Following a 5-to-1 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision, every Badger State dairy and livestock producer should be reviewing its farm's manure handling practices and insurance coverage. Its Supreme Court ruled...
Milk prices less than last year, but better than 2009. Last year was an extraordinary year for U.S. dairy farmers. A combination of very strong demand for dairy products by the major dairy importing countries,...
Was the decision of cooperatives to ask their members to forego the use of rBST a good one? If not, when similar policy decisions come up in the future, be smart, be strong, be brave, and try to make and...
A survivor of childhood leukemia, Robert Hershey is running to show Noah Flores, who is currently battling leukemia, that there is hope for a bright future. This past Thanksgiving, while many people sat...
A startup company wants to put you out of business by creating a genetically modified, animal-free milk beverage. MILK IS MILK . . . isn't it? The name "milk" has been somewhat marginalized
One of the keys for a breed to remain economically viable is the ability to make genetic progress, and small populations are at a large disadvantage in this respect. Genomic selection may create an even...
Dairy price discovery mechanisms have come a long way in recent decades. Not only do domestic futures markets offer an enhanced opportunity to both farmers and processors to lock-in milk prices, the resulting...
Organic food sales have been booming, paced by double-digit growth in each of the past five years. As food marketers look to expand that high-margin category, dairy will remain at the epicenter because...
Prevent winter teat damage before it occurs with the right teat dip, properly working equipment and protection from the elements. Stan and I settled into a comfortable routine flipping burgers and turning...
A dairy "bellwether" drops prices again. Just how much milk could be available globally in 2015? Plenty, is the short answer. New Zealand believes the demand-supply balance has tipped and created a buyer's...
As we celebrate Christmas and usher in the New Year, the question posed in the above title might be a good way to start a conversation about agriculture. The full question posed recently by USDA Secretary...
The Spaghetti Western film - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - had a complex plot where three cowboys form an uneasy alliance to find hidden gold. Of course, good triumphs over bad . . . and good eventually...
The combination of more cows, more milk and lower international product prices could place downward pressure on U.S. milk prices. However, lower feed costs should buffer margins on producing milk. by Scott...
In the movie "Patton," there is a famous opening scene where the accomplished four-star general, played by George C. Scott, is pacing in front of an enormous American flag. He delivers a blistering, motivational...
With a $30 million investment of dairy farm checkoff dollars into fluid milk, seven beverage partners have committed another $500 million of their own capital to potentially reinvigorate the long-slumping...
A number of wake-up calls in the 1990s caused leaders in the Badger State to step up and take action. As a result, Wisconsin's stalled production began to take off. The word renaissance means rebirth or...
If you can't beat them, join them. Rather than tearing your hair out trying to rid your farm of pest birds and rodents, why not invite predator birds in to help you do the job?
The next round of genetic evaluations is scheduled to be released December 2. These evaluations will involve a great deal more than just typical proofs, as there will be a base change and updates to $CM...
Frustrated by the clear lack of progress after three years from the "Beef Checkoff Enhancement Working Group," USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced he would take matters into his own hands. The secretary's...
Surveys of dairy farmers show management and pricing are top priority. by Carolyn B. Liebrand and K. Charles Ling The authors are economists with USDA's Rural Business Cooperative Service. This article...