Age Dawson’s latest editorial examines what the 23-hour day for horses actually costs. She shares paradigm-shifting evidence that an hour or so of work, and a horse spending the balance of the day standing in a 12-square-foot box is no longer defensible. A controlled study at The University of Göttingen compared horses in daily training with and without a couple of hours of … [Read more...]
Revolutionary tech for hog barn monitoring
Commercial Content Like big brother for hogs, NUtrack’s surveillance technology promises to help producers manage barns more efficiently from their phones. The NUtrack system uses full body recognition as facial recognition is difficult from cameras above the animals. The NUtrack system, developed by researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, allows producers to … [Read more...]
Tighten the calving window
To achieve more uniform calves, producers can use tighter calving windows to maximize the number of pregnancies early in the breeding season. Getting most of the cows and heifers bred early in the breeding period improves herd performance. Investing time and resources to tighten the calving window is beneficial, regardless of the size of operation or the breed of … [Read more...]
And the green grass grows all around . . . but wait!
Spring! Pastures and hayfields are greening up. Lush stands of grass push skyward after a nice rain. A few seed heads start to develop and our noses get ready for that smell of the first cutting of hay. But wait . . . upon closer inspection, “oh no, ergot [ur-guht]!” Ergot is a fungus (Claviceps purpurea) that contaminates rye and wheat and produces substances called … [Read more...]