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MSU research pushes dairy cattle management forward

EAST LANSING — Research from Michigan State University Professor J. Richard Pursley is trailblazing an area within dairy cattle management that Wendell Van Gunst says is essential to keep farms profitable. “I think almost every dairy farmer would agree that nothing is as critical to the success of a dairy farm than the reproductive success of cows on a farm,” said Van Gunst, owner of Country Dairy, a fourth-generation, 1,200-cow dairy farm in the western Lower Peninsula. Reproduction is the key driver of lactation for dairy cows. After a cow gives birth, a new lactation begins. ...

Strange coincidence takes me back to time of youth

“It’s often said that life is strange, yeah, but compared to what?” — Steve Forbert During the early days of my youth, the last-Saturday-in-April opening day of trout season quickly became something I looked forward to as much as Christmastime. My birthday falls on April 9 and by ...

More and more migrants, summer birds making their way here

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endures as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawns come after the night, and spring after winter.” — Rachel Carson Seems ...

MSU research pushes dairy cattle management forward

EAST LANSING — Research from Michigan State University Professor J. Richard Pursley is trailblazing an area within dairy cattle management that Wendell Van Gunst says is essential to keep farms profitable. “I think almost every dairy farmer would agree that nothing is as critical to the success of a dairy farm than the reproductive success of cows on a farm,” said Van Gunst, owner of Country Dairy, a fourth-generation, 1,200-cow dairy farm in the western Lower Peninsula. Reproduction is the key driver of lactation for dairy cows. After a cow gives birth, a new lactation begins. ...