Latest Newsletter

Dairy — page 16

Colostrum feeding is important to calf health, with effects into first lactation.
Calf health, Dairy

Colostrum has value for sick calves

Colostrum testing and feeding frequency has risen on Canadian dairy farms

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Researchers say Canadian dairy farmers are doing a better job of getting colostrum to their calves and measuring to make sure those calves have absorbed enough to create passive immunity. Now they are pushing the boundaries further on uses for colostrum and finding value in feeding transition milk. Why it matters: Heifers that don’t receive […] Read more
Cull cow protocol usage could be improved
Cow health, Dairy

Cull cow protocol usage could be improved

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

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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.
Cow health, Dairy, Genetics

Lactanet to publish sexed semen fertility ratings

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

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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
Hannah Woodhouse recently won the top student poster award at the International Dairy Federation’s meeting in Chicago. Her work involves free fatty acids in milk.
Dairy, Genetics, Milking equipment, Nutrition

Many factors affect milk frothing problem

Lactation length, milking frequency, prechilling and filter replacement all contribute to higher free fatty acids

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A frothy problem identified by Starbucks baristas in British Columbia does not have a simple solution. Elevated levels of free fatty acids in milk can result in cheese coagulation issues, milk with poor taste and shorter shelf life, and a lack of frothing ability, which is the big concern for coffee chains. Why it matters: […] Read more
Cows could be evaluated on numerous traits using a Canadian camera-based system that could replace the need for on-farm classification.
Cow health, Dairy, Genetics, Livestock

Taking the human out of dairy cow classification

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

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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
Lactanet’s Genetic Evaluation Board (GEB) is contemplating modernizing the LPI, which was introduced more than 30 years ago.
Dairy, News

Lactanet embarks on LPI modernization process

Predictive production index has become cumbersome, complicated

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

Cows managed precisely in new robot milking barn

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

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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
“The real intent here was to create discussion; to put methane efficiency and feed efficiency as it relates to methane emissions on the radar for dairy farmers.” – Brian Van Doormaal.
Dairy, Livestock

Methane breeding tool’s developers look to long-term adoption

Uptake has been slow among producers, but the discussion on methane efficiency has begun

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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
The FeedFlo feed sensor is working in scores of barns in the U.S. hog belt, where it accurately measures whether feed is flowing to pens in the barn and notifies producers if something goes wrong at the bin, in the pipes or with the pigs themselves.
Barns, Livestock

Tech simplifies hog feed monitoring to reduce down time

FeedFlo system monitors feed pipes to ensure feed is flowing

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Glacier FarmMedia – Successful technology often arises from figuring out how to simplify something that’s exceedingly complex. That’s what Casey Forsyth and his team at FeedFlo think they’ve managed to do with their feed pipe monitoring system. Their model is working in scores of barns in the U.S. hog belt, where it accurately measures whether […] Read more
CATTLEytics is developing a new herd management app called ‘Milkshake’.
Barns, Cow health, Dairy, News

A Canadian option for managing dairy data

A new herd health record-keeping app will join CATTLEytics ‘Moo To Do’

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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

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