Province's dairy farmers needed second price hike, DFM says

High feed costs, after-effects from last year’s drought and other rising costs made double dairy price hikes necessary for Manitoba farmers, Dairy Farmers of Manitoba says. “Farmers were telling us – you know, I could feel it too – that, you know ‘I’ve already used up all my cash reserves’, and costs were rising quickly,[...]


COMMENT: Bovaer is added to cow feed to reduce methane emissions. Does it get into milk and meat? Is it harmful for humans?

Concern has been rising over the use of a feed supplement, Bovaer 10, to reduce methane production in cows. Bovaer 10 consists of silicon dioxide (basically sand), propylene glycol (a food stabilizer) and the active compound 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP). Bovaer and 3-NOP were approved for use in Canada in early 2024. Canadian beef and dairy industry[...]



Flu strain in U.S. dairy cattle may be a different beast

Veterinarians and food safety officials have been scrambling for about a month to understand the origin and spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza in U.S. dairy herds across several states. Many potential vectors have been considered, from migratory birds, direct cow-to-cow transmission and milking equipment. A University of Guelph veterinary professor has one word to[...]



Batch milking combines parlour with robotic automation

Glacier FarmMedia – A new concept in dairy equipment management brings the automation and data of robotic milking to a milking parlour orientation. DeLaval has several installations around the world where cows are herded into a holding area from which they access a group of automated milkers. “It really comes down to you and how[...]

Preventing lameness in dairy cattle

Glacier FarmMedia – Cow comfort is king in the battle against lameness. That’s the opinion of Mark Gerber of Zinpro dairy technical sales, and a master hoof trimmer. “If that cow doesn’t have a comfortable bed 12 hours a day, we’re going to have problems,” Gerber said. “We really have to focus on cow comfort.[...]


Taking the bite out of cold-weather livestock care

Glacier FarmMedia – The youngest calves on the farm are the most sensitive to temperature changes and, in the case of a turn toward colder weather, producers can have problems managing morbidity, mortality and suboptimal growth rates, said Sarah Morrison. She is a research scientist with the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute in Chazy,[...]

Lactanet embarks on LPI modernization process

Glacier FarmMedia – 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 open industry session earlier this fall, chief services officer Brian Van Doormaal gave a presentation entitled “Modernizing LPI (Lifetime Performance Index)”[...]