The author is the managing editor and covers animal health, dairy
housing and equipment, and nutrient management. She grew up on a dairy
farm near Plymouth, Wis., and previously served as a University of
Wisconsin agricultural extension agent. She received a master’s degree
from North Carolina State University and a bachelor’s from University of
Wisconsin-Madison.
When deciding what to plant this year, more farmers than normal chose to side with soybeans. While planted corn acres are at their lowest level since 2010, at 88.9 million acres, soybean acres have reached...
Kiefland Holsteins in southeastern Minnesota installed its first robotic milkers in 2011, and the family has learned a great deal in the past four years
When automated calf feeders came onto the scene, some farms jumped in head first. While many are using this new technology with great success, there has certainly been some trial and error in the industry...
Craig Finke has one of the most automated dairy facilities in the country. While setups like his are common in Europe, very few producers in the United States have dove as deep into technology as he has
Brand new food products face stiff competition and must earn a spot on store shelves and in consumers' grocery carts. In 2014, the dairy industry met that challenge and had some of the best-performing...
Success of a herd health pregnancy check is measured by the number of cows safe in calf, but in actuality, the nonpregnant ones are just as important. "In reality, you are looking for open cows,'' said...
Organic dairy products posted another year of growing sales in the United States in 2014. According to the Organic Trade Association's (OTA) latest survey, organic dairy sales topped $5.46 billion last...
The dairy case is getting more and more crowded all the time, as a wide array of milk substitutes fight for shelf space among real dairy products. Cow's milk has been able to play fair against this new...
Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is no new kid on the block, but its presence on dairy farms seems to be growing. Ron Erskine, D.V.M., from Michigan State University, kicked off the Minnesota Dairy Health Conference...
The U.S. dairy industry continues to grow and change in many ways, but the actual number of dairy farms has been declining at a fairly steady clip. In fact, the only state to gain herds in 2014 was Pennsylvania....
"When I first started out, I thought I could change the world if I had the right equipment. Later, I realized that a big part of everything is the people." Those words could ring true for almost any industry,...
