Many of us took a meats course in college or have dressed wild game and have a basic understanding of how it gets from the pasture to the plate. Harry is not one of us, in that regard.

The economic situation in 2009 affected all producers, but some suffered more than others. Negative cash flows were experienced during most of the year and a severe constriction of ag credit limited a dairy’s ability to obtain extra cash.

Heat stress defines a condition that involves many factors. It occurs when a cow’s heat dissipation is exceeded by heat load exposure from high environmental temperature and humidity. Her metabolic heat – generated from maintenance and production requirements – adds to the environmental heat index.

The most significant and economically important pest to dairymen is the biting stable fly. It is often referred to as the beach fly, dog fly, lawn mower fly and other names, some not printable. They attack most mammals, including cattle, horses, sheep, goats, swine, dogs and humans. If you have flies feeding on your cows’ legs or flanks, causing them to be nervous and constantly stomp and switch, you probably have a stable fly problem that is costing you money.

As most of America is struggling through one of the coldest winters in recent memory, dairy producers must start planning for the annual summertime problem of heat stress. While we long for warmer temperatures, heat stress can result in significant losses on the dairy.

Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy in Kewaunee, Wisconsin, is the state’s largest single family-owned dairy. It’s also a cutting-edge example of what technology can bring to a dairy operation.

This article was #3 in PDmag's Top 5 most-well read New Technology articles in 2010. Summary: Disposable, yet rugged, Perfect Udder colostrum bags created by Dairy Tech, Inc. are 3-quart bags that have a special aluminum layer, which allows for incredible heat transfer. The bags are designed so that raw colostrum can be placed inside using a funnel or specially designed milk pail and then pasteurized, stored, frozen, reheated and fed without ever being at risk for recontamination. An alternative usage is to batch pasteurize the colostrum and fill the bags from the pasteurizer before storing. To take the system a step further, a nipple and esophageal feeding system attach directly to the colostrum bag so that the colostrum could go from the pasteurizer to the calf without ever having to enter another vessel. The kits are sold as 50- and 100-bag count and come with five or 10 nipple assemblies respectively, and also include the esophageal feeder. Because this article was so popular, we asked Rick Dumm of Dairy Tech Inc. some follow-up questions:

Hank Wagner, Dairy Producer Age: 48 Location: Oconto Falls, Wisconsin