Fonterra announced that it would reduce its 2015-2016 milk price forecast from $5.25 per kilogram of milk solids down to $3.85 (kgMS) in an August 7 announcement by the cooperative that markets over 90...
Just how much has our industry consolidated? It took only 12 counties to produce 25 percent of our nation's milk last December. By casting a slightly wider net, 56 counties were responsible for producing...
German scientists recently discovered a haplotype that limits a Holstein calf's ability to digest cholesterol. In these instances, calves eventually deplete all fat reserves, including those found around...
Fluid milk isn't the only beverage category in a sales tailspin. While the 40-year downward trend in the fluid milk category is well documented, these days the once bustling carbonated soft drink category...
A recent trip to the Milwaukee Stockyards by Purdue University senior Jordan Marshall confirmed what we have known for some time . . . a little extra care not only helps young calves, but yields a higher...
For a number of decades, we have seen firsthand multiple states develop initiatives to either recruit dairy farmers to their respective states or develop homegrown talent to grow dairy cow numbers. There's...
"Some cows need $2 less in feed daily to produce the same amount of product. Can we find these efficient cows?" Michigan State's Mike VandeHaar asked the audience at the joint annual meeting of the American...
Just as the introduction of genomics - the DNA-based study of genetics - caused many dairy producers not previously interested in genetics to take notice, the government's Margin Protection Program (MPP-Dairy)...
Myth buster - the most fertile heifer by Corey Geiger, Managing Editor Instinctively, having direct involvement with Guernseys, Holsteins and Jerseys, I should have known the answer to the question posed...
Heart disease - at one time little was known on the topic. What we did know was that it was almost nonexistent at the turn of the last century. By the 1950s, it had become an epidemic with some 100,000...
"If you are not on DHIA test or contributing other data such as classification or health data, you can use genomics, but submitting data is critical," Dan Weigel (who works in outcomes research at Zoetis)...
"Since 2009, 57 feedyards, three major packers and countless small processors have closed their doors," Ryan Turner told those attending INTL FCStone's 12th Annual Dairy Outlook Conference at the Federal...
It's been up, up and up for dairy product prices since January 2014 . . . from a consumer's perspective. That all changed in April 2015. "In April, we saw the first drop in dairy's portion of the consumer...
Due to very favorable margins throughout the U.S. last year, dairy farmers were able to prepay many expenses at year's end for 2015. That situation may have given dairy producers a false sense of security...
Today's previously unheard of prices . . . in excess of $500 per head for week-old Holstein bull calves in some regions . . . has been great for dairy farm balance sheets. However, one day it could spell...
Even though it produces only one-eighth the total milk of the European Union, New Zealand ranks first in world dairy product exports. That's mainly because the island nation has more dairy cows than people....
After peaking at a lofty 59 percent market share in January 2012, a number of forces whittled away at Chobani's sales in the Greek yogurt category that now stand at 44 percent. In response to those market...
When it comes to 2015 dairy exports, New Zealand and the European Union (EU) could see stronger growth in dairy export sales when compared to the U.S. That's the prediction from Michael Griffin of the...
Last year went into the books as one of the best financial years for U.S. dairy farmers. However, as milk prices started to drop in November, balance sheets started coming closer to a breakeven point
