The USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) authorized the sale of Dairy Revenue Protection (Dairy-RP) insurance policies, effective Oct. 9. Insurance coverage for the first quarter of 2019 (and four quarters thereafter) can be purchased until about Dec. 14, 2018.

 ANIMAL HEALTH Semex’s Elevate program delivers female Immunity+ test

Ten years ago, I made the three-hour trek to State College, Pennsylvania, to begin my college career. I was pretty sure I was armed with everything I’d need: photos of my family and friends, appropriately sized sheets, a little dry-erase board and a shower caddy. I was completely prepared, or so I thought.

We all know the familiar lyrics and beloved tune of Old MacDonald; it is perhaps the most iconic song about farming. But Land O’Lakes has taken the nostalgic classic to a new level by rewriting the lyrics to highlight the importance of female farmers.

Digest Highlights Wisconsin’s ‘cow of the year’ to be honored at World Dairy Expo January-August dairy cow slaughter tops 2 million head California entry into FMMO system enters final stages Borden delivers 45,000 milk servings for Hurricane Florence CMPB jumping at chance to reward kids ‘Quality Chekd’ dairy award finalists named PMMB extends over-order premium at 75 cents Cheese, butter inventories see slight drawdown FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative seeks more tariff-related support LGM-Dairy policies on sale Sept. 28

To improve cow comfort, health and milk production in the following lactation, dry cow management needs to include truly short day length as well as effective heat stress prevention. Done right, this approach allows cows and heifers to more fully express their genetic capacity to produce milk.

Calf diarrhea is a costly, but common problem on today’s dairies. In fact, according to the 2014 NAHMS data, diarrhea was responsible for 56 percent of pre-weaned heifer deaths. In addition, recent research shows that even when calves overcome this disease challenge, there are still negative consequences in the form of reduced first-lactation milk production and increased age at first calving. Thus, preventing diarrhea is essential to raising healthy calves.

Minimizing heifer-raising costs without sacrificing heifer quality can be a challenge for many dairies. To help shed some light on this, Matt Akins, assistant scientist at the University of Wisconsin, spoke at the 2018 Vita Plus Calf Summit on some opportunities he sees in current heifer-raising practices.

The 2018 corn harvest is fast approaching in the U.S., but like the growing season itself, it’s at the mercy of Mother Nature. Even in America’s heartland, the effects of hurricanes and flooding can take their toll, producing heavy rains that could delay harvest and force farmers to keep their silage corn in the field for a longer period of time.

Typically, when the topic of heat stress comes up, northern New York is not the first region that pops into most people’s minds. Although it is true we do not tend to suffer from prolonged, extreme heat here in the north country, it is also true that it does not take much heat for high-producing dairy cows to begin experiencing the physiological distress that can ultimately lead to compromised production, immune function and reproduction.