Digital dermatitis (DD) infections are a common sight on confinement dairies, often ailing more than 20 percent of cows in a herd, but there are ways to reduce the incidence of these painful lesions that lead to limping and lameness.

Digital dermatitis (DD) goes by many different names: Mortellaro’s disease, strawberry foot rot and hairy heel warts. But the one thing everyone can agree on is how frustrating it is to see on your farm, over and over and over again – especially among heifers.

Proper hoof care management during the dry period is crucial to the cow’s ability to recover and replenish body condition. After a long, productive and taxing lactation, it is imperative that the cow is able to restore its nutrient reserves and recuperate.

Hoof problems are the bane of many producers’ existences. Lame cows eat less, fail to achieve optimal production and are more prone to other issues, such as ketosis and reduced fertility.

I am more and more disturbed at the amount of people who are campaigning for a professed socialist. Do they even know what it means to be a socialist? I wonder if they know what kind of society we would live in if capitalism was abandoned and socialism was adopted.

With summer and hay season already upon us, it’s too late for most producers to consider going through their balers with a fine-toothed comb, which is best done during off-season servicing.

Investigating the underlying factors of dairy reproductive performance is a lot like peeling an onion – the more you look, the more layers you find.

There’s a danger that lurks in the Irish countryside. A hazard waiting latent under the gray skies as one passes the seemingly quiet stone houses, covert with peril. Something that has victimized all those who live there. Something few are spared from.

Dairy farmer Caleb Watson did the ag world proud when he competed in the American Ninja Warrior competition (Atlanta qualifying round) on June 8.

I think we all have that handful of Facebook friends who share everything that has ever been posted about dairy. Health benefits of milk? Share! New research on the positives of GMOs? Share! Cute cow photo? Share! Well I will let you in on a little secret – I am that friend. Yes, that is right. Take a look at my social media pages.