Our calves kept chewing through the hose that supplied water to our waterer. We took a piece of cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) tubing and slid it over the hose. Now the calves can’t chew on it

braham Lincoln once said, “Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want later.”This sums up what we do every day on our dairy farms

A gifted athlete, Sara Haag played soccer, T-ball, field hockey, track, and basketball. She was a skilled player and a dedicated teammate who has loved playing sports since she was 4 years old

The author is the founder of DNMCmilk, which works with dairy producers and heifer growers in multiple Western states.Steve MartinThe most successful feed rations are usually ones that are not changed

Of course, cows do not talk to us in the literal sense. Instead, your herd figuratively speaks to you and your advisers through production trends and other quantifiable herd tendencies

AS ONE of the most influential scientists of his generation, Peter Van Soest forever changed fiber analysis and the way we feed our cows. This Washington State dairy farm boy from humble immigra

I came up with an idea to unroll three rolls of barbed wire at once to build a fence. I took a piece of metal long enough to fit three rolls of wire

Whether she’s slipping on a pair of work boots or lacing up softball cleats, Alli Walker is not afraid to face a challenge. She's known as the workhorse of the Michigan State Spartan pitching staff

Agriculture, and dairy production in particular, can be a risky endeavor. There are many types of risks, and they can generally be put into one of five categories

Not that long ago, high genetic merit bulls with evaluations based on milking daughters topped the A.I. sale charts. Then came sexed semen and genomic testing. Flush with high-end replacements, that d

The fresh cow requires neutral detergent fiber (NDF) from high-quality forages such as brown midrib (BMR) corn silage, alfalfa, and even nonforage sources of fiber

several years ago, Duane and I took advantage of a cost share program with our county conservation organization

My tools were getting unorganized, and I would not know where the last person put them. So, I came up with a simple idea. I hung all my tools in the right place and traced them with a permanent marker

When the Maddox family expanded their dairy herd to 3,200 cows in the late 1970s, there weren’t many farms of that size in California or across the country

In the 1960s a statewide milk income pooling plan was adopted in California because the state was not eligible to be part of the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) program since geographic isolation meant...

my mother often tells the story of when she was a young child and went on a trip with her sister, mother, aunt, and two cousins

Over the past decade, inseminations to sexed semen have grown from 9% of Holsteins and 23% of Jersey heifers and cows in 2009 to 21% of Holstein females and 46% of Jersey females in 2020

Even though Federal Milk Marketing Order reform may not be top of mind in Congress, we can debate and coalesce around potential solutions. Not only could strong industry-generated consensus propel pos

It's Monday morning and you start the day by feeding calves as the sun comes up over the hills

Farmers continue to perfect both the art and science that goes into raising dairy cattle. With that has come more milk per cow per day.“

Do you need a handy way to hold your dipper when milking cows?