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Advancements in technology, data collection and the future were top of mind during this year’s Canadian Dairy Cattle Improvement Industry Forum and CDN Annual General Meeting.
Ultrasound equipment has advanced to the point it is portable and affordable for individual farms to acquire. For some dairies, adoption of this technology could yield a high return on investment. For others, the returns may not be ideal.
A dairy producer panel discussing the return on investment based on genetic strategy was presented in November as part of the Supreme Dairy Show in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec.
In 2014, Joe and Barb Terpstra replaced a 17-year-old milking parlour with six automatic milking systems because help was getting scarce and the next generation showed interest. In doing so, they were able to use the area that once held their parlour and holding area for a calf facility.
This summer, the heifer barn at Cranbrook Farms Ltd. in Brussels, Ontario, was getting crowded. Joe and Barb Terpstra decided to use genomics to aid in their culling decisions and also confirm if their breeding program was actually meeting its goals.
The last 80 years have seen great innovations in the field of assisted reproductive technologies, which has rendered farmers and their agricultural businesses more efficient and more profitable.
To make more money on a commercial farm, dairy producers should aim to work with a herd of cows with longevity and have good milk production with the lowest costs possible.
The revolution towards robotic milking of cows in Canada continues unabated. What might once have appeared a luxurious fad to many has become mainstream, with 7 percent of all farms nationwide now using robots to milk cows.
Dairy producers find themselves in a precarious situation these days. Faced with a growing world population, dwindling natural resources and actions guided by the social, ethical and environmental dictates of public opinion, they are under great pressure to produce more with less.
Hear from bovine specialist Reg Clinton, DVM, during the 2016 London Dairy Congress in London, Ontario. He presented a workshop on artificial insemination, offering participants hands-on instruction on the anatomy and physiology of bovine reproduction. Clinton is with the Kirkton Veterinary Professional Corporation in Kirkton, Ontario.
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