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Age: 41
Location: Twin Falls, Idaho
History of your dairy, in a nutshell: My family started dairying in 1984 in Jerome, Idaho, milking 80 cows. My step-dad, John Reitsma, built a dairy empire over the next 20 years and owned four dairies, expanding the herd to 10,000 cows.
Successful management of cows through transition is a hot topic among both producers and researchers. Producers know smooth transition means making sure to cover the basics. With the basics covered, the next step is to optimize nutrition.
Nutritional management of cows through transition must start during lactation. It requires a good reproduction program and a nutrition plan to manage body condition gain through late lactation.
How often do you or your dairy employees stop treatment because a cow looks better? If your herd manager or person responsible for administering treatment doesn’t show up to work, do your health records provide enough information for someone to pick up where they left off?
This article was #21 of the Top 25 most well-read articles on www.progressivedairy.com in 2014. It was published in the March 12, 2014 print issue.
Research from Dr. Nigel Cook and the Food Animal Production Medicine Group at the University of Wisconsin – Madison provides strong support for sand as the top choice for cow comfort and reduced lameness among dairy herds.
The easy answer to this question is yes, but the deeper question is: How much improvement are you making, and could you be making more?
For the vast majority of producers, improving the genetics of offspring starts with the selection of A.I. service sires. On the sire side, decisions have to be made about which traits to select for, what minimum or maximum values you wish to consider and how much you wish to spend on a unit of semen.
Taking a few minutes to calculate heat stress losses and their impact on your dairy’s bottom line can help you strategize for better heat abatement, which could mean more milk, improved fertility and even healthier calves.
I have been in New York for nearly two months. The bulk of my work includes meeting landowners and evaluating their performance at meeting water quality standards. These are called annual status reviews.
One in particular is memorable. The landowner is just a few years older than me. He is the middle generation of three. His father is now home from an extended hospital stay – and being home includes a daily visit with a nurse.
This article was #12 of the Top 25 most well-read articles on www.progressivedairy.com in 2014. It was published in the March 12, 2014 Extra e-newsletter, then May 7, 2014 print issue.
Three seasoned calf managers – Katie Grinstead, Vir-Clar Farms LLC; Sherry Arnold, Busse’s Barron Acres; and Bernie Tellier, Soaring Eagle Dairy – shared their best calf-raising practices as well as lessons they’ve learned the hard way at the PDPW Calf Care Connection in Cleveland, Wisconsin.
This article was #9 of the Top 25 most well-read articles on www.progressivedairy.com in 2014. It was published in the March 12, 2014 Extra e-newsletter.
Dr. Ken Nordlund shared the importance of positive-pressure ventilation systems and provided practical advice to keep in mind when designing a system. He estimated several thousand barns have been retrofitted with positive-pressure pressure tubes over the last few years in order to disperse fresh air in places where natural ventilation fails to reach.
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