Dairy Cattle Dehorning Practices

Removing horns from dairy cattle is an important farm safety practice because it prevents injuries to people and cattle. Removal of the horn or horn bud is a painful procedure and can be minimized by disbudding/dehorning cattle at a young age with proper pain management. Ideally, disbudding/dehorning should occur prior to six weeks of age. After this age the horn bud attaches to the skull, and the procedure is much more invasive.

 

As part of Wisconsin Public Television’s University Place program, UW-Extension Outagamie County Dairy & Livestock Zen Miller and UW-Extension Dairy Intern Bethany Marcks discuss the results of their work to inform farmers of the choices for dehorning calves in the video Dairy Cattle Dehorning Practices.

 

For more information regarding dairy well-being, please visit UW-Extension Animal Well-being & Herd Health or for more information regarding managing dairy replacements, please visit UW-Extension Dairy Calf & Heifer Management.

 

Video: Seaweed-Based Solutions: Building Natural Performance in Modern Swine Production

In today’s pork industry, producers are under increasing pressure to do more with fewer inputs—while maintaining performance, improving animal health, and meeting sustainability expectations.

we sit down with Sylvain David and Scott Preston from Olmix to explore how seaweed-based solutions are emerging as a foundational tool in modern swine nutrition.

Rather than acting as simple alternatives, these solutions are designed to support gut health, immune resilience, and overall system consistency—especially during key stress periods like weaning, feed transitions, and disease challenges.

The conversation dives into:

• What seaweed-based solutions actually are and how they work

• Why consistency and standardization matter in “natural” products

• How gut health connects to immune function and performance

• Where producers are seeing real-world impact today

• The role of natural solutions in the future of sustainable pork production