About 25 years ago, I was a 30-something dairy farmer with a young family and a farm that had survived the 1980’s financial crisis

I have a farmer friend who celebrates the birthday of her special cow. I can honestly say that is not a standard operating procedure that I’ve ever implemented on our farm

At the simplest level, the dairy herd is the production unit for milk. Individual cows produce the milk, but about a third of cows in a herd are replaced annually

I wish my mother and my father were alive so they could tell me it would all be okay. But they are not. And all I’m left with is my faith. And, honestly, that is enough

While approximately 90 percent of current freestall housing relies upon natural ventilation, there is a growing number of new facilities using a wide range of systems from tunnel to cross ventilation

Ask a farmer to help promote dairy products, and for many, providing chocolate milk to a school tour, scooping ice cream at a carnival, or bringing a calf to a petting zoo is right up their alle

Even though many of our farms have been in our communities for generations, that doesn’t mean we can have a “we were here first” attitude. Quite to the contrary, neighbor relations should...

Dairy farm technology in 2066 will be more nature-based than it is today. It will be guided by information across the entire farmstead, including fields wherever feed is grown. Dairy farmers will employ...

The U.S. is finding itself in the middle of an early and large spring milk flush. The last two years have seen the Northeast and the Upper Midwest grow production to the point that existing plant capacity...

Every day is Mother’s Day on a dairy farm. We work with our four-legged matriarchs every day. Some of our mothers are experienced and well seasoned. Some are new and need guidance

It has been well documented that smaller dairy farms contribute less milk to the national bulk tank these days

By creating a new category of regulations, Canadian government officials once again circled the wagons to shelter their domestic dairy markets. While “bringing home” an estimated $150 million...

Roughly 40 years ago, I stood holding a bottle of calcium, disciplining myself to slowly drip it into the cow’s jugular vein while monitoring its heart rate. I certainly did not want to add to Jack’s...

In the last 11 years, the world dairy market has been hit by three major downturns and had two milk price booms. In early 2017, the latest world milk price crisis came to an end

Not too long ago, my siblings and I finalized our late parents’ estate. It has been a long journey from the time our mother passed away six years ago. Eighteen months later, we moved our dad o

I have to admit, I have a love-hate thing going on with exercise. I love the way I feel when I exercise, but it takes a tremendous amount of dedication, time, and energy for me to stick with a program

China’s record level of dairy imports in 2014 has given dairy producers the impression that the Asian country will be a major buyer of dairy products on world markets into the future

There is good reason that state leaders place so much energy recruiting dairy farms to their region. That’s because our businesses represent significant economic engines that generate jobs and comme

Building on the good financials from just one year earlier, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) posted its second consecutive year of record income. During the past fiscal year, the cooperative earned $132

The day that most kids wait for finally came for my Jersey squad. No, we didn’t go to Disney World — we got a puppy! “I’ve waited my entire life for this to happen!”