As much as dairy producers and their advisers may try to eliminate the risks associated with dairy expansions, it cannot be done. The key to a successful dairy expansion is to anticipate, reduce and control those risks. Developing a strategic business plan can help producers and their advisers accomplish this. Careful planning reduces risk. However, any business plan is only as good as the information used to develop it. It is therefore important to have a systematic approach to evaluating an expansion plan to determine how effectively it has addressed the above issues. The areas to evaluate include:

Take care when constructing concrete walking areas for animals. Concrete serves dairy producers well as a material that is durable and economical. It can conform to irregular places and be given a surface that provides cattle adequate traction. Unfortunately, concrete surfaces often end up being too rough, too slippery, too irregular or too level to provide adequate drainage.

What will the dairy industry in the Southeast look like in 10 years? What will it look like in five years? I don’t pretend to know, but past history suggests the Southeast will continue to lose cow numbers and milk production. If current trends continue for another 10 years, a few people and a handful of cows may be all that is left. Some believe this has already happened in certain regions. I don’t believe this will happen throughout the Southeast, but trends are trends.

Relocating or expanding a dairy facility is a process that requires a tremendous amount of time and planning. Owners or managers of dairies will go through a number of steps including:

When there’s any excuse to visit Hawaii, most people take it. Dairy cattle and herd genetics broker Marty Mickelson used his excuse to visit the island four times one summer.

When I was a little girl, my mother told me stories by the hour. They were wonderful stories that her grandmother had shared with her.

Forages are the foundation of sound, economical and animal-healthy rations. In most situations, home-produced forages are the most economical source of fiber, protein and energy in the dairy ration. A primary role of forages is to provide a source of effective fiber to stimulate chewing and rumination activity.

Milk fever is a disorder affecting about 6 percent of dairy cows each year in the United States. Subclinical milk fever, defined as blood calcium (Ca) concentration falling below 8 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl), occurs in up to 50 percent of older cows during the days immediately following calving. The decline in blood calcium concentration near calving represents a breakdown in the calcium homeostatic mechanisms of the body. Blood Ca in the adult cow is maintained around 8.5 to 10 mg/dl. There are 3 grams Ca in the plasma pool and only 8 to 9 grams Ca in all the extracellular fluids (outside of bone) of a 1,300-pound cow. The fluid within the canaliculi of bone may contain another 6 to 15 grams Ca; the size of this Ca pool being dependent on the acid-base status of the animal (larger during acidosis and smaller during alkalosis).

So often in veterinary medicine, as in other medical fields, we are looking for diagnostic tests to aid in treatment and to prognosticate for various diseases. Both infectious and noninfectious diseases may be diagnosed by detecting the causative agent, clinical signs, pathological changes, biochemical changes or surrogate evidence of past or present exposure to an agent (antibody).

What causes calf scours? As new calves arrive, so does the threat of the common condition known as calf scours or neonatal calf diarrhea.