Holstein Association USA introduced its Dairy Rhythms herd management software at World Dairy Expo, Oct. 2-6. Dairy Rhythms is a comprehensive herd management system that ties together the association’s database with dairy records processing by AgriTech Analytics. Designed with a user-friendly interface, the program gives producers quick and convenient access to not only traditional health, milk and reproduction data, but also genetic, pedigree and classification information for their Holstein cattle.

The 2012 World Dairy Expo has come and gone, and we thought we'd take some time to share the week with you through numbers, photos and editors' experiences: 

Have you ever needed to haul a bale of hay but the tractor with the spears is at the farm farthest from the barn? This is a problem I came across on a cold winter day, and the idea for hydraulic spears for a pickup truck crossed my mind. I’m Zepplin Smith, a student at Olton Independent School District, Olton, Texas.

Scientists have altered the genes of a dairy cow to produce milk that’s rich in a protein used in numerous food products and lacking in a component that causes allergies in humans. Using a process called RNA-interference that turns certain genes on or off, scientists from New Zealand produced a cow whose milk had increased casein, a protein used to make cheese and other foods, and almost no beta-lactoglobulin, a component in milk whey protein that causes allergies.

Aaron Kochman of Lauren AgriSystems talks with PD Editor Emily Caldwell about the ParlorPro app. The app itself is free but features a teat-scoring module for $20 a year that allows users to standardize their herd's teat scoring based on guidelines from the National Mastitis Council. PD

Three former dairy workers with Idaho's largest dairy operation have been charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty after undercover video shot by an animal rights group showed workers stomping, dragging and beating cows inside a milking barn. The video was shot using a hidden camera by a member of the animal rights group Mercy for Animals inside Bettencourt Dairies' Dry Creek Dairy in Hansen.

According to a recent Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative (WBI) study, Wisconsin can be a national leader in bioenergy production using waste from the state's prosperous agriculture and food processing sectors. In dairy cow manure alone, the report found 4.77 million dry tons available per year, which is the potential energy equivalent of replacing a large-scale coal plant. The report was part of an effort coordinated by the Wisconsin Division of Energy Services with WBI and Baker Tilly to assess the opportunity and effect of renewable energy production in Wisconsin.