https://www.agproud.com/rss en-us With the VAS Platform now available in the U.S., there may be a few questions on how to access data. Two topics which have to do with accessing your data will be covered in this tip: how to access your herd’s dashboard and how to grant access to your herd data to others. http://www.agproud.com/articles/30697 Thu, 16 Aug 2018 17:48:47 -0400 https://www.agproud.com/articles/30697-vas-tips-dashboard-and-access-to-the-vas-platform This VAS DairyComp tip is on Breeding Quick Pick Sires. This is a new feature available in DairyComp that will increase accuracy and speed of entering breeding information using the Pocket CowCard (PCC) cow-side. http://www.agproud.com/articles/31081 Thu, 12 Apr 2018 22:16:02 -0400 https://www.agproud.com/articles/31081-vas-dc305-how-to-set-up-and-use-the-breeding-quick-pick-sires-list This month’s VAS tip is on feed management. Feed accounts for more than 50 percent of the cost of milk production – even the slightest variation in the process can swing milk production if inconsistencies and inefficiencies are not addressed. http://www.agproud.com/articles/31350 Tue, 16 Jan 2018 19:55:12 -0500 https://www.agproud.com/articles/31350-vas-dc305-avoid-feed-mixing-pitfalls This month’s VAS DC305 tip is on parlor performance. Using the parlor performance reports in DC305 can help you take advantage of the benefits of daily milk meters, plus look for cows that fail to produce the expected amount of milk. This data will help you: http://www.agproud.com/articles/31466 Thu, 30 Nov 2017 19:50:22 -0500 https://www.agproud.com/articles/31466-vas-dc305-monitor-parlor-performance This month’s VAS DC305 tip is on how somatic cell count can affect production. Everyone is conscious of what their bulk tank somatic cell count is because in many cases, it affects the milk check received. But somatic cell counts also affect the level of production that an animal will have, which also affects the milk check but not in an as-obvious way. http://www.agproud.com/articles/31578 Mon, 30 Oct 2017 17:02:52 -0400 https://www.agproud.com/articles/31578-vas-dc305-somatic-cell-count-and-log-linear-scores Lameness can be the most costly disease on dairies, even more so than mastitis. This is due to the high incidence of lameness on dairies. It is not uncommon to find 30 percent yearly incidence or higher on dairies, yet lameness is one of the least entered and tracked diseases. http://www.agproud.com/articles/27805 Thu, 24 Aug 2017 21:45:13 -0400 https://www.agproud.com/articles/27805-vas-dc305-determine-lameness-causes-through-data-entry This month’s VAS DC305 tip of the month is on heat stress. We are entering into that time of year where heat abatement is extremely important. Cows that suffer from heat stress will produce less milk, conceive less often, stand longer and become lame, eat less, have smaller calves and are more susceptible to diseases. http://www.agproud.com/articles/27965 Wed, 05 Jul 2017 18:39:51 -0400 https://www.agproud.com/articles/27965-vas-dc305-how-to-monitor-heat-stress This month’s VAS DC305 tip of the month is on replacement management. On many dairies, improvement in replacement management offers significant opportunity for economic gains. http://www.agproud.com/articles/28143 Wed, 17 May 2017 21:14:39 -0400 https://www.agproud.com/articles/28143-vas-dc305-track-replacement-heifer-growth This month’s VAS DC305 tip of the month is on reproduction. Reproduction is one of the most important areas on a dairy and can decide the level of success a dairy has. It not only provides the replacements and next generation of superior genetics, but also affects the cash flow on the dairy. http://www.agproud.com/articles/18866 Mon, 27 Mar 2017 19:31:50 -0400 https://www.agproud.com/articles/18866-vas-dc305-how-is-your-reproduction-program-going This month’s VAS DC305 tip is on transition. How well animals transition will greatly affect how they will do in their next lactation. Poor transition will not only affect the production of the animal for the next lactation, but will also affect reproduction, somatic cell count and lifetime in the herd. All are very important and lead to lost income. http://www.agproud.com/articles/18954 Thu, 23 Feb 2017 19:09:37 -0500 https://www.agproud.com/articles/18954-vas-dc305-tip-data-that-help-with-smooth-transition-periods This month’s VAS DC305 tip is on clinical mastitis. Clinical mastitis is a very costly disease. Although poor milk procedures, dirty environments and faulty equipment can predispose cows, most mastitis is caused by an infectious agent. Treatment of mastitis (MAST event in DC305) caused by certain bacteria is not improved by antibiotic therapy, so not treating those cows will decrease antibiotic use, decrease hospital days and decrease milk withheld from sale. http://www.agproud.com/articles/19060 Sat, 28 Jan 2017 00:08:59 -0500 https://www.agproud.com/articles/19060-vas-dc305-hone-in-on-how-clinical-mastitis-is-impacting-your-herd This month’s VAS DC305 tip is on parlor performance. Using the parlor performance reports in DC305 helps you take advantage of many of the benefits of daily milk meters plus look for cows that fail to produce the expected amount of milk. http://www.agproud.com/articles/19150 Tue, 27 Dec 2016 19:29:20 -0500 https://www.agproud.com/articles/19150-vas-dc305-improve-parlor-efficiency-and-performance Lameness can be the most costly disease on dairies, even more so than mastitis. This is due to the high incidence of lameness on dairies. It is not uncommon to find 30 percent yearly incidence or higher on dairies. Yet lameness is one of the least entered and tracked disease. http://www.agproud.com/articles/28262 Wed, 26 Oct 2016 21:12:03 -0400 https://www.agproud.com/articles/28262-vas-dc305-tip-of-the-month-lameness-manager This month’s VAS DC305 tip is a tool that can help you achieve the ultimate goal on every dairy, to preserve food quality. http://www.agproud.com/articles/28594 Thu, 28 Jul 2016 17:40:11 -0400 https://www.agproud.com/articles/28594-vas-dc305-tip-of-the-month-protocols This month’s VAS DC305 tip is a module that estimates the value of each cow in the herd relative to an average fresh heifer. http://www.agproud.com/articles/28666 Thu, 07 Jul 2016 16:24:40 -0400 https://www.agproud.com/articles/28666-vas-dc305-tip-of-the-month-cowval This month’s tip is a continuation of last month’s tip. Last month, we looked at preg risk, and this month, we are looking at conception risk. Both are tools that can help you examine the effectiveness of your breeding program. http://www.agproud.com/articles/19906 Fri, 20 May 2016 22:08:56 -0400 https://www.agproud.com/articles/19906-vas-dc305-tip-of-the-month-bredsum-part-2 This month’s VAS DC305 tip is a tool that can help you examine the effectiveness of your breeding program: BREDSUM. http://www.agproud.com/articles/19988 Mon, 25 Apr 2016 21:38:15 -0400 https://www.agproud.com/articles/19988-vas-dc305-tip-of-the-month-bredsum This month’s VAS DC305 tip is a tool that can help you track events and when they are happening by month, month of freshening and days in milk (DIM). You can also use it to analyze calf sex, calf mortality and twinning. http://www.agproud.com/articles/20075 Mon, 28 Mar 2016 20:01:28 -0400 https://www.agproud.com/articles/20075-vas-dc305-tip-of-the-month-events This month’s VAS DC305 tip is a tool you can use to help monitor protocol compliance and analyze disease incidence and reproduction. http://www.agproud.com/articles/20255 Mon, 08 Feb 2016 21:01:09 -0500 https://www.agproud.com/articles/20255-vas-dc305-tip-of-the-month-egraph I am happy to now be providing a VAS DC305 tip each month. It will usually be something more advanced in DC305 that is beneficial for monitoring and managing your dairy herd, but not necessarily something everyone may be familiar with. http://www.agproud.com/articles/25253 Fri, 22 Jan 2016 21:45:22 -0500 https://www.agproud.com/articles/25253-vas-dc305-tip-of-the-month-guide