What's the farm worth to the next generation? He serves as dairy transitions coordinator for Pennsylvania's Center for Dairy Excellence. Sooner or later, most farm families reach a point where they must...
Corn silage doesn't bring protein to the table When balancing diets heavy in corn silage, don't skimp on the protein. Understanding corn's advantages and limitations enables us to maximize its nutrient...
Fluid milk was once the undisputed king of the dairy aisle. That is no longer the case as cheese passed the milk jug a decade ago. Given the current trajectory, dairy exports could also pass the former...
Handy Hint: September 25, 2015 A scrapper support system The metal support braces on my barn floor scraper rusted and broke before the scraper blade wore out. New replacements did the same thing. To solve...
Milk Check Outlook: It's worse than 2009 by Nate Donnay The author is director of dairy services at Informa Economics, Eagan, Minn. During the first five months of 2015, milk production across the major...
Nothing was more exciting for me as a young vet student than studying the "biology" of DAs (displaced abomasums). And, after 30-plus years of practice, I still find myself challenged with the diagnosis...
Editorial: World Dairy Expo has been a "labor of love" Scores of people deserve credit for being the driving force that launched the World Food and Agricultural Foundation in 1967. Fort Atkinson, Wis.,...
Handy Hint: September 10, 2015 A windbreak made of recycled tires Hunter Ridge Dairy in Ault, Colo., built a 3,800-head heifer yard last year to bring their young stock home to the dairy. While the outline...
Your ability to hear is a onetime deal. Once it's gone, it isn't coming back. Engines. Vacuum pumps. Animals. Motorized shop tools. What do they all have in common? They are found on dairy farms . . ....
Handy Hint: August 25, 2015 A Flexible Sprayer I created a single nozzle sprayer and attached it to a hydraulic cylinder. I mounted it on the front end loader of my tractor. I have a valve to feed this...
Editorial: North American's future in a fog Dubbed the largest all-breed, purebred livestock exposition in the world, the 42-year-old North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) now appears...
For genomics to pay, you must use the information to keep or produce a larger supply of genetically superior heifers and remove the genetically inferior. That goal cannot get lost in the shuffle. by Patrick...
In general, the U.S. and world economies are pretty stagnant. Part of the issue is after the 2008 financial crisis consumers and businesses were just happy to still be around
Some chronic diseases are known to lower milk production, but others that are often widespread within herds may silently lower milk production while going unnoticed for years. by Geof W. Smith, D.V.M....
As the weather heats up, keeping milk cool becomes critical. Food safety, product flavor and shelf life - and, ultimately, consumer satisfaction - depend upon quickly cooling milk and holding it at the...
Now that Congress has approved Trade Promotion Authority, negotiators from 12 nations have begun final deliberations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Those final talks will ultimately determine...
We recently moderated a dairy farmer panel discussion where a member of the audience turned the conversation from cowside concerns to family matters. "How do you handle conflict on your family-run farm?"...
Handy Hint: August 10, 2015 Combine gates for a flexible cattle corral Andy Musgrave of Pittsfield, Ill., was looking for a way to create portable cattle corrals. He took 20-foot metal gates and welded...
Determining the breed composition of the U.S. dairy herd is somewhat of an inexact science because not all herds are enrolled in an official testing plan. Even among cows enrolled in a testing plan, the...
From the heart of farm-centric Iowa, the Des Moines Water Works (a city department) has filed a lawsuit against three counties contending that drainage ditches that handle water collected by "engineered...