Routines to maintain udder health change with the transition to automated milking. In a parlor, most of the monitoring of the cow, the equipment, and to some extent the environment, is part of the milking routine. It is completed by the workers in the parlor as they prep, strip and attach milkers. In automated milking, it is important to develop daily routines to monitor those milk quality control points in other ways. 

Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council (DCRC) brought producers, academia and industry experts together for discussions, presentations and panels Nov. 12-14 at the 2024 annual meeting in Arlington, Texas. 

USDA reports indicate that the incidence rate of mastitis has increased from 13% in 1996 to 25% in 2014. Considering the average case of clinical mastitis in the United States costs an average of $569, it’s imperative for dairy producers to adopt protocols to prevent this costly disease. Dr. Craig Louder, Axiota^® technical service veterinarian, joins us to discuss the importance of udder health, the role of strategic trace mineral supplementation on milk quality, and how producers can help support trace minerals through increased demand.

It is important to provide excellent hoof care to cows because lame cows can go from bad to worse quickly. If a lame cow has to wait to be treated, she can experience longer recovery time, and more necrotic tissue and permanent damage to her pedal bone.

Join host Kimmi Devaney as she chats with Oregon dairy producer and Progressive Dairy columnist Dwayne Faber about moving his dairies to another state, how he keeps employees motivated when he cannot always be there, the qualities he looks for in key employees and what has surprised him most during the transition from managing two farms nearby to managing them from afar.