Skip to main content

Animal Welfare

All Animal Welfare Content

mixed group of cattle at pasture

Management Minder Tool: Staying Organized on the Ranch

Daily life is busy on the farm and ranch and it seems as if once calving season is done, there is barely time to rest before fields must be planted or hay made.

heifer branded with the number 699

Freeze Branding Cattle

Freeze branding is a low-stress way to add permanent identification to cattle that will elicit minimal hide damage.

A dairy cow at the front of a small heard looking straight forward.

Public Perception and Animal Well-Being

So you ask why is public perception and animal well-being important? Well, did you know that there is just a little over 1% of the population involved in production agriculture, today? Did you know that 98% of the people have no direct connection with how their food is produced?

Group of black and white, spotted dairy cattle drinking from a water trough.

Water Importance in Lactating Dairy Cows

When considering the importance of water in lactating cow diets, we need to remember that milk is 87 percent water, and its consumption is directly correlated with milk production and feed intake. Water also makes up anywhere from 55 percent to 70 percent of the body weight of a lactating dairy cow, depending upon the phase of the lactation cycle.

A red and white holstein calf, looking through the fence from its calf hutch on a sunny, summer day.

Understanding and Mitigating Heat Stress in Young Dairy Animals

We often don’t focus as much on heat stress in young dairy calves and tend to focus more on cold stress. However, it is just as important and producers or calf raisers should have a plan in place to help mitigate heat stress in these animals also.

Dairy cattle in a feeding facility

Diminishing Personal Injury on Dairy Farms

Within the dairy industry there is a high percentage of contact time between animals and human beings on a daily basis.

Holstein Dairy Calves lying in fresh straw, wearing calf blankets to help keep warm.

Keeping Pre-weaned Dairy Calves Healthy and Growing in Cold Weather

Cold stress can result in calves turning to stored body fat to generate body heat, essentially losing weight. In addition, calves experiencing cold stress will have compromised immune systems making them more susceptible to disease.

A holstein dairy cow with several flies on its face.

Fly Population Management on Dairies

Fly control on dairies is an important pest management consideration that impacts the bottom line by affecting overall animal productivity and health.

Brown Swiss Dairy Calf, lays outside calf hutch in straw bedding with blue calf coat on, sunning itself in the winter sunshine.

Winter Preparedness on the Dairy Farm

Weather this time of year can change in a hurry. So how many of you as dairy producers have heeded the warning and taken the time to prepare for the upcoming winter?

five beef cows standing in a pasture

Livestock Vaccines: How They Work and How to Ensure They Do Their Job

Fact sheet about vaccine basics and tips to maintain vaccine viability for cattle producers.