When reducing heat stress in dairy herds, fans are used to enhance the evaporation of moisture from a cow’s back.

The milk and other dairy products we consume today are produced by dairy animals – mostly cows.

A high-producing cow starts to experience an increase in body temperature at air temperatures as low as 80°F.

Key to the consistent success of the modern dairy is the profitable production of high-quality milk.

“You can die of good intentions” That is the best summary I can give of an editorial I read recently about the bill to ban horse slaughter that was passed last year.

As I write this column, Memorial Day is two days away. We honor those countrymen and women serving around the world, including those wounded, injured and killed in action.

Dairy producers in California have the opportunity to review the information submitted on December 2007 to prepare a new Dairy Facility Assessment to comply with the Waste Discharge Requirements (Order No. R5-2007-0035). The next reporting requirements include updating information on waste management plan (WMP) and nutrient management plan (NMP). The WMP and NMP are the most important objectives for dairy producers. In the next years they must be prepared to have sufficient storage capacity to contain all manure, avoiding any possible illegal discharge (on or offsite), and applying manure according to crop requirements.

With the increased cost of commercial fertilizer and the ever-increasing pressure on producers to protect and preserve water quality, University of Wisconsin (UW) – Discovery Farms staff get a lot of questions on how farmers can reduce their losses of manure.

Record keeping and inspections are inextricably linked through the permit and nutrient management plan (NMP). In large part, only records can show an inspector that the operation is following its NMP and permit.

Removing manure from freestall alleys