A long-standing tool for predicting the milk production performance of dairy cattle daughters will be “modernized” to make it more user-friendly and reflective of contemporary knowledge about feed efficiency. During Lactanet’s recent open industry session, Chief Services Office Brian Van Doormaal gave a presentation entitled “Modernizing LPI (Lifetime Performance Index)” and later said he had […] Read more
Lactanet embarks on LPI modernization process
Predictive production index has become cumbersome, complicated
Expanding knowledge about cover cropping effects
Tour hosted by Soils@Guelph puts current research efforts on display
Cover crops’ effects on water runoff and greenhouse gas emissions were among projects seen by visitors to the University of Guelph’s Soils@Guelph research plots. Why it matters: Soils@Guelph has been building its profile and works with innovative farmers interested in hosting on-farm trials or providing feedback about research priorities. In late September, the Soils@Guelph team […] Read more
Mycotoxin risk elevated due to wet growing season
Livestock producers need to be vigilant, says ministry, nutritionist
As wet weather continues to delay fall harvest on Ontario farms, livestock producers and their nutrition advisors are watching for signs of elevated mycotoxins in their feed. Results from the 2023 Corn Ear Mould survey from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs confirm there’s cause for concern. Why it matters: Elevated mycotoxins […] Read more
Methane breeding tool’s developers look to long-term adoption
Uptake has been slow among producers, but the discussion on methane efficiency has begun
Uptake by Canadian dairy producers of a new breeding tool aimed at decreasing their herd’s methane emissions hasn’t been overwhelming, representatives of Semex Alliance admitted recently. However, given the potential long-term interest, neither Semex nor the organization with which it partnered on developing the tool is concerned. Why it matters: The Canadian dairy sector’s commitments […] Read more
A Canadian option for managing dairy data
A new herd health record-keeping app will join CATTLEytics ‘Moo To Do’
CATTLEytics is creating a dairy data software program designed to streamline barn management regardless of operation size. Data is generated to various degrees on many farms, ostensibly to help farmers make decisions. However, the journey to those answers often needs clarification. Why it matters: Data from sensors is becoming more available to many Ontario dairy […] Read more
Monitoring enteric methane emissions on pasture
University of Guelph investigating link between feed efficiency and enteric methane
Feeding canola oil to beef cows could be one way to reduce their enteric methane emissions and increase feed efficiency. University of Guelph researchers adopted unique technology to investigate the link between feed efficiency and enteric methane emissions. Feed-efficient cattle reduce farmer costs, and lower enteric methane can help with greenhouse gas emission issues, creating […] Read more
Ontario company launches facial recognition for barns
The system will prevent entry by workers or suppliers who shouldn’t be in the barn
An award-winning Canadian tech start-up that enables livestock producers to protect against entry by disease-risky vehicles has launched a new service to do the same for human visitors. Protocol is billed by Guelph-based Farm Health Guardian as a “system us(ing) facial recognition technology to proactively control livestock and poultry barn entry points, enabling farm managers […] Read more
Demonstration site brings field-scale testing to research
For first time, Discovery Farm Woodstock research projects opened for viewing
Expansion to 330 acres from the original 100-acre parcel, purchased from the Ontario government in 2020, has allowed Glacier FarmMedia to build the research-focused Discovery Farm Woodstock. With numerous partnerships finalized and research plots and trial studies underway, the 2023 edition of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show was the first opportunity for Discovery Farm Woodstock leaders […] Read more
System delivers suite of dairy data every 2.2 seconds
Connecting data to the cloud, not on-site computers helps to increase speed of data interpretation
A new technology from dairy equipment company DeLaval helps monitor in-barn cow behaviour, with updates every 2.2 seconds. The company used the 2023 Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show for the official North American launch of its DeLaval Plus Behavior Analysis tool for monitoring in-barn cow behaviour and herd health. Why it matters: Advancements in artificial intelligence […] Read more
Dairy farmers challenged to make tough genomics choices
Heifers at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show displayed competing genomic priorities
At Rose Vega Farm near Cambridge, Luke and Kelly Donkers agree that emotion sometimes creeps its way into dairy breeding decisions. But at the recent Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show (COFS), Luke also agreed that when it comes to overall dairy farm profitability, genomics is a valuable tool. “There are probably more grey-haired cows on our […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
