dairy cows

H5N1 grows well in dairy cow udders, which may actually be good news for humans.  When traces of H5N1 bird flu showed up in cow’s milk last year, it raised fears that the virus could become more infectious to humans.  So far, that hasn’t happened.   According to ScienceNe...

What are USDA’s projections for the American dairy industry in the coming year?    “Milk production is expected to grow modestly by 0.4%,"  noted USDA dairy analyst Peyton Ferrier at this year's Ag Outlook Forum.  "That's primarily based on herd growth of 0....

Dairy producers from across the nation celebrated “fairer” milk prices for farmers during the National Milk Producers Federation Board of Directors meeting, which concluded this week.  They also pledged to work together to meet significant challenges on labor, trade, and other issues.  Dairy farmers heard...

Legislation introduced in the Washington House Environment and Energy Committee looks to monitor methane emissions in dairy and beef cattle.  House Bill 1630 would require dairy farms and feed lots to report annually to the state Department of Ecology with the total metric tons of methane emitted the preceding calendar year.  The proposal...

The USDA’s latest effort to get an idea of how far spread Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza is in the nation’s dairy herd is about a month old.  That is the second federal order involving milk testing for the H5N1 strain.  Alex Turner of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health inspection Service said the department’s effort includes 28 states enrolled since the start of the month, consisting of nearly 65%

While there’s not much, there is still time for producers suffering losses last year due to specific disasters and adverse conditions to apply for USDA's Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm Raised Fish Program, better known as ELAP.  Far...

There's growing concern over bird flu in America.  On Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency to streamline the state’s response to H5N1.  This action comes as cases were detected in dairy cows on farms in Southern California.   Dr. Amira Roess,...

Researchers from the University of Idaho are working with other institutions to develop a precision feeding system that meets the nutritional needs of individual dairy cows.  The Self-learning Dairy technology works with existing equipment used by automatic milking systems, where cows choose to enter a stall with a robotic milker and feed is automatically dispensed as an incentive.  The tea... Re

After bird flu has been detected in dairy cattle across the country, including here in the Northwest, there have been talks about the USDA testing milk samples to determine if H5N1 is present.  How would testing those samples work?   “...

Highly Pathogenetic Avian Influenza has been on the minds of backyard poultry owners, as well as large scale operations since late 2022.  Dr. Amber Itle, Washington state Veterinarian said it’s very normal for these influenza viruses to circulate.  But what she ...