It’s awalys a good idea to set your sights on milk quality improvements that can help you capture greater return from your milking herd. “There is always room for improvement when it comes to milk quality, and small steps taken today can reap rewards tomorrow through increased production, higher premiums and reduced labor and treatment costs,” says Dr. Bradley Mills, senior veterinarian for Pfizer Animal Health Dairy Veterinary Operations. “In addition, progressing your mastitis management is part of doing what’s best for the health of your cattle and dairy operation.”

Are you thinking about building a new barn or milking center? It may seem like a simple business decision, but those of you who have built a new building or completed a major remodeling project know the process involves making thousands of decisions. Unfortunately, some farm owners assume that people constructing the building or installing the equipment, plumbing, wiring and other parts of the project know what to do and what is wanted. Sometimes the people hired do an excellent job and the owner is extremely happy with their work. However, sometimes the people hired don’t do the job that is wanted and the owner is an unhappy customer with a building that does not work well.

Chaput Family Farms is a partnership between brothers Reg and Mike Chaput in North Troy, Vermont. The farm includes 950 cows, 900 heifers, 1,100 acres of tillable land and an anaerobic digester.

A collaboration between the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy and the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has yielded a new online tool that connects dairy producers to the resources they need to save energy and, in turn, save money on their operations. “This is a great opportunity to show producers how we are using checkoff dollars to join with other organizations and bring information to the table,” says Dan Rice, a dairy producer from Firth, Nebraska.

The University of Minnesota Extension has a quiz on its website. Designed by Dr. Marcia Endres, University of Minnesota dairy management specialist, the quiz titled, How comfortable are your cows?, helps milk producers think about management practices on the dairy farm to improve cow comfort and automatically gives you a score to measure how you are doing.

Many farm managers in Pennsylvania use QuickBooks financial recordkeeping software for their farm business recordkeeping. Of these, several report in conversations with Extension educators that they do not feel that they get the most out of the program, in terms of financial reports and decision making tools. In order to assist farm managers make the most of QuickBooks software as a financial decision making tool, Penn State Extension has planned a two-part workshop series that will be held in several locations throughout Pennsylvania.

DeLaval and Cornell University announced a new development in their continuing partnership to bring innovative, safe and productive solutions to the dairy industry. The Ivy League School will equip its new teaching dairy barn with DeLaval milking equipment and herd management solutions.

FFA chapters across the country partnered with local suppliers to promote responsible use of animal health products – and 23 chapters earned $26,000 in the process. “Pfizer Animal Health and our partners are longtime supporters of the values and education FFA offers,” says Julian Garcia, group marketing director with Pfizer Animal Health. “This contest allowed us to really get to know individual students and chapters. Not only did these chapters earn funds to help support their activities, but these students made deeper connections to the industry that can help them as they become our future leaders.”