Dairy farmers work through similar processes every day, but taking another look at ordinary tasks can yield significant time and financial savings. Process evaluation has many names, including lean, Kaizan or Six Sigma, but the concepts are similar: constantly improve, find bottlenecks and reduce waste, says Dr. Chris Church, a master’s student at the Lang […] Read more
Tag Archives dairy production
Make your dairy processes lean and clean
Stopping and observing are the first steps to efficiency
Diversifying dairy means more than milking
Here’s how four dairy farms grew their businesses beyond milk production
Farmers who diversify their dairy operations can make it work with luck, great planning and a willingness to take risks. The Canadian Dairy XPO’s new Canadian Dairy Business Conference brought together four farmers who have diversified so milking cows is just part of what they do. Why it matters: Dairy farmers who want to grow […] Read more
Paul Larmer – the retirement interview
The CEO of the Semex Alliance led the organization during 17 years of growth into a global entity still owned by Canadian dairy farmers
Paul Larmer retired as chief executive officer of the Semex Alliance on Dec. 31, after growing a farmer-owned Canadian company into a leading global player. Over 17 years as CEO, Larmer led the organization to become one of the top five dairy genetics companies in the world, and saw it through dramatic change driven by […] Read more
Dairy Distillery plans fuel ethanol plant in Michigan
The plant in Michigan plans to produce 2.2 million gallons of ethanol per year to displace 14,000 tonnes of carbon
Ontario’s Dairy Distillery is moving into a new type of alcohol through a partnership with a Michigan dairy co-operative to process waste milk permeate into ethanol. Dairy Distillery is known for its transformation of whey and milk permeate into vodka, called VodKow, which is now available across the province at LCBO stores. Why it matters: […] Read more
Forcing dairy data to tell useful stories
Sports teams have taken old stats and reinterpreted them — and dairy farms can do the same
Sports teams have seen a data revolution in which common statistics known for years have been reinterpreted into new metrics that have led to significant changes in how games are played. The dairy sector should see the same sort of revolution, says Jeff Bewley, dairy analytics and innovation scientist with Holstein USA, an organization that […] Read more
Turning off the milk tap
Dairy farmers are learning to manage larger changes in demand due to COVID-19
Signs that dairy markets may be stabilizing will come as welcome news for the industry. The past three months since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic have been a roller coaster ride for producers, who have worked to match frequent shifts in demand, and changes in how much they get paid for their milk, with […] Read more
Test period underway for vertical milk storage in Ontario
Approved sampling protocols must be expanded for towers to come into use
A test period has begun on a 600-cow dairy farm near Maryhill for the use of a 40,000-litre vertical milk tank. It isn’t currently legal for use on-farm to cool and store milk in Ontario because milk truck drivers can’t see, smell and sample the milk as prescribed under the Milk Act. Why it matters: […] Read more
Kicking antibiotics out of the dairy barn
Contrary to popular belief, reducing antibiotic use has not resulted in lower returns to producers
It has been 68 months — and counting — since a cow in the milking herd at Rosy-Lane Holsteins LLC near Watertown, WI, was treated with antibiotics. The owners are now taking a hard look at whether they can reduce or eliminate antimicrobial use in dry cows and calves. While the 1,000-cow Wisconsin dairy Lloyd […] Read more
Milking robot upgrade targets higher capacity, faster attachment
DeLaval has introduced a new milking robot, upgrading its long-standing voluntary milking system (VMS) to increase capacity and improve attachment time. The VMS V300 was introduced to farmers and industry at the company’s VMS Pro North America conference in Madison, WI. Norwell Dairy Systems, the largest DeLaval dealer in Ontario, tweeted that they would be […] Read more
Seven tips for better dairy goat performance
A herd’s average production may be a go-to parameter for many goat dairy managers, but Amanda Davison believes their focus should shift instead to the average among a select group of that herd. “Don’t look at average production,” advised Davison on March 21 in Woodstock, as she addressed producers attending the annual general meeting of […] Read more
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