This session explores current market trends and key considerations when evaluating insurance coverage options.

When Chace Fullmer was handed the reins of a 1,000-cow dairy at the age of 20, he was excited to build a life as a dairy farmer. Almost 20 years later, Fullmer has added 1,500 cows, built a new rotary parlor and maternity facility, improved the genetic value of his herd through genomic testing and adjusted his approach to dairy farming.

Which traits make an efficient dairy cow? To answer that question, it is useful to carefully think about what a very efficient dairy cow looks like. One definition of an efficient dairy cow is cow that maximizes milk production while maintaining good health and fertility, thereby optimizing profitability for the producer.  

The best robot cows combine four factors – milk production, milkability, milking speed and trips to the robot. Each of these factors can be measured, and the measurements can be combined to rank the best robot cows.

By pairing management practices with innovations in genomic testing, producers can stock their herds with the right animals that have the potential to be high producers of milk, fat and protein; have less risk for mastitis; require a reduced need for antibiotic use; produce more salable milk; and possess greater potential for improved herd profitability.

One hundred miles north of Los Angeles, almond trees bloom, the sun shines and a Holstein cow leisurely walks back to her dry lot pen after her second of three milkings. She’s a member of Vanden Berge Dairy’s herd of Holsteins and is a product of an impressive genetic strategy.