At the recent Midwest Dairy Day, held Dec. 1, 2017, in Calmar, Iowa, four dairy operations shared strategies, tips and protocols for meeting reproduction goals. Three herds have a pregnancy rate of 33 to 34 percent, while one herd has achieved an outstanding 46 percent.

Editor’s note: This year’s “Dairy Grazing Your Way” panel at the annual GrassWorks Inc. Grazing Conference held in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, featured three operations. Hubert and Suzanne Nelson Karreman of Reverence Farms in Saxapahaw, North Carolina, will be featured in a separate article later this year. Below, learn about grazing practices from the Paul Tillotson and Roman Stoltzfoos.

Ethan and Jade Proksch’s farm is proof grazing dairy goats is possible and feasible. The Proksches have been commercially selling milk from their goat herd for more than six years.

One of the most vulnerable times in a dairy cow’s lactation is also one of the most physically demanding.

What does it take for a cow to become a national milk record-holder?

The criteria for building goat dairies are not well established. Oftentimes, producers take the information they can find and then develop their own design to meet their needs.

More than five years ago, Heller Farms increased their pregnancy rate from 10 to 18 percent by switching from a breeding synchronization program to activity monitoring.

Many of the causes of stray voltage on-farm can be figured out and solved, says Dr. Paul Dettloff of Arcadia, Wisconsin. He says 75 percent of the time, on-farm solutions can be found rather than pursuing lengthy and costly lawsuits. He has observed and studied stray voltage (DC current) over the past five decades.

Just about all dairy producers now know someone with robotics, but at Good-Vue Farms in Goodridge, Minnesota, the Hanson family not only has robotic milkers – a robot mixes the herd’s feed as well.