It’s common for a business to establish a formal set of standard operating procedures for all employees to follow. There’s value in setting up “S-O-P’s” for the dairy farm as well, according to K-State dairy specialist Mike Brouk (Brook). Making sure that all employees are following the same management guidelines will make a difference in the operation’s productivity and efficiency.

Healthy teat skin is a critical component of the dairy cow’s defense against mastitis. Skin condition can be directly influenced by many environmental factors, but winter often poses the largest challenge. K-State dairy specialist Mike Brouk (brook) says certain steps can be taken to minimize potential problems.

Late fall and winter weather can be mighty tough on dairy calves, and it’s not too early for you dairy producers to be thinking about providing those calves comfort from the cold. Enclosing them in a heated building may not be the best answer, according to K-State dairy specialist Mike Brouk (Brook). He talks about the approaches that will get the job done, without causing undue problems.

It’s that time in the fall when dairy producers need to be very careful about how they utilize their summer annual forage crops. A hard freeze followed by good growing conditions can result in a build-up of prussic acid in those forages. Producers can manage those forages to minimize that threat, according to K-State dairy specialist Mike Brouk (Brook).

It’s not too early to start thinking about winterizing the dairy operation, according to K-State dairy specialist Mike Brouk (Brook). And a prime consideration there is protecting the dairy cooling system from winter damage, and doing any maintenance necessary to assure that system will be ready to operate when hot weather returns.

It has been a very tough haul economically for dairy producers this year.  But there may be subtle signs that the situation is starting to turn around.  So says K-State dairy specialist Mike Brouk (Brook), who comments on the outlook for the dairy industry for the balance of 2009 and heading into 2010.

It’s been a good year for corn silage production in Kansas…so good, in fact, that dairy producers may need to make adjustments in their silage feeding management. That’s according to K-State dairy specialist Mike Brouk (Brook), who offers suggestions this week on maximizing the use of that high-quality silage.

High-quality alfalfa hay may be a little harder to come by this fall and winter, because of untimely rainfall at hay harvest time this past summer. A dairy producer can compensate for lesser-quality alfalfa through good ration management, without impeding milk output. K-State dairy specialist Mike Brouk (Brook) has more on that this week.

Managing the health of dairy calves becomes even more acute as the weather turns colder. There are several aspects to consider there, according to K-State dairy specialist Mike Brouk (Brook). This week, he highlights several of the prime objectives in maintaining dairy calf health in the fall and early winter.

There’s an aspect of employee management that dairy operators should have a good grip on, according to K-State dairy specialist Mike Brouk (Brook). That is the difference between employee accountability and responsibility. The two are not the same, and knowing how to promote those traits will lead to better employee performance, as Mike talks about this week.