We all want the same things from our dairy cows – high production of quality milk with minimal health problems. During the close-up dry period and the start of lactation, cows go through many changes that present challenges to meeting these goals. The transition period, three weeks prior to and three weeks after calving, is the most sensitive time in the dairy cow lifecycle. During this time, cows freshen, experience nutritional changes and are moved into different pens with different cows, all while producing high volumes of milk.

Editor’s note: The following benchmarks have been compiled using data reported by dairies enrolled in Alta Genetic’s AltaAdvantage program, a progeny testing program. More than 182,500 cows in 175 herds participate in the program nationwide. Brutal fact: Heritability is often misunderstood. Among even some of the A.I. industry’s own people, heritability has been described as the probability that the resulting progeny will inherit a trait. Dairy producers not surprisingly push back on “low heritability traits,” saying things like, “We will make less progress,” or “We won’t make a noticeable difference,” or “It takes so many generations to actually change those traits.” It is worth the time to clear up the confusion.

Mastitis is the No. 1 disease with economic impacts to dairy producers. In fact, there are more than 30 microorganisms known to cause mastitis and seemingly just as many teat dip products. So how do you choose the best product for your dairy operation? The best approach is to choose a teat dip that:

In June 2005, a group of eight women were sitting around a kitchen table planning a fashion show. One woman mentioned a local children’s home where the kids needed undergarments. The woman also found out that the children could only get one glass of milk each day – if they asked for it and if there was enough money in the budget that week.

Sitting in a classroom or studying in his dorm room, 19-year-old Luke Vander misses working outdoors. He frequently longs for a 12-hour workday treating cows on his father’s 700-cow dairy in south-central Michigan. But Luke, a sophomore studying animal science at Michigan State University, also knows attending to his university studies is just as important. “You have the rest of your life to be on the farm,” Vander says. “You’re only going to gain more from going to college.”

The following is a discussion I recently had with Joe Sparrow, a sales representative with Alltech. Joe graduated from Virginia Tech this year. He is currently one of Alltech’s youngest sales representatives and works in Kentucky. PD EDITOR: For those young dairy producers out there that you work with or maybe that were classmates of yours and are now in the industry, what would be your recommendations to help young people prepare to become leaders in the industry?

Accelerated Genetics has strength in all dairy breeds The August 2007 dairy sire summary brings about the last of the four-times-a-year proof releases. The next evaluation release date is in January 2008 and then there will be just three releases per year. The August evaluations show Accelerated Genetics is strong in all breeds and in many areas within each breed – whether you are looking for high NM$, PL, PTAT, UDC or Total Performance sires.

Ponce De Leon was an explorer from the 1500s who discovered Florida. Florida must have been beautiful because the word Florida in Spanish means flowery, but Ponce De Leon was not interested in flowers. He was interested in a legend that told of a fountain of water that flowed freely, giving all who drank of it perpetual youth. Of course tragically, he never found the fountain.

I don’t think of myself as a dairyman, though my first cow was an Ayrshire milk cow complete with long horns. Goldie was her name. My father milked her in the morning and it was my chore to do the evening milking. I was in the third grade when I began. My younger brother’s job was to feed the chickens. His nemesis was a big red rooster named Oscar. Brother would have been 6 years old then, and he was no match for Oscar. So we made a deal. I’d carry a stick and keep Oscar at bay while Brother gathered eggs and scattered chicken feed. This was in trade for him holding Goldie’s tail while I milked. In the warm months, he’d slap my bare back with a wet rag to keep the flies off of me. Mother made butter. I recall we had a small electric churn. Brother No. 3 was born, and Goldie kept our family supplied with dairy products.

The birth of a heifer calf on a dairy operation represents the beginning of the next generation. Most of the time, these calves have the best genetics of all animals in an operation. Unfortunately, the time around birth is when calves are at the greatest risk of dying. In addition, this period is the time dams will frequently experience health problems as well. Difficulty calving, commonly referred to as dystocia, usually increases the risk of problems, including death, for both the calf and dam.