Care for animals to ensure their health and your success
Aug. 15 2023
Two years ago, an antibiotic saved my life
May 25 2023
Even before heat stress affects people, dairy cattle around the globe feel the negative impacts during hot weather seasons much sooner
Jan. 10 2023
About 10% of U.S. dairy cattle were infected with the bovine leukemia virus (BLV) in the 1960s and 1970s. Now, about a third of our nation’s beef cattle and almost half of our dairy cattle are infec
Dec. 28 2022
In each of the last two years, we have had an early winter “outbreak” of what looks like pinkeye in our bred heifers. They are housed indoors, and there are no flies around at that time of...
Nov. 21 2022
Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infects approximately half of all dairy and beef cattle in North America. Herd owners and managers may wonder whether it is a disease they should fight, and if so, is it a
Jan. 5 2022
deciding when and how a dairy cow departs the farm is different on every operation
Oct. 1 2021
Bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis, or bovine TB) has long been recognized to transmit between cattle and from cattle or cattle products to humans
Sept. 23 2021
Compared to our beloved dairy cows, I rarely give compliments to the other large animals — the equines — that our vet team commonly encounters in our daily travels
May 10 2021
Heat stress reduces intake and milk yield in lactating cows, and it is now clear that heat stress in the dry period dramatically affects the performance of cows in the subsequent lactation, too
Dec. 30 2020
While digital dermatitis tends to garner the headlines when it comes to hoof health, sole ulcers remain a real concern
Nov. 13 2020
For years, people working with dairy cows have called the drop in calcium around calving milk fever. Ironically, milk fever, also known as hypocalcemia, does not cause a fever at all
Aug. 3 2020
Chromium is a relatively “new” mineral for dairy cows
April 10 2020
Researchers have demonstrated that controlling energy intake prepartum, specifically by targeting nutrient consumption to maintain a consistent body condition, may reduce the subsequent risk of ketosis
March 10 2019
Dairy farmers know that each breed has unique characteristics; some are beneficial while others are challenging. For example, the Jersey cow is known for being more susceptible to milk fever
Oct. 25 2018
What do you consider a successful transition for a dairy cow? Is success measured by the absence of disease? A cow’s ability to ramp up milk production? Breeding back with relative ease?
Oct. 25 2018
Do you know how much lameness is costing your farm? Some of the expenses associated with lameness are obvious, like the cost of treatment
Oct. 25 2018
Heat stress poses significant problems for the lactating cow. The extra heat produced due to greater feed consumption and metabolism makes it difficult for a cow to maintain normal body temperature
Sept. 25 2018
I’ve recently read Charles Dickens’ last novel, Our Mutual Friend, published in 1865. It opens with a section titled, “The cup and the lip.”
Aug. 25 2018
The prevalence of bovine leukemia virus (BLV) in U.S. dairy cattle was about 10 percent in the 1970s. Since then, that number has slowly climbed to approximately 45 percent of all dairy cattle infected
July 15 2018
It is generally agreed that a freestall pen of cows should have adequate feedbunk or manger space (one lockup or sufficient rail), generous water trough access, and a bed for each cow