It’s human nature to love a celebration – whether it’s your favorite sports team winning the big game, a party for a long-awaited engagement or a milestone birthday bash. Why should celebrating major successes on your dairy be any different?

Skin can chap due to frequent washing, repeated wetting or exposure to cold, dry or windy weather. Teats are subjected to these processes during every milking. Teat dips with effective emollient packages can rejuvenate dry teats. Skin conditioners come in many varieties.

Monthly test-day somatic cell count (SCC) reports from the Dairy Herd Improvement system have been used for decades to manage bulk tank SCC or decide which cows to cull from the herd.

Although somatic cell counts (SCC) have long been used as an indicator of udder health and milk quality, several common myths and misunderstandings remain. Dr. David Kelton, veterinary epidemiologist and professor at the University of Guelph, dispelled some of those myths at the American Association of Bovine Practitioners 50th Annual Conference, Sept. 14-16, 2017.

“The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” This was the saying on our first show camp T-shirts, and it’s an excellent motto to start off a new dairy cattle show season.

Walt Coleman knows what it takes to lead through hostile environments. As a NFL referee with 26 years of experience, he has had to make decisions and lead with authority even when the coaches, team members and fans disagreed.

Responding appropriately to agricultural emergencies requires a specialized skill set. Evidence suggests the more exposure emergency responders have to agricultural situations, the more comfortable they will become when dealing with safety issues in those environments.

Since my father passed away, I have spent time thinking about heritage and what I am leaving as a legacy for my children. I am not talking about worldly goods. I am referring to memories and things of value. I know it is fun to take out a treasured heirloom and think about the past.

Everyone loves a bargain. No surprise there, but there can be many unpleasant surprises when purchasing equipment at auction. Being “surprised” by your recent barn find is never the object of the buyer’s affection, so let’s take a few minutes to talk about some common ways to reduce the stress or increase the success rate of bidding on that “new to you” piece of equipment.

Balancing work and family life is difficult for anyone, but it can be especially challenging for those who live and work with their family. On a dairy farm, it is easy to get caught up in the pressures of the day-to-day tasks coupled with the other stresses farming can bring and forget about the roles that matter most in our lives.