Our industry is constantly exposed to increased regulation and consumer scrutiny, but there is one thing that hasn’t and won’t ever change: the importance of having a strong partnership with a veterinarian.

Pawnee Farm Arlinda Chief, or Chief for short, is responsible for 14 percent of the current Holstein genome in the U.S.

Pick up the latest sire directory from any of the major bull studs, and you’ll see that the “bull book” contains more information than ever. More indexes, more traits, more numbers; it’s quite a job to sift through it.

Increase profit. Reduce management inputs. Design a cow that eats less, doesn’t know what a hospital pen is and rarely gets the “open” diagnosis at pregnancy check. This can be accomplished in a single generation with a $100 increase or more in profit per cow per year.

Pregnancy rate is a standard measure of the success of a dairy reproductive program. It is the percentage of females eligible to become pregnant in a 21-day period that actually become pregnant. The good news is that average pregnancy rate (PR) has been increasing again over the last decade.

One of the things I like about my job as sales and marketing manager for Simplot Animal Sciences is the variety of activities I can be involved in. My office is located on a 400-acre Idaho ranch stocked with 350 cows we use as recipients for our in vitro fertilization (IVF) research and other assisted reproductive technologies.

We’ve all heard the statement, “Genetics don’t matter without first creating a pregnancy.” This insightful truth has shifted our global breeding strategy to a stronger focus on fertility.

Faculty at the University of Florida are exploring an alternative treatment for infections from an unlikely source: crustaceans. The shells of lobster, shrimp and crab are treated with an alkaline substance such as sodium hydroxide to produce chitosan (pronounced ky-to-san), a fibrous sugar with a chemical structure similar to cellulose.

Editor’s note: This article is the first in a two-part series featuring the steps to a successful transition period. Dry cow nutrition and management of the dry dairy cow has been extensively researched over the last 25 years.

Every dairy producer’s goal is to have uncomplicated calving. But their practices aren’t always conducive to reducing dystocia risk. Eutocia, or normal birth, requires prevention and preparation and is dependent upon many factors.