“The organic industry continues to grow,” said Lisa Engelbert, dairy farmer and NOFA-NY certified organic dairy team leader. “There is still a shortage of organic milk nationwide.” Organic milk markets are stable, without the pricing fluctuation on the conventional market, making it “so much easier for budgeting and planning purposes,” she added, addressing farmers at the NOFA-NY Organic Dairy and Field Crop Conference last March.

“Calf health is built on colostrum, nutrition, environment and calf health maintenance,” Dr. Sheila M. McGuirk, DVM, University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, said. “Depending on the farm, one may be more important than another.” (Figure 1)

Dairy farmer Kip Law of Sherburne, New York, has experienced some impressive changes after transitioning from an old tiestall facility into a new freestall barn. While this meant adjusting his management practices, the positive effects on herd health and productivity were almost immediate.

Freestall barn design really does matter. If anyone has doubts, dairyman Russ Kelly of Glenvue Farms in Fultonville, New York, can help clarify the results of moving his cows into a freestall facility designed with their needs in mind.

Heat stress not only reduces milk production, it causes physiological changes with impacts that can remain long after the actual heat event has passed, such as aborted pregnancies and maternal death, not to mention declines in milk productivity that may never be regained.

Medeiros and Son Dairy used to pay more than $20,000 each month to provide electricity to their 2,450-cow dairy, but now a 1.1-megawatt solar array installation is providing 80 percent of their electrical needs.

The Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD), a part of the Animal Drug Availability Act of 1996 (ADAA), has been amended by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in order to better regulate how antibiotics deemed medically important for human use are utilized in livestock.

Climate change is real. It has happened, it is happening, and it will continue to happen. It is impacted by agricultural practices, and it impacts agricultural practices.

From breeding and nutrition to manure management and education, efforts are underway to keep agriculture on the forefront of climate change solutions.

Climate change means more heat stress. Dairy herds under heat stress mean less milk production, more illness, less dry matter intake, decreased fertility, increased embryonic loss and poor growth.