All the physical and metabolic changes that take place at calving cause stress on a cow’s immune system and elevate the risk for developing metabolic disorders
Port slowdowns in Asia have given U.S. ports a brief reprieve from the flood of shipping vessels and containers that they struggled to offload during the winter and spring months
The plant-based movement has grown from grassroots to mainstream. It’s being promoted at all levels, and school meals are now at the center of efforts to adopt plant-based eating patterns
As I write this, prices for the rest of the year are north of $22 per hundredweight (cwt.). Yes, input costs are high, which cuts into that high price, but nevertheless, profit margins likely look goo
Because the labor market for farm workers has been tightening for years, farmers have had to adopt technologies in some areas and adapt their businesses in others to make the most of the labor
Despite the challenges surrounding exports in 2021, U.S. dairy farmers and processors hit a record $7.75 billion in sales. While that should be celebrated, the U.S.’s main competitors
Exporting dairy products used to entail a relatively logical chain of events that involved getting an order, organizing the logistics, and having product reach the customer
Individual dairy calf housing was a concept that arose in the 1960s. At the time, dairy farmers were struggling with high rates of calf morbidity and mortality
Most people who have spent time working with fresh cows would agree that clinical hypocalcemia, often known as milk fever, becomes more of a problem as cows get older
When COVID-19 hit in early 2020, unemployment rates across the United States were low. While the initial wave of the disease caused a number of layoffs and furloughs
With economic uncertainty continuing and more discussion of the potential for a recession in the U.S., examining the effects of past recessions on key dairy industry metrics is appropriate
A $2.25 drop in per hundredweight (cwt.) pay price. . . that’s a substantial price reduction. That’s doubly true when the shift occurred in less than a three-month window
The use of by-product feeds has been a longtime dairy farmer practice to effectively recycle valuable nutrients that are either indigestible or undesirable for human consumption
We are experiencing one of the more unique business climates in modern American history. With price inflation running at a generational high, interest rates will begin climbing
After bottoming out at $1,140 per head in April 2019, dairy replacements slowly gained value, selling between $1,240 and $1,380 per head over the next four years
Fresh cow pens continue to grow in popularity, especially for larger dairies, farms that are building new facilities, or those looking to improve cow health and performance
