There are two main ways to grow profitability on a dairy farm: cut costs or grow milk production. If expenses are already tightly managed, are there opportunities for you to get more milk out of your cows?...

"Remember, every country has a constituency that is a farmer. It makes trade deals quite difficult to negotiate," said Ron Kirk, the immediate past U.S. Trade Representative for the Obama Administration....

Reader Response: Embrace milk's differences I think it is irrelevant to ask if the Omega-3 difference from grass fed cows "affects health outcomes" on the human seeking Omega-3 (over Omega-6) digestible...

U.S. dairy product exports aren't the only international market that is performing well. For the second time in three years, U.S. exports of bred dairy heifers passed the 60,000 threshold even though this...

The rosy potential for dairy industry growth that first attracted California-based Hilmar Cheese Co. to Texas nearly a decade ago is already becoming reality. As and it does, the company's state-of-the-art...

Most by-product feed markets tend to track corn and soybean meal prices. Producers, therefore, saw little urgency to secure supplies as the price of corn fell during the summer months. But, while corn...

Feed efficiency is certainly a buzzword in the dairy industry today. Is it the goal we all should be striving for? From a nutritionist's standpoint, Brian Perkins from Diamond V Technical Services explained...

This year could finally provide an opportunity to rebuild cash reserves following a span of high feed prices and 2009's disastrous free fall in milk prices. Currently, the 2014 All-Milk Price forecast...

The January 6, 2014, Hoard's Dairyman Intel item "Is the US, EU or India the top milk producer?" taught us that the United States leads all countries in milk produced from dairy cows. There are two follow-ups...

Last week, McDonald's Corporation announced its commitment to begin purchasing "verified sustainable beef" in 2016. Between now and then, the company plans to communicate with stakeholders from the farmer...

Class III milk prices in 2013 were the third highest in history, adding to a string of recent producer income records that is likely to continue in 2014. Last week's announcement of the $18.95 per hundredweight...

The popular press pounced on Washington State University's study after grand assumptions were drawn about the CLA superiority of organic milk. As this sentiment sprung up across major news organizations,...

Global milk production among the five leading dairy export regions is projected to grow 1.5 percent throughout 2014, reported Foreign Agricultural Service officials with USDA. Of the top five dairy exporters,...

Isn't the Foodini concept a way to play with the "pink slime" everyone was so upset about? Hmmmm. That's my conclusion after reading the item "3D food printing? Um, no" in the December 23 issue of Hoard's...

There is one issue with the item "Japan has feed costs you won't believe" in the December 30, 2013, Hoard's Dairyman Intel. The problem with tariff reduction is the maintenance of domestic subsidies of...

Regarding the study from Purdue University (December 30 Hoard's Dairyman Intel item "Polled and dehorning costs break even") on the comparative costs of dehorning against the cost of using semen from polled...

Reader Response: Low SCCs do bring value I'm a dairy farmer from northern Vermont, and I am writing in response to the three dairy producer comments in the Hoard's Dairyman Intel item, "Reader Response:...

In the world of dairy statistics, the answer to the question, "Is the US, the EU or India the world's top milk producer?" The answer is . . . It depends. All can be correct as the answer depends on the...

Reproduction is a linchpin on most dairy operations as it has significant impact on overall profitability. When herds excel in this metric, they improve their productivity as cows take better advantage...

Environmental alarm bells are ringing loudly in New Zealand and its growing dairy cow population is at the front of mounting public awareness about the potential of water pollution