Managing cows through the end of the dry period and into their next lactation remains a challenge across many dairy farms. Much of this is driven by what we ask cows to handle throughout the weeks before and after calving.

The optimal dry period length between lactations in dairy cows has been debated since the early 1800s. During this time, some English farmers believed a two-month dry period was optimal, while others believed a two-week dry period was adequate.

Cows are in negative energy balance (NEB) when their energy requirements (i.e., maintenance, gestation, production) are not met by their energy intake.

On a typical day, how often do cows interact with people on your dairy? It’s common for a dairy team to mingle with a herd at least two or three times for milking, again if it’s a herd health day, again for breeding, again if pen shifts are on the schedule and probably again if any additional management interventions are needed.

At this year’s American Dairy Science Association annual meeting held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in June, several invited speakers presented ideas about how they saw the dairy industry in 50 years.

Over the past decade, reproductive tools used to get cows pregnant have evolved tremendously. Automated activity monitoring technology has developed to deliver accurate detection of heats.

Historically, dairy cattle breeders had limited tools to work with. Genetic selection was based only on what could be seen. Decisions were handicapped to visible and subjective conformation traits.

It was back in the ’70s or ’80s that I first heard the term “comfort zone.” It became my new buzzword, and I even wrote goals to break out of my comfort zones. Back then, I was obsessed with self-improvement, but it wasn’t until a few Sundays ago in church I made the connection between comfort zones and repentance.

Hydraulic power is something easy to use but not always easy to understand. At its root, hydraulics is the science of how fluids are harnessed to perform mechanical tasks. That can be anything from folding a disc at the end of a field to running a generator at the bottom of a huge dam.

ByIt was a busy road to Headford, and like all Irish country roads, it didn’t have a shoulder. I was going to the Saturday mart – the weekly livestock auction – the only way available to me: by bicycle, with my work shoes strapped on back.