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On the dairy, the ability to get cows pregnant is the pivot point of profitability. Herds with sound reproduction programs are able to capture opportunities for milk production and genetic progress, while those that struggle to get cows bred back in a timely manner face the costly consequences of longer days open, increased breeding and replacement costs, and risk of reproduction-related culling.
Jarrod Kollwelter has exceeded a rolling herd average of 40,000 pounds – one of the highest in the nation. Yet, the young and ambitious dairyman is striving for more milk, and he strongly believes that genetics is the golden ticket to taking his herd to the next level.
Advancing Dairy Cattle Genetics: Genomics and Beyond is the theme for an upcoming conference that will address the future of genetic selection, research and application. The three-day event will be held Feb. 17-19 in Phoenix, Arizona. Leading scientists, industry experts and dairy producers are on the agenda as speakers and panelists.
Dr. Frank Mitloehner, University of California – Davis, delivered the message at the Vita Plus Dairy Summit that there are opportunities to dramatically reduce the environmental impact of livestock while supplying a growing world population with the meat and milk they crave.
Reproduction research discussed at DCRC’s
annual meeting
Nearly 275 people gathered for the eighth annual meeting of the Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council (DCRC), held in Indianapolis, Indiana, Nov. 7-8.
In November, Jeremy Natzke of Wayside Dairy LLC in Wayside, Wisconsin, and Doug Block of Hunter Haven Farms, Inc. in Pearl City, Illinois, were panelists for a seminar titled “Feeding the 40,000-Pound Cow” at the PDPW Feed and Nutrition Conference. The two dairymen compared notes on how they have exceeded 90-pound-per-day averages and how they believe they will capture the next 10 pounds of milk.
From coast to coast, the dairy community is bound together by a common thread of generosity that transcends differing production styles, political views and geographical boundaries.
For dairy farmers, answering the calling to help others is not simply an act of due diligence – it is second nature.
Two dairy producers talked about how they use activity and rumination data captured from their monitoring systems to better manage reproduction, as well as overall herd health, in a panel discussion led by the University of Wisconsin – Madison’s Paul Fricke during the PDPW Herdsperson Conference held last week in Appleton and Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.
Breeze through December bull proofs with a handy web tool from Accelerated Genetics that allows you to search sires from all studs and create a customized list based on your selected criteria.
