We've talked about it before (see our blog, Wars we wage in dairy and agriculture and our editorial from the June 2011 issue, Keep chocolate milk in schools), but, like heat in the summer, the issue of...

Every day a milk truck comes to Shoestring Dairy. We exchange our normal "G'day Mate," then the friendly man hooks up the hose and pumps our cows' hard work from our tank into the truck. He prints off...

The FFA is one of the nation's premier youth organizations and agriculture is blessed to have the organization training future leaders in our industry. The Washington Leadership Conference, one of the...

The arrest of several undocumented workers at a Colorado dairy farm almost two weeks ago and similar events in recent years has brought the issue of labor to the forefront in the dairy industry. Politicians...

Summer starts next week, but milk prices are already sizzling… much to our continued pleasant surprise. Throughout January, February, and March we watched with some dismay as Class III price futures...

U.S. dairy exports are on the upswing, according to the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service's Summary of U.S. Dairy Exports released June 9, 2011. During the February to April 2011 time period, exports...

Most June dairy celebrations have come and gone, but June Dairy Month still has 15 days to go. Are you finding ways to celebrate, educate, or at least partake in three servings of dairy each day? With...

When summer arrives, we know how warm and uncomfortable we can become. We look forward to the shade of a big oak tree, a chance to have lunch in an air-conditioned home, or the feel of the breeze on our...

It may be an essential nutrient for growing crops, but phosphorus (P) can wreak havoc when it flows to noncropping areas like streams, rivers, and lakes. Once in waterways, it can lead to algal blooms....

Lowering the somatic cell count (SCC) limit has received a lot of press lately, but reducing SCC has many benefits for dairy producers regardless of regulations. Higher premiums and improved cow health...

It's just a tiny trickle so far, but solar power projects are slowly beginning to pop up on Western dairies. The latest one to begin generating electricity for the power grid is a big one, more than 200...

Our well-respected dairy products got special recognition when the USDA released its new, MyPlate nutrition education tool. The MyPlate program replaces the Food Pyramid which had been the government's...

Paul Dyk, who recently left University of Wisconsin Extension for a job in the private sector, wrote a good article in a recent UWEX newsletter titled Higher Speed Internet Options for Fond du Lac County....

Last weekend several members of the Hoard's Dairyman staff had the opportunity to attend and volunteer at Cows on the Concourse on the square surrounding Madison's capitol building. A dedicated group of...

Western herds' net income ranged from $89 to $252 per head last year, reports Moore, Stephens, Wurth, Frazer, and Torbet, Certified Public Accountants and Consultants. That compares to $585 to $962 losses...

Farm safety is always an important discussion topic, but sometimes we forget about farm safety when machinery leaves the farm to travel on public roads. Tractor and machinery traffic has risen now that...

That's how we enthusiastically feel about one of our favorite websites celebrating its first birthday. HumaneWatch.org turned 1 recently, and what a present it has been for everyone who hates deceptive...

Cash receipts from milk marketed last year totaled $31.36 billion. That was a 24 percent rise over 2009's $24.34 billion. Milk sales totaled $34.85 billion 2008. These numbers come from USDA's annual publication...

Ben Logan's The Land Remembers was originally published in 1975. He is now 90 years old and lives in Viroqua, Wis. Photo by Caroline Beckett used with permission of Itchy Cat Press. As a transplant to...

Earlier this month, we were introduced to Anna Gibson, a Washington State University student who is working on a dairy in Tasmania, an Australian island. She shares stories from her first week "down under."...