Karen Bohnert School’s out for summer. Music to every kid’s heart, I’m sure. Or at least my trio were elated when the school bell rang for the last time and the doors opened wide. Although

To make feeding grain easier, we put a 3-inch auger into the skid loader bucket with a hydraulic motor. Now we can drive into a pile of corn, fill up the bucket, and drive along by the bun

Last year, dairy farmers delivered the safest milk supply to consumers in modern U.S. history with a mere 0.011 percent of bulk milk pickup tankers testing positive for antibiotic residues. While perf

The agricultural community could benefit greatly from defining itself in a positive light.In the Netherlands, public opinion supports small over large farm operations. Approval from local zoning offic

On the hottest days of the summer, it can get warm inside the cab even with the air conditioner running. In order to alleviate this situation, I added some window tint and an extra fan

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

To provide water access in our pasture, we mounted an old cast iron bathtub on skids fitted with a MiraFount valve. Water is supplied by a 1-inch buried line, and the tub is moved through the pasture

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...

We were shopping around for aftermarket tractor mirrors but were not impressed by the price or small size. Instead, we picked up two combine mirrors for $10 at a salvage yard

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