As employee numbers increase on dairy farms, producers are encouraged to learn to communicate the process improvement that has been part of their own way of working.  |  John Greig photo

Reassessing dairy processes can be beneficial

Observing how ordinary tasks are carried out in the dairy barn are considered the first steps to improved efficiency

Glacier FarmMedia – 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, according to Chris Church, a master’s student […] Read more

Illness during the transition period has significant effects on cow success during the rest of its lactation. | John Greig photo

Calcium, ketosis big issues in cows post-calving

Glacier FarmMedia – New research on transition cows shows that dairy farmers should adjust some traditional ways of handling post-calving calcium levels and ketosis. More than half of dairy cows in highly managed herds go through the transition period to milking with at least one health problem. Recent research shows those problems reduce the cow’s […] Read more

Land and labour shortages are significant hurdles for dairy farms when they plan to expand, but so are processing plants and feed facilities.  |  File photo

Dairy expansion must first include securing labour, land

Dairy farmers looking to expand must first get their land and people in place. That was a common theme from a cross-country panel of leading dairy farmers at the recent Progressive Dairy Operators triennial conference in Toronto. Gert Schrijver farms in Stettler, Alta., milking about 300 cows on 1,700 acres. He plans to build a […] Read more