There they stood out on the loading dock at the back of the administration building. Huddled behind a dumpster to protect themselves from the biting wind, they shivered, occasionally glancing over their shoulders at the solid metal door.

Per-cow production and culling activity will most likely determine if Idaho surpasses the nation’s current No. 3 milk-producing state, New York, by the end of the year.

Vic Robinson’s dairy, just outside of Richfield, Idaho, is reminiscent of the small, family dairies that were once the staple of Idaho’s dairy industry. It isn’t much to look at, and it lacks a lot of the modern equipment found in today’s high-tech operations; however, Robinson wouldn’t have it any other way. “Are you sure I can’t talk you into taking a goose or two?” he says of the 50 or so who honk loudly while waddling out to the nearby field. An array of different animals grace the little dairy; along with the cows, the geese and some horses, a mismatched menagerie of chickens make their home around the barn, and an old farm cat can be seen scurrying by, hoping to score a field mouse or two.

After my stories earlier this year about my dad shooting that stray dog and about him losing 10 heifers to lightning, he’s asked me to stop writing about him (or at least write something good.) Unfortunately, I can’t do either. I do know that he took a few days off to go to World Dairy Expo this year. That usually guarantees he’ll start seeing smoke signals for help about the time he gets to his hotel.

Despite a general appreciation that a clean, dry, comfortable place to lie down for dairy cows is associated with improved milk production and health, there is reluctance by farmers to remodel existing facilities to achieve this goal. It is very easy to understand why. Industry recommendations for stall design have not been consistent, with much debate among consultants over appropriate dimensions and size over the last few years. Also, the construction of partial budgets has been hampered by a lack of knowledge of the potential financial benefits that might accrue from stall improvements, when compared with quite substantial costs that have been relatively easy to measure.

High-producing dairy cows are most susceptible to metabolic diseases during the periparturient period. During the first few days of lactation, milk production increases more rapidly than dry matter intake (DMI). Maintaining high DMI is essential to attain optimal milk production. The prepartum diet, body condition score, and environmental and managerial conditions affect DMI. Postpartum disease events have an even greater impact on DMI. Objectives of this study were to determine the effect of adverse health events on DMI, milk production, bodyweight, reproductive indices and mature equivalent (ME) production of dairy cows.

Have you seen the movie The Phoenix? A group of adventurers crashed a big twin-engine airplane in the Sahara Desert. Over a period of weeks they rigged together a single-engine plane out of the pieces and flew off to a happy ending.

One of the predominant themes of many of my columns has been the relationship between art and science. The discussion is a perennial one. And there are as many answers as there are questions.

Who knew manure had so many uses? From energy production to bedding for stalls, there seems to be no limit for the usefulness of byproducts from dairy cow manure. Researchers at Michigan State University are developing yet another use for manure – construction material. Laurent Matuana, associate professor, and M. Charles Gould, extension educator of nutrient management, are working to develop medium density fiberboards (MDF) and wood-plastic composites (WPCs) made from the dried manure fibers from anaerobic digesters.

There are several different diseases that can cause diarrhea and fever in cows and calves.