Maintaining Udder Cleanliness Without Adding Stress

Clean udders are easier to prepare for milking and are important in maintaining milk quality and udder health. One method to improve udder hygiene is removing udder hair, which can trap manure and debris and harbor bacteria that increase the risk of infection  and elevated somatic cell counts.  Shorter udder hair limits bacterial growth and reduces the likelihood of milk contamination.

Clipping: Effective but Stressful

Traditionally, dairies have used electric clippers to trim udder hair.  While clipping is highly effective in removing hair, it can be very time-consuming.  In addition, the noise and physical contact associated with clippers can make cows nervous, increasing their stress levels and the risk of injury to the animal and the handler.

Knowing how much feed you have on your farm at the end of the growing season is important to plan how much of each product you can feed and identify what additional feeds you may need to purchase. The UW-Madison Extension Dairy team created a spreadsheet calculator to help approximate harvested forage inventory and the forage needs for a dairy operation. The spreadsheet includes tabs for tracking feed inventory, determining feed inventory needs, and calculating estimated stored feed inventory based on storage structure (bag, bunker, pile, silo). 

3rd Tuesday of each month from 11 am - 12 pm CT

Right Way. Right Time. Ensuring Welfare and Value in Cull Dairy Cattle

Dr. Herman, National Cattlemen's Beef Association's Beef Cattle Specialist, will present on Right Way. Right Time.: A Guide to Cull Dairy Cattle Management, which provides practical, research-based guidance to help dairy producers make timely, responsible decisions about cows leaving the herd. The guide emphasizes maintaining cow health throughout her lifetime, identifying when an animal is no longer fit for the milking herd, and ensuring she is fit for transport before leaving the farm. It outlines best practices for evaluating mobility, body condition, injuries, disease, and overall welfare, as well as proper handling, loading, and marketing. The focus is on safeguarding animal well-being, meeting legal and industry requirements, and protecting the economic value of market dairy cattle. 
 
Following Dr. Herman’s presentation, we’ll be joined by Jake Jacobs, Market Manager at Equity Livestock in Bonduel, WI. Together, they will discuss the progress seen in the dairy cull cow market, what needs improvement, and where the industry is headed.  

Boosting Fertility of Dairy Cows Through Better Semen Handling

In this video Ryan Sterry, Regional Livestock Educator, and Heather Schlesser, Regional Dairy Educator, discuss proper semen handling to enhance breeding success in dairy cows.

Please make requests for reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access to educational programs as early as possible preceding the scheduled program, service or activity.

For communicative accommodations in languages other than English, please contact oaic@extension.wisc.edu.

For communicative accommodations based on a disability, please contact Heather Lipinski Stelljes at: heather.stelljes@wisc.edu for the public.

Raising dairy calves and replacement heifers is a major expense for Wisconsin dairies; tracking these costs and benchmarking against peers supports better management decisions. Periodically, Wisconsin Extension Educators have collected farm level data to track these costs. Extension is currently seeking this information and needs your help.  If you are interested in having a dairy educator reach out to you, please provide your contact information by clicking the button below.

Information gathered includes average costs for the last complete month related to:

Wisconsin farmers have experienced a heightened level of economic uncertainty resulting in increased difficulty in making business decisions to effectively manage risks.  The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” resolved many tax policy questions, even as the economic and trade policy outlook remains uncertain. 

UW-Madison Agriculture and Applied Economics and Division of Extension specialists will discuss policy changes to farm business tax codes, updates to risk management programs (Dairy Margin Coverage, ARC/PLC, MCO) and Federal Milk Marketing Order, policy impacts related to tariffs and trade, and other important topics affecting Wisconsin agriculture. 

Registration is free. The webinars will be broadcast live at noon on Mondays, through Dec. 8.

All hay prices quoted are dollars per ton FOB point of origin for alfalfa hay unless otherwise noted. The information presented in this report is compiled from public and private quality tested sales and reports in the Midwest. 

Dairy Risk Management, webinar

Farm Policy Climate, webinar

 Badger Dairy Insight, webinar

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This program is sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension with special support from the following Extension Educators: 

The University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming in compliance with state and federal law.