Reproductive management of high yielding dairy herds in a hot climate: the case of Israel

Israel Flamenbaum, State of Israel, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Extension Service

Israel is located to the east of the Mediterranean Sea. Israel’s climate is considered subtropical and dry. The climate is characterized by moderately cool, rainy winters (November–March) and hot, dry summers (June–October) with no rainfall. Summer is warm and humid along the coast (daytime temperatures average 30 o C and the relative humidity is from 50 - 90 %), but hot and dry in the inland valleys and southern desert (daytime temperatures average above 40 o C and the relative humidity in between 20 and 40 %).

Bronchopneumonia in calves. The complex problem requires complex solutions

Vladislav Hanyeyev, Doctor of Veterinary Science

Bronchopneumonia in young animals is very common and is second only to gastrointestinal diseases. Almost every other animal is sick with it. Calves suffer all year round, and in hot climates often in June-August. Bronchopneumonia is the reason for the suspension of growth and development of young animals, increasing costs of feed and mortality.

Place under the Sun

April 17, Stavropol, a conference attended by the heads of dairy enterprises, leading industry experts and specialists of «DeLaval» - more than a hundred people from different regions of the Russian Federation and CIS countries — took place. On the one hand, the usual meeting, as milkmen are often gathering to share experiences, how in the present difficult conditions to remain competitive and to produce as much high-quality and cheap milk. On the other - the event was quite extraordinary. Perhaps the first time these questions were discussed in the light of one particular - milking without human intervention, with the help of robots.

Beef Production — profit or losses?

Demand creates supply - so short you can define the state of Ukrainian beef cattle. And more precisely, the lack of demand leads to a complete collapse of this industry.

Cooperatives. Is it so simple?

Tatiana Antonenko, International Dairy Magazine

The development of cooperative movement in the dairy industry in Ukraine began many years ago. Let us recall the Galician Regional Economic-Dairy Union, later known throughout Europe as «Maslosouz». It was, one might say, a successful economic project of West-Ukrainian cooperation of the first half of the twentieth century.

Dry period

Fedir Roshka, chief veterinarian at «Vitchyzna»

February 28-29, at V Ukrainian Dairy Congress the participants were able to visit our farm — «Vitchyzna» in Sumy. Then people asked a lot of questions about ketosis, retention of placenta, paresis, mastitis, fatty liver syndrome. That's what made me write this article and share our experience in one of the most important stages in the life of every cow — dry period.

Silage corn for dairy livestock

Vladimir Kuzmich, product manager of LLC «Syngents, Limagrain Ukraine»;

Nikolai Romanenko, Manager of Regional Development Ltd. «Syngents, Limagrain Ukraine», candidate of agricultural Science

In the Old World the silage was begun to lay from late XIX century, but such crops as corn silage, did not yet exist. It appeared only in 70th of XX century. Although livestock in Europe is constantly decreasing, the areas sown with following maize remain stable. Silage corn is cultivated everywhere in Europe except highlands — above 900 m above sea level. Simple technology of its cultivation and storage — the main components of silage corn success.

Cheese makers in the siege

Tatiana Antonenko, International Dairy Magazine

The development of a strong dairy industry in Ukraine began in the early years of Soviet power. From 1925 to 1930, 55 steam- mechanical plant were built by typical designs. For five years these plants were three times more. Over the next decade dairy factories were built in Kiev, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Lugansk, Donetsk, Slavic and other cities. Many of them are in no way inferior to the European dairy companies.

Dairy Rivers of Uhryniv

The farm «Shevchenko», in the village Uhryniv, Horokhiv Region, Volyn, created a closed cycle of milk production — from growing food and healthy cattle to clean dairy products. The last link of the chain — its own processing plant — uhrynivtsi recently shipped the first batch of products to consumers. All of these efforts — not to depend on the whims of processors. People ordered in Israel the mini-plant, which has no analogues in Ukraine. Andrii Turak manages farm for several decades.

Do your cows easily lie down in the cubicles?

Gert-Jan Gerrits, Technical Sales and Commercial director, Nuscience Cehave Korm

Lying down is important for cows. A cow needs to be able to lie down for 12 hours a day. She doesn’t need this time for sleeping (on average, a cow sleeps for only 20 minutes a day), but mainly to ruminate and give her claws a rest.