Dream of a high-performance sports car and a Corvette or Camaro may come to mind. In many ways, dairy cows are high-performance machines too. However, some dairy producers may still treat their top-performing “cowmaros” like their old, trusty farm trucks, which may not allow the cows to reach their full genetic potential. Just like a sports car, cows require maintenance and upkeep. By treating your cows like top performers instead of old farm trucks, you can increase cow productivity and maximize profitability.

A plentiful supply of good clean water is essential for normal digestion and metabolism, including rumen fermentation, proper movement of feed through the intestinal tract and effective nutrient absorption.

As the colder months approach, it is crucial to prepare dairy barns for winter conditions. A major component of this preparation is winterizing the ventilation system. This includes completing maintenance tasks and covering unused equipment.

A modern dairy building with automated systems and a viewing corridor will soon replace the aging dairy facilities built in 1972 at Waterman Dairy at Ohio State University in Columbus. Initial conversations about renovating the facilities began in 2019 while working on the master strategic plan for the college.

Construction continues at the Idaho Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (Idaho CAFE), a University of Idaho-led facility in Rupert, Idaho, that will include the nation’s largest research dairy. Phase II is currently underway and includes construction of a commodity barn, a calving and research barn and a classroom building.

Mechanical ventilation systems rely on controlled inlets and outlets to exchange air in the barn, with a goal of providing a minimum of four to eight air changes per hour (ACH) in winter and 40 to 60 ACH in summer. These mechanical ventilation systems are categorized as positive-, negative- or neutral-pressure systems, with the main differences being how fans are used to bring air into or out of the barn for ventilation purposes.

The transition from a traditional milking to automated milking is not always straightforward. In this article, we’ll look at some of the most important factors to address when planning the shift from a parlor to an automated milking system.

Every dairy in the U.S. has experienced the effects of heat stress on dairy cows. There are a variety of management practices dairy producers can use to proactively address heat stress before it happens or support the herd to lessen the impact once it arrives. Yet with all that we know about managing and mitigating heat stress, there are still misconceptions.

In our operations, holding area management and the proper use of a crowd gate play a crucial role in promoting a cow’s comfort and ensuring an optimal milk harvest experience during her daily parlor visits. While these tasks may seem straightforward, they require much more than just moving cows and running them through a parlor.

Cows are scheduled to start moving into new facilities at the Michigan State University (MSU) Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center on south campus in East Lansing, Michigan, by Aug. 1, with the entire project expected to be completed by the end of 2025. At capacity, the dairy herd will expand from the previous herd size of 220 up to 550.