As the general public outcries against applying manure products via irrigation methods grew louder, a unique work group formed to review related issues, discuss the technical details and develop guidance on the practice that is also growing in interest among dairy producers.

A first-of-its-kind field study was recently completed to estimate the risk of acute gastrointestinal illness from airborne pathogens during manure irrigation and to identify the other variables, such as distance and weather conditions that affect airborne pathogen transport. It coincided with a larger effort, known as the Manure Irrigation Workgroup, to explore benefits, concerns and remaining questions associated with manure irrigation.

In 2000, the first automatic milking system was installed in the U.S. Slow, then rapid, growth had robots popping up across the Midwest and Northeast; however, the technology wasn’t moving West – until now.

With more than 40 years of experience as a veterinarian, Dr. Russ Weston has been involved in improving milk quality issues on a number of farms. He spoke earlier this year at the Illinois Dairy Summit and outlined seven steps to treat and reduce the spread of mastitis.

At the Illinois Dairy Summit, held earlier this year, a local dairy producer discussed milk quality and how he addresses it in his day-to-day farm operations. He gave several tips on what he does to reduce somatic cell counts and the incidence of mastitis.

It has been 20 years since the Ovsynch program was released to the industry. Since then, a lot has been learned about improving fertility, and 21-day pregnancy rates have increased from 14 percent to more than 30 percent.