We asked Progressive Dairyman readers if their equipment was ready for the spring tillage and planting.

It has been a long, hard winter. Many could argue that is the nature of the season – to which I’d agree – but in my book, these last few months seemed to take it a bit further than usual.

A primary goal at Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) is to promote the quality and the great nutritional value of Canadian dairy
products. Through advertising, contests, partnerships, educational programs and media relations, DFC promotes Canadian
milk products and encourages healthy eating habits.

“Hey, watch out, there’s a rock the size of a loaf of bread about to go through the header!” I yell to my new hubby in the cab of our combine as we harvest in 1981. “Don’t worry, I saw it, and there will be more,” he confides to me. As a Red River valley farm girl transported by marriage to the Waskada clay loam of southwestern Manitoba, I have developed the habit of picking stones or rocks on my field walks as I deliver meals, fuel or help out with the harvest.

Canada’s two largest breed organizations have tallied the number of animal registrations received in 2013 – and both are proud to announce it was another record-breaking year.

Holstein Canada announced it had 285,449 registrations completed in 2013. This number is up 4,829 registrations, representing a 1.7 percent increase over 2012.

Although milk production has almost doubled during the last 50 years, conception rate did not improve and stayed low. Average conception rate is at 39 percent with pregnancy rate being as low as 15 percent.

2014 marks five years since the implementation of genomics in Canada, and has the world of genetic improvement ever changed. Genomics was boasted by scientists as a technology that would revolutionize genetic improvement strategies and significantly increase rates of genetic improvement.

Today we understand that calves must be offered much larger volumes of milk or milk replacer during the first month of life to achieve their growth potential and remain healthy. We have seen a move to group housing and automated feeding of calves, with some producers offering free-choice intake of milk or milk replacer.

Owning and managing a dairy brings a large number of different challenges on a daily basis; this, in turn, often results in overlooking the basics of raising calves. Getting your calves off to a good start can be the key to raising quality heifers.

Last year, the Progressive Dairy Operators (PDO) surveyed members about the feeding, management and health of their pre-weaned calves on the farm. PDO received survey replies from 154 farms. The average farm milked 136 cows, with a range of 22 to 630 cows milked on the day the survey was completed.