cow at a milking machine

Avian influenza detected in U.S. dairy cattle

Testing occurred after dairy cows in Kansas, Texas and New Mexico had symptoms of decreased milk production, low appetite

Chicago | Reuters— Samples of milk collected from sick cattle in Kansas and Texas tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, but the nation’s milk supply is safe, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Monday March 25. The USDA, along with the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are […] Read more


Udders of two dairy cows

Preventing lameness in dairy cattle

Experts weigh in on useful strategies

Cow comfort is king in the battle against lameness. That’s the opinion of Mark Gerber, Zinpro dairy technical sales and master trimmer. He was a panelist at the Grey Bruce Farmers’ Week Dairy Day held earlier this month, and spoke on the importance of dairy cow hoof health. “If that cow doesn’t have a comfortable […] Read more

SomaDetect has developed a sensor and software system that provides farmers with reliable milk-based data from every cow at every milking.

Ontario dairy start-ups win big in New York State

Winners receive mentorship and access to large herds as well as cash

Two Ontario-based dairy start-ups were recently named among the winners of a prestigious $3 million business competition in New York State. SomaDetect won $500,000 and Cattle Scan received a $250,000 prize in the fifth annual Grow-NY Food & Agriculture Competition. It is focused on growing a food and agriculture innovation cluster in Central New York […] Read more

An automated milking system implemented at a Devon farm. Castlewood Dairy farm, Musbury, Devon.

How individual cow personalities affect milking performance in dairy cows

Research shows there is a link between cow behaviour and how they perform in automated milking systems

This was first published by Dairy at Guelph. Some cows can be more curious than others, while others more shy and some may even be quite aggressive. Researchers at the University of Guelph are looking at the connection between a cow’s personality and her milking performance. Dr. Trevor DeVries, a professor in the Department of […] Read more


Cull cow protocol usage could be improved

Cull cow protocol usage could be improved

Survey finds 62 per cent of Ontario dairy farmers have written cull cow procedures

This was first published by Dairy at Guelph. Ontario dairy farmers must regularly remove animals from their herd by culling. Through a provincial survey of 248 dairy farmers, researchers at the University of Guelph found opportunities for improvement of management of cows leaving dairy farms. Most (62 per cent) respondents had a written standard operating […] Read more

Next year, Lactanet plans to publish fertility ratings for sexed bull semen.

Lactanet to publish sexed semen fertility ratings

Farmers will now have access to information previously only sent to bull line-up owners

Canadian dairy farmers will soon have access to fertility ratings for sexed bull semen. Lactanet recently announced it plans to publicly release the ratings, previously provided to artificial insemination service providers only, in early 2024. Dr. Gerrit Kistemaker, the national organization’s manager of genetic evaluations, gave an update on the process during Lactanet’s Open Industry […] Read more

Cows could be evaluated on numerous traits using a Canadian camera-based system that could replace the need for on-farm classification.

Taking the human out of dairy cow classification

Canadian start-up eyes artificial intelligence-based dairy cow evaluation

A Canadian start-up company says results from its artificial intelligence-based classification of dairy cows come within two per cent of human results. Animal science specialist Ghader Manafiazar, one of three co-founders of iClassifier, says through the analysis of approximately 30,000 images collected from Canadian dairy farms, an accuracy rate of 98 per cent was achieved […] Read more


Sandra Verville, Carl Desrochers, Marianne Desrochers, and Mikael Dumas in their new barn.

Cows managed precisely in new robot milking barn

Cows can be sorted in five different directions out of the robot

A change in generations mean the building of a new barn, robotic milking and new way of working at Ferme Desnette. On Oct. 20, 1200 people attended the open house at the farm in Warwick, Que. Owners Marianne Desrochers, Mikael Dumas, Carl Desrochers, and Sandra Verville met with visitors and showed off their new barn, […] Read more

CATTLEytics is developing a new herd management app called ‘Milkshake’.

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