Dairies that have mastered the art of the transition period have a handful of things in common – and surprisingly, good nutrition is not the only one. Dr. Ken Nordlund from the University of Wisconsin – Madison shared his top five findings for transition cow success during the Minnesota Dairy Health Conference held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 20-22.

I have a confession to make. I love pretty cows. It’s true. They are my guilty pleasure. There is something beautiful and majestic about a cow that stands 65 inches tall at the hip, with her long, lean neck stretched out as she glides around a show ring. Silky, shiny and ultra-dairy, with ribs wide enough to fit a fist between and an out-of-this-world udder glossed up and bagged tight with milk.

University of Wisconsin – Madison Professor and Department of Dairy Science Chair Dr. Kent Weigel believes a trait for improving feed efficiency will be “the next frontier of genetic selection in dairy cattle.” Weigel recently addressed this topic at the Four-State Dairy Nutrition and Management Conference in Dubuque, Iowa, and he is on the docket for the upcoming World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production set for Vancouver in August.

With nearly 90 percent of consumers indicating that animal welfare is a concern, dairy producers must communicate their efforts to uphold the highest standards of care, and an animal welfare audit is one way to achieve this.

Army and Air Force member Dr. Sam Barringer, DVM, has served our country overseas, but on U.S. soil, he is leading a mission to raise healthier calves.

Iowa farm woman and professional speaker Jolene Brown finds humor in just about every situation … even backing the pickup truck into the grain bin. She shared her message at the Vita Plus Calf Summit that laughter is not only the key for finding personal happiness, but also for communicating our agricultural messages.

We often associate the stress of giving birth with how it affects the cow and underestimate the dramatic physiological changes that the calf undergoes, according to Colorado State University’s Dr. Franklyn Garry, DVM, MS. “At birth, the calf faces the biggest challenges it will ever face in its life,” Garry explains.

When it comes to calving, the biggest question is when to intervene, according to Dr. Harry Momont, DVM, University of Wisconsin – Madison. How to intervene runs a close second.