We understand that in our roles at a magazine, the good news and the bad news is going to come our way. Unfortunately, it seems that in recent years the people who bring us much of the good news are facing...
While the job market remains bullish for students pursuing agricultural majors, federal and state budgets are full of bears. Those budget shortfalls spell gloom for many ag schools that rely on government...
The recent runup in 2011 Class III milk price futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange has brought both relief and a euphoria to the nation's milk producers. But, as we've said before, as prices have...
Meeting in Arlington, Va., near the nation's capital, the 50th Annual Meeting of the National Mastitis Council was both festive and productive. There was plenty of fun and reminiscing sprinkled amid the...
This article is part of a series being prepared Ashland, Ohio. This article is part of a series being prepared Practitioners. Protocols ensure sick animals get relief and return to production soon. Also,...
Why treatment protocols are so important. This article is part of a series being prepared in cooperation with the American Association of Bovine Practitioners. Protocols ensure sick animals get relief...
The demand for corn continues to grow due, in part, to the federal government's ethanol mandate and the world's growing population. As this occurs, corn growers are planting the crop on land that is not...
What a great kick-off to the 2011 Hoard's Dairyman Webinar Series. Yesterday's program was presented by host Mike Hutjens of the University of Illinois. Over 140 people for the inaugural live presentation,...
My father used to recite an old saying now and then, "What's good for the goose is good for the gander." What this phrase means is that what is good for the goose is good for everybody else. Recently,...
When a cow's intake of energy does not meet her energy needs for maintenance and milk production, she begins to burn fat as an energy source. One common form of ketosis (Type I) occurs when a cow is in...
Winter is here. . . and so is the cold and snow that can be harmful to those of us who work outdoors with livestock. "Bundle up, dress in layers, put on your hat" are familiar sounds to many children who...
This Tuesday, USDA released its monthly Milk-Feed Price Ratio, which was 2.22 for November, down notably from October's 2.4o. The ratio was 2.26 last November. (The Milk-Feed Price Ratio reflects the pounds...
Can you believe that Thanksgiving is just a week away? I almost did until of course, I spent a good hour of my evening going back and forth with family about what time the big "to-do" should be. One of...
Margins are going to be squeezed for those of us in the dairy business. The cheese and butter prices that drive our milk prices are on the way down, and corn prices are on the way up. Butter prices dropped...
Even though it was the smallest cow class of the day, Judge Hank Van Exel and Associate Judge Tom McCauley spent more time deliberating the top end of the extremely competitive Jersey 5-year-old class...
Biggest change, of course, will be in the House, where the Republicans easily gained control. It looks as if the GOP could gain as many as 50 to 60 seats in the lower chamber when all the dust settles....
As the San Francisco Giants clinched the World Series title, I was ecstatic as most long-time central California baseball fans were! 55 years is a long time to wait for a World Series title – years...
Strong believers in genomics, the Pecks are performing embryo transfer on 7 to 10 individuals every two weeks. Since its introduction two years ago, genomics has dramatically changed dairy cattle breeding....
