Beef prices remain at record highs, in part, because the U.S. has the smallest combined beef and dairy herd since 1951. While it's true there were only 87.7 million head of cattle on inventory this past...
The top 25 counties are now home to one-third of the nation's entire dairy herd. That compares to one-fifth of the cows just 20 years ago. With 489,436 cows in the most recent U.S. Census of Agriculture,...
Handy Hint: August 10, 2014 Makes great footing for cows I made this grooving bull float to create good traction on the concrete in our dry cow yard. I bought a 4-foot magnesium bull float for $90 and...
it may not be the leading cause of improved milk production, but behavioral research in Europe has shown that cows that listen to music produce more milk. While it remains a relatively unstudied field,...
The Class III futures market expects $18 prices in early 2015. May's Class III price announcement of $22.67 per hundredweight was just the start of what is likely to be more cuts. Announcement of the $1.74...
We recently heard a presentation from a nutritionist in one of America's largest school districts who was struggling to comply with USDA's school cafeteria requirements. After listening to her discuss...
Handy Hint: July 2014 bottle holder keeps sunlight out We put a bottle cooler around our medicine bottles that require protection from sunlight. (Temperature variation and exposure to sunlight can reduce...
Despite our growing ability to find a needle in the "foodborne illness" haystack, as a whole, food safety continues to show steady improvement. Foodborne illnesses reported to the Centers for Disease Control...
Will today's record milk prices lead to new price lows? The billion dollar question every dairyman would love to know: how long will these historical milk prices last? In April, USDA announced Class III...
In determining how to employ margin insurance, understanding the premium cost relative to the expected payout for your dairy farm business will generally be the critical driver affecting coverage level...
Handy Hint: June 2014 Quick and easy calf ID When our primary calf feeder had time off, we sometimes got behind on tagging calves. We came to the solution of using plastic tags and dry erase markers that...
While dairymen do not like rising feed and protein prices, it must be recognized that many of the same world export markets that are currently driving up protein and grain costs are the same markets that...
Genomics was a large focus at the Advancing Dairy Cattle Genetics workshop this past February in Phoenix, Ariz. The issue of bias in genomic evaluations was not on the official agenda, but it was discussed...
Handy Hint: May 25, 2014 Creative solution for a small commodity bay We have a commodity bay on the farm that is too small for a truck to dump into. To solve this problem, we mounted a used cyclone from...
Rising retail prices for meat, milk and other staples have become routine leads in many media reports in recent months. While it's true that food costs have gone up slightly, lost in every story we've...
Heat abatement is not just for the milking herd. Dry cows that are cooled are healthier, breed back sooner and produce more milk. Heat stress has substantial impacts on milk yield during lactation
Handy Hint: May 10, 2014 Jig moves combine headers I needed a way to move combine headers to work on them or put them away for storage without always starting the combine. I made this simple jig from scrap...
Facing mounting resource pressure, can California dairymen rise to the challenge, or will they continue to disappear? Kansas already requires dairies that pump more than 15 acre-feet of water to put meters...
Even though the body of scientific evidence backing GMOs is overwhelming, humans more easily relate to emotions, not facts. With the name "genetically modified organism" identifying the GMO moniker, all...