, is currently trending as one of the most-read A.I. and Breeding articles. to jump to the article. Summary: University of Idaho’s K. Scott Jensen explains that every person on the dairy responsible for heat detection should follow the same decision-making process every day with every cow. The key to developing a system for getting cows bred is consistency, he says.

To celebrate June Dairy Month, dairy farmers across western Iowa are inviting the public to a family-friendly event at VanEss Dairy near Sanborn, Iowa. The event will include a dairy farm tour, free food and kids’ activities from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 29. The farm is located at 2996 Sorrel Ave (2 miles east of Sanborn on Highway 18, then 2 miles north on Sorrel Ave/CR-L50). The June Dairy Month Celebration is sponsored by the Western Iowa Dairy Alliance and Midwest Dairy Association.

The Semex Alliance is committed to providing a high-quality product to our customers. Part of that dedication is ensuring that each of the 1,600 Semex sires, housed on five separate continents, are cared for in facilities that maximize their production and comfort. At Semex this is part of our Semex Gold Standard, which dictates excellence in all areas of production, ensuring Semex customers receive the highest-quality product available.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a $1.1 million Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) to the Dairy Research Institute (formerly known as Dairy Science Institute, Inc.), an affiliate of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. The funding will support the development of a Dairy Farm Stewardship Toolkit for dairy producers to evaluate their production techniques and identify potential improvements in management practices. These improvements could increase profitability or reduce costs on the farm. “This grant will help take the industry’s heritage of dairy stewardship to a new business level,” said Bob Foster, owner, Foster Brothers Farm in Middlebury, Vermont. “As dairy producers, we know that consumers want products that are not only nutritious and good-tasting, but also environmentally friendly. We have long been committed to stewardship, but have not had a science-based tool to identify and measure practices that reduce costs and environmental impact.”

The members of Cooperatives Working Together reiterated their support for a multi-year program to help boost U.S. dairy exports, and thus help improve the economics of dairy farmers, with the stipulation that the program must be supported by 70% of the nation’s milk supply. At a meeting in Virginia, the farmer-run committee overseeing CWT voted to renew the program for two years, starting in January 2012 and running through December 2013 – once a 70% level participation level can be reached. Current membership pledges amount to 68% of the milk supply.

The byproduct of industry: One thing that has made America great through the years is our abundance of natural resources. Many of these raw materials are buried deep underground. So there are logistical issues with bringing the resources to the surface and then transporting them through the refining processes. One solution to moving material is the development of conveyor systems. The main component of these conveyors is the long, long pieces of rubber that the material rides on. Of course, we know this as conveyor belting. There are miles and miles of this rubber belting throughout our country. And just like with any wear part, it eventually has to get replaced.