Invest where it matters most. When margins are slim, farmers are forced to make tough decisions. While it is tempting to cut corners wherever possible, not all cuts yield comparable results. The key is...

Agriculture's bridge to worldwide customers. It ranks among the least-discussed divisions of USDA. However, the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has one of agriculture's tallest tasks by linking U.S....

Dairy farms have grown for a reason. Dairy farms continue to evolve. While many of us know that, Ben Brancel, secretary of Wisconsin's Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, delivers...

Farm wages climb with no end in sight. Labor cost is an important factor in determining dairy farm profitability. In general, it accounts for about 15 percent of total expenses for a typical dairy enterprise

Sorting behavior starts with calves. Cows are creatures of habit, and as science is showing, the formation of their behavioral tendencies begins early in their lives. According to Emily Miller-Cushon,...

Dairy manure needs legal clarity. Last year an eastern Washington Federal Judge found that storage and application of dairy manure in ways that may lead to leaching of nitrates to groundwater constituted...

Dairy doesn't bait kids with bright colors. Bright colors attract the attention of children. That's why we see brightly colored toys, vibrantly illustrated books, and vividly animated movies. The same...

Prolea, a Mexico co-op based in Jalisco, manufactures yogurt and cheese. In addition, it offers custom forage harvesting and custom heifer raising.

As Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker points out, trade between Wisconsin and Mexico remains quite strong with dairy and agriculture topping the list

Reader Response: Nondairy drives convenience A few years ago, I did a survey of drink products at common shopping centers and convenience stores and came to the conclusion that less than 8 percent of total...

Reader Response: To slow herd growth For around five years in the eastern Wisconsin Dairy Belt that features over 100 cows per square mile, it has been increasingly common to breed the bottom end of the...

Which country tops the beef export charts? Since the turn of the century, India's beef exports have expanded rapidly. With that growth, the South Asian country surpassed Brazil to become the world's largest...

Consider everything to lower cell count. "Whenever you lose interest in being better at something, chances are you have already stopped being good at it," challenged milk quality specialist Andrew Johnson,...

In a bad year, Jerseys lost less. There's really no way to sugarcoat what kind of year 2015 was for dairy owners: it was bad. After setting an all-time high in 2014, average Class III prices plunged by...

Two Dairylands forge a stronger alliance. It's a rare event that two governors get together to discuss agriculture much less dairy issues. However, that is just what happened mid-June 2016 when Wisconsin...

It's a Mexican dairy farm! Shown in the photo from left to right are Gerardo Romo, Fernando Romo, Secretary Ben Brancel, Manuel Romo, Alberto Romo, and Ernesto Romo. The dairy farm is located in the Mexican...

Looks like a U.S. dairy farm, but it's not. If pictures are truly worth a thousand words, this 78-second video should really get you thinking as to the location of the dairy. While it may look like a...

Non-Jerseys* Jerseys Income (per hundredweight) Milk $16.71 $19.90 Co-op inventory loss allocation $0 $0 Milk futures $0.17 $0.19 Calves & heifers $0.73 $0.41 Patronage dividend $0.10 $0.10 Other $0.11...

Reader Response: Mature cows are profitable I found this short article, "Older cows digest feed better," in the July 5, 2016, Intel, to be very revealing. Many of us involved in dairy cattle genetics have...

Reader Response: Comments on "Brexit" News publications such as Hoard's Dairyman can only print what they know to be true at press deadline. By now we all know that the reaction to "Brexit" was short-term...