Cow handling is a very important topic because of its impact on milk production, milk quality, milk composition and animal welfare. Canadian and Danish studies have demonstrated that hostile cow handling negatively affected the behavior of dairy cows. In one study, the hostile treatment consisted of striking the cow forcefully with a hand.

As a senior extension associate at Cornell University working in the area of agricultural human resource management, I am pleased to have the opportunity to discuss the work we have been doing at Cornell relating to the increasing trend to hire Hispanic workers in the U.S. dairy industry.

There are many different aspects of human resource management. Some are optional. Some are not. While it may be easy for an employer to put off writing a job description or assembling a handbook, the process of setting up a compensation package is one that every employer has had to go through.

What do I need to do to control worker compensation costs? Handle every new work injury immediately 1. Immediate medical attention Take the employee to your designated health provider. Don’t send them; drive them there personally and wait for them. Ask about the injury and planned treatment right then.

Editor’s Note: The following is a summary of the 2005 Family Farm Report. The full report can be found at www.ers.usda.gov Farming in the United States is very diverse, ranging from very small retirement and residential farms to enterprises with annual sales in the millions of dollars. Farms are operated by individuals on a part-time basis, by multiple generations of a family and by managers of nonfamily corporations. Some specialize in a single product, while others produce a wide variety of products.

One thing that always bugged me as a kid was that our cows weren’t very patriotic. Sure, they’d act silly if they ever saw fireworks, but they never saluted the flag, showed interest in our national anthem and certainly never took off work for the Fourth of July. (Come to think of it, they were pretty disrespectful on Christmas, too.)

It is well-known that acquiring and absorbing adequate amounts of colostral immunoglobulins are essential to the health of the neonate, since calves are born almost void of any circulating antibodies. Colostrum is defined as the first milk harvested from the cow immediately after calving.

Physiology of the preruminant calf Water makes up 85.8 percent of the bodyweight (BW) of a neonatal calf. Prior to birth, the developing fetus is surrounded by amniotic fluid that is 92 percent water. In the uterus, the developing calf is supplied with water by diffusion from maternal plasma, and at birth the calf is at its greatest water content, having developed in a water-based media where water has borne the nutrients required to allow rapid growth and development.

A lot of work and care is required to develop newborn calves into productive, lactating cows. When managed properly, replacement heifers should grow at a rate that allows them to calve at 24 months of age or less. However, a recent report indicated the average age of Holsteins at first calving was 26.9 months, so there are opportunities for improvement. Also, the mortality rate on many farms is higher than desired, reducing the number of potential replacement heifers.

The custom heifer industry in the United States continues to grow and develop. An understanding of the importance of a written contract and its components is essential for custom heifer growers and for the dairy producers planning to employ these services.