Warmer weather is spreading across the Northeast United States, and Dairy One is working right alongside farmers as they begin to head back to the fields. There are many moving parts in the springtime, and much like farmers, Dairy One team members have to juggle multiple things going on. Read on for what Dairy One tackles in the spring.
Soil Health
The first thing that needs a look in the spring is the soil. It is the key to plant life and crop success. Looking at soil will only tell you so much; running an analysis test actually reports on nutrient levels. Farms need this information when making crop and nutrient application plans.
Dairy One’s Soil Laboratory tests soil for farmers, gardeners, greenhouses, and much more! They’ve worked with farmers to improve soil health and crop yield. They frequently test samples collected by Agricultural Consulting Services (ACS). The ACS team then uses the analysis data for making crop recommendations. And universities, too, have used the Soil Lab when conducting experiments in the field.
Pregnancy Confirmation
Springtime is often birthing time on farms. Cows need to have a calf at regular intervals to keep producing milk. To confirm if a cow is pregnant, farmers can collect blood or milk samples to submit to a lab. Dairy One’s Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory handles many of these samples from small to large-size herds. Receiving confirmation that a cow is pregnant will make sure she’s getting the right care. It can also prevent a farmer from pulling a non-pregnant cow from milk production, which saves money.
The Animal Health Diagnostic Lab can also assist with screening for diseases like Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) or Johne’s disease. Both of these can be detrimental to a milking herd, and farms want to avoid them.
File Organization
Spring cleaning is a time to get organized. While farmers need to stay on top of cow records and data, it can sometimes fall to the wayside. That’s where herd management systems like BoviSync can really help farmers stay organized. This software allows dairy farmers to assign chores and track when they are done. It can also generate reports to track the success of a breeding program or to look at herd health.
Feedlync is another type of software that farms can use to get organized. It tracks feed and how much of it is on the farm. Aside from chopped corn and hay, farms also purchase commodities to add to the rations they give their herd. Feedlync will show if employees are mixing the right ration and issue alerts when certain ingredients are low.
A final tool offered by Dairy One is Blue Board. This pulls data from all software used on a farm to compile it in one place. It’s really helpful when gathering information to report to farm owners or track the overall health of the operation. And rather than clicking in and out of multiple programs, the information is all in one spot.
When the weather warms up, things start rolling on farms. Dairy One is right there alongside them to get into fields and improve cow herd health. For more information about any of the services mentioned above, please email [email protected].