A calf’s digestive system is a battleground between good and bad bacteria. Nutritional additives can bolster good bacteria or diminish bad bacteria to improve gut health, leading to efficient nutrient digestion.

From a recent print issue, the article, “Recreation, rehabilitation at Duncan Dairy Farm and Corn Maze” features a unique experience a group of veterans had visiting a Pennsylvania dairy farm and corn maze. The group learned about the milking process, fed baby calves and cheered each other on in various friendly competitions.

Recreating at a corn maze and exploring a dairy farm could be looked upon as juvenile, boring, even lame to veterans who have seen the horrors of war. But when my Pennsylvania farmer friends, the Duncans, invited “my” veterans from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center to their farm and corn maze, I saw it as a gift.

Have you ever wondered how valuable feeding a high-quality feed was on calf performance and the impact on your cost of production? We assembled a controlled research study to address this practical topic that was recently published in the Journal of Dairy Science.

More than 200 dairy farmers from 21 countries spent four days traveling to dairies in Minnesota and Wisconsin as part of the ABS Global Experience tour. The event provided a full-circle view of the making of elite genetics, from selection all the way through to semen collection. View the slideshow below.

Talking with Midge Chambers provides the opportunity for a lesson in the history of dairy processing from the female perspective. Chambers spent her entire working career in the dairy industry.

From stud to straw, and all the way to the milking string, a recent Midwestern bus tour showcased each step of the process of creating elite genetics.

It’s a love of animals that drive most into the veterinary field, followed by years of hard work and training.

The new Dairy Revenue Protection (Dairy-RP) program was designed to provide simpler, more comprehensive risk management opportunities for dairies of any size. This new revenue-based insurance program offers several choices that allow farmers to create a more predictable and sustainable revenue stream. 

September 2018’s Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy) calculations indicate margins improved somewhat, thanks to a combination of a slightly higher U.S. average milk price and lower soybean meal price, which offset higher prices for corn and alfalfa hay. There will be no MPP-Dairy payments at any level for the month.