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CAFOweb
By Glorieta Geoscience
California dairyman Brian Medeiros won’t be keeping his subscription to CAFOweb, Internet-based software for nutrient forecasting and tracking offered by New Mexico-based Glorieta Geoscience, after test-driving it for more than a year for free. However, he says the new program remains on his radar for future use.
It’s great to come up with an idea, but it’s useless unless the ideas get implemented into reality.
In the past five years, the thing that has surprised me the most is the low rate of implementation that I see on the most successful/competent farms.
How do 6,000 cows beat the heat during Florida’s dog days of summer?
“We live and die by our fans and sprinklers and making sure they are operating correctly,” says Jan Henderson, who left the financial industry to become chief financial officer and the next generation working into the partnership with her father, Ron St. John, at Alliance Dairies in Trenton, Florida.
For two Wisconsin dairies, well-designed maternity pens are leading to better outcomes for both cows and calves.
In the past few years, Wayside Dairy and J&J Pickart Dairy have each made improvements to their transition cow facilities to accommodate just-in-time calving.
The Northeast is considered an ideal climate for dairying. Access to water, seasonal temperatures and a relatively close proximity to the marketplace all provide plenty of opportunity for dairies to thrive in this region.
When working with dairy farms, it is a well-known fact no two systems are the same. Large variation in management, facilities, time budgets and attitudes can impact many parts of the business, including cow comfort.
When milk prices are high, it sure is tempting to overstock lactating pens in hopes of capturing a few more dollars at the end of the day. But how many cows can you pack in a pen before it affects profitability?
During a busy routine schedule at a dairy farm, calves can be easily overlooked, and that is the biggest mistake a farmer can make. The future performance of a heifer is well-linked with her performance during the preweaning period, and being negligent during this period will translate into a less productive and profitable cow.
A modern lactating dairy cow produces a high level of metabolic heat because of her high dry matter (DM) intake, efficient rumen fermentation and prolific milk yield. She is, in effect, a fine-tuned bovine athlete with a daily energy turnover up to four times greater than maintenance level.
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