‘Are they big enough?’: Monitoring dairy heifer growth and development

Adriana Toste for Progressive Dairy

Just as more is less, bigger is not always better when it comes to the growth and development of dairy heifers. The nature and growth of dairy cattle has vastly changed from decade to decade, and as traits have been genomically bred out of cattle, often the idea of “bigger equals better,” has become a misjudged trend.

During a Dairy Heifer Growth and Development webinar hosted by Penn State, Jud Heinriches (professor of dairy nutrition at Penn State), Cassie Yost (an extension educator in Franklin County, Pennsylvania) and Carly Becker (an extension educator in Franklin County, Pennsylvania) discussed the proper growth rates for dairy heifers using data correlating to future milk yields, as well as different measurement tools and scoring systems to help farmers keep track of this development.

Create your own customized heifer growth chart.

Weekly Digest: Reimbursement for ‘Class I mover’ losses urged

Back in the pool: Positive PPDs return with Class III milk (for now)

USDA adjusts 2021-22 milk production outlooks, cuts price projections

Why Fly Control on Dairy Farms is a Smart Investment

Do calves need a heat stress chart?

Zach Janssen for Progressive Dairy

Heat stress is a crucial concern when it comes to lactating dairy cattle, both from a welfare and economic standpoint on our dairy farms. Much research has been conducted to elucidate the effects of heat stress on lactating cows and to develop effective heat abatement strategies.

Many of you will be familiar with a color-coded chart that combines the factors of ambient temperature and relative humidity (RH) to determine levels (mild, moderate, severe, fatal) of heat stress a cow may experience. Knowing the conditions allows for initiation of heat stress alleviation measures for cows. Is it time for calves to have a similar temperature-humidity index (THI) chart just for them?

Track heat stress for better calf develpement.

HERd Management: Build a repro program that is better for your cows and your employees

Summer is the perfect time to work with your team to set a strong fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI) plan that works for your herd.

Read more.

Seven tips to troubleshoot A.I. technician performance

Anibal Ballarotti for Progressive Dairy

Training and working with many A.I. technicians – both herdsmen, inseminators and professional inseminators – reveals common mistakes that should be avoided. The following are seven points that can make or break insemination results.

We need to be sure the cow to be bred is truly in heat. Literature indicates as high as 20% of cows bred are not actually in heat. Research also shows that a skilled A.I. technician can achieve 65% to 75% heat detection efficiency. Failure to accurately detect cows in heat is the most common and expensive problem of A.I. programs. Further, research indicates heat detection efficiency can be lower than 50% in many herds. When working with cows of uncertain status, a good breeder will check the current and previous information about the animal’s history, as well as check for secondary signs of heat. To make a final breeding decision, it is also helpful to perform a transrectal palpation of the cow, looking for presence of mucus and uterine tone.

Improve reproductive efficiency by taking extra care during all A.I. steps.

How you can help safeguard the future of animal agriculture

We always need more voices to join the conversation. Here are just a few examples of the great work being done and how you can get more involved in these efforts.

Learn more.

Minimize nutrient loss by making manure applications count

Progressive Dairy Editor Karen Lee

Manure contains essential nutrients for forage crop growth. How and when it is applied will impact its use by alfalfa, grass and corn silage crops.

At a virtual symposium hosted by the Midwest Forage Association, Wisconsin Custom Operators and Professional Nutrient Applicators Association of Wisconsin earlier this year, Quirine Ketterings shared the basics of manure nutrients and the results from five projects conducted in New York to see how to get the most value out of manure. Ketterings leads the Cornell Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP), which aids in the development and implementation of agronomic and environmentally sound nutrient management practices at dairy and other livestock farms and cash grain operations.

5 ways to optimize the value of manure