Past,Present, Future. Read our Past, Present, Future feature starting on page 13 of the 2nd section!
Volume 26, No. 9
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See page 24 of the this section for details.
June 22, 2024
“All dairy, all the time”™
Improvement to their sand system HPAI use continues Vogts experience to to spread in implement settling lane dairy cattle Wisconsin, Minnesota announce new testing orders By Danielle Nauman danielle.n@dairystar.com
Nearly three months ago, the rst cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Inuenza H5N1 in dairy cattle was conrmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Since then, the virus has continued to spread, affecting dairy cattle across the country. This month, documented conrmed cases in Iowa, Minnesota and Wyoming bring the total number of conrmed cases to 102 herds in 12 states as of June 18. Illness among three dairy farm workers — one from Texas and two from Michigan — have been conrmed after exposure to infected dairy cattle. The spread of H5N1 between states has been linked to the movement of lactating dairy cattle. This prompted the Federal Order that went into effect April 29 requiring lactating dairy cattle to have a negative test within seven days of crossing state lines. Epidemiological evidence suggests that further local spread is likely multi-factorial, through both direct and indirect transmission routes. A national epidemiological brief posted June 13 on the APHIS website, which detailed information collected from 54% of affected premises as of June 8, said that more than 20% of affected farms brought animals into the herd within 30 days of the initial observation of clinical symptoms. More than 60% of farms continued to move animals off the farm after the onset of those clinical signs. The level of impact the disease has had on affected farms varies greatly. The most prevalent clinical signs observed in dairy cattle include milk that appears abnormal and a decrease in production, feed consumption and rumination. Cows frequently exhibit fevers and dehydration. Other clinical symptoms reported include respiratory issues such as increased respiratory rates, labored breathing, nasal discharge and pneumonia.
Turn to H5N1 | Page 2
By Sarah Middendorf sarah.m@star-pub.com
SAUK CENTRE, Minn. — Sand bedding has long been the bedding of choice for Vogt Dairy. But sand bedding has brought a love-hate relationship to the farm near Sauk Centre. The Vogt family members said they enjoyed seeing their cows rest comfortably in the stalls but did not like the removal process or hauling sand to their elds. By adapting to circumstances, the Vogts found a way to keep sand in their barns rather than in their elds via a sand-settling lane.
Turn to VOGTS | Page 5
MARK KLAPHAKE/DAIRY STAR
Ethan Vogt points to his sand piles June 12 at the 275-cow Vogt Dairy near Sauk Centre, Minnesota. The sand gets moved at least four Ɵmes before being used in the barn again.
Retroƫng for robots Oak Lane Hutterite Colony transitions away from milking parlor By Jerry Nelson
jerry.n@dairystar.com
JERRY NELSON/DAIRY STAR
Joey Wipf, the dairy manager at Oak Lane HuƩerite Colony, stands June 7 in their freestall barn in Alexandria, South Dakota. The colony has been gradually switching its milking system from a tradiƟonal parlor to robots.
ALEXANDRIA, S.D. — Robotic milking facilities are often purpose-built, but existing dairy barns can also be successfully converted to accommodate robotic milkers. A good example of this can be seen at Oak Lane Hutterite Colony, located in rural Alexandria. Joey Wipf is the dairy manager at Oak Lane Colony. The colony is currently milking 310 head of Jersey cows with six Lely robotic milking systems. “We built our dairy
barn in 2009 and milked in a double-16 parallel parlor for the next 14 years,” Wipf said. That began to change in 2022, when Oak Lane Colony added onto their dairy barn and initiated the process of installing their rst set of four robotic milkers. “We have done all of the construction work on the barn ourselves,” Wipf said. “We did the dirt work and poured the concrete, (and) we have our own plumber and electrician, but before we started to remodel for robots, we consulted with the folks at Gorter’s Clay and Dairy regarding the design. Turn to OAK LANE | Page 6