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Colostrum management plays a vital role in a successful dairy operation and is an often overlooked opportunity where the returns will greatly outweigh the investment of time and capital.
The single-most important meal a calf will consume in its lifetime is the first feeding of colostrum. This meal is crucial for surviving both the first 24 hours and the first month, when calfhood diseases are most common.
Using technologies to automate routine tasks is common in every industry because automation increases productivity, quality and consistency by minimizing a task’s variability.
Early in 2012, Peartome Holsteins of Haldimand County, Ontario, joined the ranks of an elite few when it received its third Master Breeder shield from Holstein Canada.
As a mediator, I’ve seen some pretty dumb agreements about the home yard. When you are deciding to move away or build a second home on the property, make sure you think things through with your lawyer and have some clear conversations with your successor.
Many dairy families have more than one home on the main yard, yet privacy is still an issue that you can design into your plans.
The common dairy practice is to separate a dairy calf from its dam at birth and place it in individual housing. This helps to protect the calf from pathogens and makes it easy for the calf raiser to monitor, but it limits social contact for the animal.
According to Margit Bak Jensen of Aarhus University in Denmark, early social contact to the dam or social contact to other calves during the milk feeding period has beneficial effects on behaviour and welfare; social contact to other calves also stimulates earlier and larger intakes of solid food.
At the beginning of each year, Holstein Canada announces the new crop of Master Breeders who are recognized as distinguished breeders amongst their peers.
This year, 21 Master Breeders will be honoured at the upcoming 2013 National Holstein Convention in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
Holstein Canada’s Young Adult Advisory Committee chose six winners from 31 applicants for the 2012 Education Awards. Each award winner will receive a $750 cheque.
“Getting 31 applications from such highly deserving students is wonderful. We get to learn about keen young adults who are involved in the industry but it is difficult to narrow it down to select the six winners for the whole country,” comments Janet Walker, Young Adult Program coordinator.
Holstein Canada has achieved an all-time new record for animal registrations: 280,620 registrations were completed in 2012, representing a 3.3 per cent growth over 2011.
Electronic registrations continue to grow and now represent 86 per cent of the total.
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At the beginning of each year, Holstein Canada announces the new crop of Master Breeders who are recognized as distinguished breeders amongst their peers.
This year, 21 Master Breeders will be honoured at the upcoming 2013 National Holstein Convention in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
