pen move. It’s all the little things that prepare a cow for calving and lactation. Pre-fresh health is similar to flipping on the power switch to a vacant building.
You must maintain the health and wellness of pre-fresh cows so that once lactation is turned on, they are in peak physical condition for performance and production.
Manure systems have certainly evolved over time – from pitching stalls to extracting dischargeable water. They vary depending on bedding type, performance and desired end products.
Producers choosing to use sand for bedding have seen a variety of options to reclaim the sand. One of the most popular systems Bob Komro with Komro Sales & Service, Inc. has been building thus far is the flush flume, closed-loop system.
Imagine what our landscape must have looked like, not really all that long ago. Tens of millions of bison roamed the American plains in clusters so large one could have seen them from space.
These immense, grand herds would devastate each valley they came through. A flowering meadow would turn into a moonscape overnight. If a valley was lucky, it would see a full year or more before the bison returned, so it could attempt to recover from such an onslaught.
Question: What is the purpose of freestall bedding? Answer: To provide a cow a clean, dry resting surface.
Especially, this means creating an environment where exposure of teat ends to attack from mastitis-causing pathogens is minimized. Veterinarians and your family doctor alike will tell you: Minimize exposure to minimize infection rates.
I often wonder what our children are losing in this everything-at-your-fingertips society. We watch the television, Internet and movies, where every aspect of the story is spelled out in surround-sound, airbrushed living color and amplified music.
Tier 4 regulations for off-road diesel engines in order to create cleaner air is not a new issue. We’ve all watched the agricultural equipment industry – specifically tractor manufacturers – change their engine packages drastically over the past few years to meet the stringent regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Union.
Age: 47 years old
Location: I live in Jonesboro, Arkansas, with my wife, Stacy, and my children, Will and Delaney.
My background in agriculture includes ... before being elected to Congress, I began my professional career as an agri-reporter on television and radio news outlets.
I eventually owned and operated AgWatch Network, a farm news network heard on 39 stations in Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi and Kentucky.
It’s been an interesting season for those of us in agriculture. Several shifts in the world’s social gyroscope have come to light that will affect the public’s perception of our farming world.
For years the ANTIs have led the battle to disparage the safety and health benefits of eating and raising meat, but “facts” are rearing their ugly heads.
