ABS Global releases Bolton sons 29HO14062 GILLESPY and 29HO13991 RUBLE are leading the excitement at ABS Global with the release of the April USDA sire evaluations. 29HO14062 De-Su GILLESPY-ET*BY provides an elite combination of high production and superb type. His daughters are standouts in udder attachments (+2.39 UDC) with excellent mobility (+2.31 FLC). 29HO13991 Kings-Ransom B RUBLE*TY, a Bolton x Boliver son, combines their classic traits to continue an ABS legacy of success and production.

Texas AgriLife Research is trying to help the dairy industry determine how breed and conformation affects dairy cow longevity. Dr. Pablo Pinedo, AgriLife Research ruminant animal health scientist in Amarillo, is conducting a study funded by the American Jersey Cattle Club Research Foundation after producers have noticed a decline in longevity of dairy cows worldwide. “Today’s high involuntary culling rates are a concern on dairy farms from both an animal well-being and an economic point of view,” Pinedo said.

On March 5, Todd Bilby, associate professor and extension dairy specialist with Texas AgriLife Research and Extension, presented a webinar on a topic that affects dairy cattle across the country during the summer – heat stress. The webinar titled “Strategies to Improve Reproduction During Heat Stress in Dairy Cattle” was the first in a series of four webinars relating to heat stress made possible by an Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive grant from the USDA.

This article was #12 of the Top 25 most well-read articles on www.progressivedairy.com in 2012. to jump to the article. It was published in the March 10, 2012 Extra. Click here for the full list of the Top 25. Are you on Facebook? Have you tweeted lately? With social media becoming adopted by the agricultural industry, some are using social media as a discussion platform. In an online exclusive article featured in early March, Eric Danzeisen, the creator of #BullChat on Twitter, discusses what this chat consists of and why it was started.