The author and her family own and operate a 130-cow dairy and crop 1,500 acres. She also is a former associate editor at Hoard’s Dairyman.

Gilles-milk_web1
Nov. 23 2020
If you asked a group of dairy farmers from across the country to define the function of the Federal Milk Marketing Orders, you might get a wide range of answers
Gilles-outlier_web1
Nov. 19 2020
For the same reason that many dairy economists are unwilling to put too much stock in predicting future milk prices, 2020 has left the industry with another lesson just as applicable to federal order pricing:...
Gilles-Regret_web
Nov. 12 2020
Conversations involving risk management and forward contracting often end up resulting in a discussion of “one time.”
Gilles-markets_web1
Nov. 9 2020
Stability, predictability, and adequacy — those are three things farmers require from dairy markets
Gilles-cash shortage_web
Nov. 5 2020
Decades of financial advice will offer the same conclusion to the question, “How much cash does a dairy need to have on hand?”
Gilles-butter_web2
Oct. 26 2020
While some dairy products have seen dramatic gains in purchases due to COVID-19 and other products such as yogurt have seen consumers curtail buying, butter has been somewhere in the middle
Gilles-recession_web2
Oct. 22 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has most certainly impacted the financial stability of the country, put the economy into recession, and even raised concerns of a coming depression
Gilles-Great-Britian_web2
Oct. 15 2020
Since a 2016 referendum in Great Britain, markets around the world have wondered if the country’s decision to leave the European Union (EU) would open up an opportunity for trade
Gilles-cheese_web2
Oct. 12 2020
The title of this article, “You can’t sell your cheese here,” is a sentiment that is becoming more common for American cheese producers to hear while trying to market their products around...
Gilles-fight-GIs_web3
Oct. 8 2020
Geographical indicators (GIs) have been a hot topic in the last several years as countries make trade agreements across the globe
Gilles-restocking_web1
Oct. 1 2020
When COVID-19 first disrupted dairy supply chains, we all saw the grocery store signs
Gilles-online-sales_web
Sept. 28 2020
Dairy products have an important and well-recognized role in retail locations. That’s been true for many years, and it’s not a market that the industry hopes to cede in any way
200925_553-corn-silage-chopping
Sept. 25 2020
For nearly every dairy farmer, corn silage harvest season is one of the most important periods of the entire year. As more and more farms transition toward rations high in corn silage, it becomes even
Gilles-cheese_web1
Sept. 24 2020
In 2019, per capita consumption of dairy products reached 653 pounds per person in America, achieving levels not seen since the 1960s when Lyndon Johnson was in office
Gilles-recession_web1
Sept. 3 2020
It’s easy to agree that these are unprecedented times and that the pandemic has thrown the nation and world into dire economic straits
Gilles-we-balance_web
Aug. 27 2020
A question you will often hear when discussing cattle nutrition is what level of production do you balance for? This question sets the stage for energy, fiber, and ingredient inclusion in the diet
Gilles-food_web5
Aug. 24 2020
It’s been nearly six months since COVID-19 shuttered schools across the country
Gilles-milk-hero_web4
Aug. 20 2020
From 1990 to 2010, the United States saw constantly expanding school-age populations. Since then, the number of students in school have dropped significantly, and that’s not something that’s...
blog_8-17-20
Aug. 17 2020
Corn silage is on the top of the mind for many dairy farmers right now. As such, three farmers shared what they’ve learned as they work to produce the best corn silage they can
Gilles-bankruptcy_web1
Aug. 17 2020
Since June 2019, 580 American farms filed for Chapter 12 bankruptcy according to the American Farm Bureau Federation