Feb. 27 2023
A required nutrient must be supplied to cells for the cow to maintain normal health, produce milk, and reproduce. Just because a nutrient is required, though, does not mean that a specific requirement
Feb. 27 2023
Before container ships began to pile up off the California coast, lumber prices skyrocketed, and car manufacturing came to a standstill, the agricultural industry was thrust into the spotlight
Feb. 27 2023
Wildfires are nature’s way of renewing the landscape. However, Mother Nature’s wildfires have grown larger and raged longer in recent years, driven by larger reserves of stored fuel across...
Feb. 15 2023
It was confusing figuring out which valves needed to be turned if we wanted to shut off the water to a certain part of our dairy barn. We took blank ear tags and wrote on them which part of the barn t
Feb. 15 2023
Our daughter played basketball in college. The team had a saying they often threw around the court: “Teamwork makes the dream work.”
Feb. 8 2023
Inspire” served as the overarching theme for the 2023 Dairy Forum as the industry’s processors, leaders, and greater dairy farming community from across the globe gathered to discuss the sector’
Feb. 8 2023
Surprising comments rolled into our office following our coverage of a northern Wisconsin county’s plan to require milk haulers to purchase permits to haul milk during the spring thaw. Perhaps we...
Feb. 8 2023
In the United States, adults, on average, claim they wash their hands 96% of the time after using public restrooms. Research has shown that this number is dramatically lower than reported. A case stud
Feb. 8 2023
The topic of self-locking stanchions is on my mind. As I write this article, I have just read a thought-provoking piece in Hoard’s Dairyman Intel, “Lock-up time is lost milk time,” about...
Jan. 25 2023
Cold air has settled into the area. I am not referring to a little chill in the air; I am talking about the extreme cold that blows through every article of clothing and settles in our bones. It is th
Jan. 25 2023
When putting up alfalfa and stacking it into our hay shed, I always like to know which cut the bales are from. I spray paint the whole face where the first cut ends and now I know when to change the r
Jan. 20 2023
The medallions placed around their necks were not first-place blue, or even runner-up red. You’d never know it, though, because third-place white had never looked as good to the members of the Purdue...
Jan. 10 2023
As I open the sliding patio door, I’m reminded very quickly that grilling season has come to an end. The wind is blowing, and the snow is flying around. I can hardly see my neighbor’s house...
Jan. 10 2023
This is a time of year that we spend reflecting on the past and looking toward the new year. When we sit down with the accountant, the first, last, and in between figures we dissect are milk productio
Jan. 10 2023
I had the recent opportunity to team up with a milk cooperative adviser to provide assistance to a member farm. As I finished up and returned home, I sent a short text thanking her for the support. Sh
Jan. 10 2023
Many A.I. studs are now offering straws of semen that contain sperm from multiple bulls. To understand the potential advantage of a mixed, or “heterospermic,” A.I. dose, let’s review...
Jan. 10 2023
We all know that dairy farming is a challenging business under the best of circumstances. Hoyt Hill Farmstead has experienced additional stress over the past two years as Scott and Amber Hoyt have dea
Jan. 10 2023
In the cold weather, I wanted to plug in my pickup truck’s block heater, but I didn’t want a plug-in hanging out of the hood, so I made a bracket to screw the plug-in onto the front bumper....
Jan. 10 2023
Changing economics and shrinking margins on dairy’s home front have been a strong driver in herd demographics throughout the United States. When Hoard’s Dairyman partnered with the American...
Dec. 28 2022
let’s talk agronomy in the Feeding Fundamentals column to start this new year. While an agronomy discussion may seem out of place in a nutrition-focused column, it shouldn’t be. In last June’s...
Dec. 28 2022
We are approaching three years since the COVID-19 pandemic started. As the disease becomes endemic, we start to see the unintended consequences of control measures. While these measures saved lives, m