Turning adversity into opportunity. Like other dairy farmers who enjoy showing cows, we develop special relationships with our show cows. They're the ones who always want their heads scratched or come...
Check that dipstick. Or more likely, check that milk house floor and make adjustments to the pedestals on the bulk tank to ensure that milk weights are accurate. That's one message gleaned from an ongoing...
What's new in transition feeding? At the ADSA (American Dairy Science Association) meeting, transition cow research abstracts were prevalent. Several abstracts are listed below with a brief summary, a...
Handy Hint: March 10, 2016 Racks help bundle tires Tires that cover bunker silos at Hillcrest Dairy are more organized after creating a number of iron "tire racks." As tires come off the bunker to expose...
Keep your focus so you don't get pinned or pushed out of the ring. By Patti Hurtgen, Hoard's Dairyman Online Media Manager Wrestling can be a bit like dairy farming. Farmers must be scrappy to stay mobile...
Only 1,225 dairy herds across the United States called it quits last year. Based on sheer dairy farm numbers, that represented the lowest total since 1992. That's the year, the American Farm Bureau Federation,...
Significant scientific evidence that does not support benefits often associated with tail docking. by Brandon Treichler, D.V.M. The author wishes to thank Gatz Riddell, D.V.M.; Fred Gingrich, D.V.M.; Dave...
Handy Hint: February 25, 2016 PVC pipes track calf feeding Keeping track of which calves get fed milk twice per day, once or not at all is handled rather easily for the calf feeders at Paint Creek Heifers...
Have a plan for what you want to see and do. Winter – the season when not a lot happens in the fields. And for this reason, trade shows are scheduled to entice busy farmers to attend. With World...
For cows transitioning from dry period to lactation, ketosis is one of the most prevalent metabolic disorders as it causes reduced feed intake, depressed milk production, weight loss and susceptibility...
Jim Baird, gifted Hoard's Dairyman Art Director, passes on We would consider ourselves lucky to be really good at one thing – something that truly symbolized the essence of our being. But to be...
In less than the course of a week, two semi loads of cheese were stolen from storage facilities in what authorities believe are unrelated events located about 190 miles apart. However, investigations are...
Dairy farmers might not think twice about when Easter falls on the calendar, but the timing is actually very important for dairy markets. "Easter comes early this year, on March 27," stated Mary Ledman,...
"On one side of the tale, East Coast and Michigan markets were dumping milk last year because of excess production and limited plant capacity," said Mark Stephenson at the Wisconsin Agricultural Economic...
The USDA is rewarding young dairy and livestock veterinarians who work in underserved areas of the country with a loan repayment option. Escalating veterinary school costs often push new grads toward higher...
The crops are in, and it's time to decide how to use what's available. Winter is in full swing now, and it is time to start thinking about how to most effectively use the forages in the bunker. Bob James,...
In some livestock species, multiple births are preferred, but that certainly is not the case in dairy cattle. "Nobody likes to have twins. Twins are an incredible problem," said Paul Fricke, a dairy cattle...
Goliath's dairy toll will last all year After the blizzard, Carlos Arias, who works at the Clovis, N.M., Municipal Airport, took this self-portrait standing on a snowdrift against one of the hangers -...
How does a year always seem to go by in a blur? And why does all of the big dairy news always seem like it just happened? Here are 10 items that stick out in my mind: Manure is a four-letter word. Wow,...
A unique partnership was born in 1999 when Jake and Saskia Zwemmer approached a group of crop farmers in the thumb of Michigan. The Zwemmers wanted to focus their talents on cow care and buy forages from...
