A panel at the first Canadian showing of the World Without Cows documentary included Kelly Somerville, left, of the Livestock Research Innovation Corporation, Laurie Stanton, Stanton Farms, Craig McLaughlin, Beef Farmers of Ontario, Martha Baker, of Alltech and Michael Lohuis, of Semex.

Pondering a World Without Cows

Documentary outlines the impact of cows on people, economies and the environment

Alltech hosted the Canadian screening of a documentary it created called World Without Cows. It’s a high-production-value documentary focused on livestock’s economic, social and environmental impact.

The Lifetime Performance Index is weight differently among six areas.

Dairy LPI gets last minute updates

A dairy farmer figured out that the last index was over-weighted to milk production

The dairy Lifetime Performance Index will be updated April 1 and includes some changes in trait weighting, including milk production as a dairy farmer realized it was over-emphasized.




Dairy eifers raised in an open-front facility.

Watch dairy heifers grow on well-balanced diets

There are numerous different ways to get a quality mix to a farm’s heifers

I have balanced many dairy heifer replacement diets in the last few months. It’s a pretty easy exercise, once I put it down on a pdf spreadsheet and then email it to the dairy producer. I am confidence that all heifer nutrient requirements are met, given how heifers consume it. Plus, I want to make […] Read more


Dairy cow hooves need to have strong foundations.

Essential nutrients build strong, healthy hooves

Zinc, copper, manganese, cobalt and biotin are the major builders of solid hooves

The health and integrity of a cow’s hoof are critical for its overall well-being, productivity, and profitability. Inside every cow’s hoof, a silent factory works nonstop, turning living cells into rock-hard horn. This process, called keratinization, is like a high-stakes assembly line. It starts with soft, rapidly dividing cells that gradually fill with tough proteins. […] Read more

Jersey cows wait to enter a milking robot on an Ontario farm.

Herds eliminating feed pellets in milking robots

Cows shown to learn to be milked without pellets in the robot in guided traffic systems

Updated March 12, 2025 Feeding cows to entice them to visit milking robots has been a best practice since cows started being milked automatically in Canada about 25 years ago. Farms are questioning that rule and getting their cows to milk well without supplementing them in the robot. Why it matters: Lowering costs and simplifying […] Read more