During extreme cold or hot temperatures, calves utilize extra nutrients to maintain their core body temperature. The temperature range at which a calf uses no additional energy to maintain its core body temperature is called the thermoneutral zone. For a newborn calf, a calf maintains its core body temperature with no additional nutrients from 50° F […]

May 20, 2021 Milk prices continue to strengthen since their low in February. The February Class III price was $15.75 and had increased to $17.67 in April with May forecasted to be around $18.90. The February Class IV price was $13.19 and had increased to $15.42 in April with May forecasted to around $16.20. The […]

Birth and the time immediately after is the most hazardous time in the life of a dairy calf. On average, between 5 and 7 percent of calves on U.S. dairy farms are either stillborn or die in the first 48 hours of life.  As care takers, we can provide best management practices the first 24 hours to help […]

Dairy Situation and Outlook, June 18, 2020 By Bob Cropp, Professor Emeritus University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension University of Wisconsin-Madison Milk prices have been volatile, but it looks like volatility will be a record in 2020. In January, the Class III prices was $17.05. By May it had fallen to $12.14. But it looks like […]

Dairy Situation and Outlook, May 20, 2020 By Bob Cropp, Professor Emeritus University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension University of Wisconsin-Madison Milk price forecasts can change rather dramatically from one month to another. This is the situation between the April price forecast and the May forecast. In April it looked like the May Class III price […]

The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Division of Extension will offer a program for agribusiness professionals to provide information about best practices during the dry/transition period. The program will be offered as a three-part webinar series on Thursdays, May 28, June 4, and June 11, 2020. The transition from late gestation to early lactation is challenging for […]

Over the last couple months, the dairy industry has experienced increased turmoil.   We’ve heard about milk being dumped, grocery stores limiting milk purchases, dairy markets sliding, and processors asking farms for continued reduced milk production.  What is going on and what can we do to get through this? “Looking Ahead for Dairy” is the fifth webinar […]

By Bob Cropp, Professor Emeritus University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension University of Wisconsin-Madison COVID-19 resulted in the closing of schools, conferences, restaurants, food service, sporting events and other activities. The sales of milk and dairy products was seriously impacted, particularly cheese and butter. As people were advised to stay home retail sales increased as did […]